FOUR of Warrington Museum’s oldest galleries have been completely revamped over the past year.

From the history of the world, to the shaping of Warrington, the £250,000 project was completed last month after a long and painstaking effort.

The Victorian building that was the north of England’s first public museum, has retained much of its 19th century charm, now complemented by a modern look and feel.

Now, revealed to the town, the Warrington Guardian is looking at four of the most interesting objects on show over the next four weeks.

This week, we look at the centrepiece to the world cultures display – a mummy of a teenage boy and a coffin.

The mummy was donated in 1885 while the coffin arrived some time later, and has now been restored to its original glory with the missing lid found at Manchester Museum.

According to Mike Roberts, visitor services officer, museum bosses were alerted to the existence of the lid by colleagues in Manchester.

“We did not have any record of a lid with it. At some point in the past, someone must have sent it there for it to be displayed and when they realised, they wanted us to have it back,” he said.

The coffin is now displayed in its entirety, although it has an interesting history.

The sarcophagus (coffin) was used for two different bodies, a couple of hundred years apart, with a priest as its final occupant.

The heiroglyphics telling the life story of the corpse were even changed to accommodate the new body, something that was not unusual in Ancient Egyptian times.

You can see the full story of Warrington’s links to Ancient Egypt by visiting the newly-restored galleries of Warrington Museum.

It opens daily Monday to Saturday and is free.