It's Not Pharaoh: UK Fakes Ancient Egypt

It's enough to leave Ramses spinning in his sarcoghegaus; 3D printing experts have managed to rustle up ancient Egyptian knock-offs in England.

A team of Lancaster University design experts replicated some of the country's best-known artifacts, including pottery, a clay head and a figurine of a warrior, using little more than a digital camera and a 3D printer. Undercover photographers have to pay just one visit to the original artifacts in order to grab enough sneaky snaps to replicate the piece countless times.

The works have now gone on display at the nearby Kendal museum, allowing locals to skip pricey trips to Luxor or the Egyptian museum and stay in... err... Lancashire. The museum’s archaeology curator Morag Clement said, “These Ancient Egyptian items are so rare that normally we don’t let anybody touch them. With these copies, people can pick them up, touch and interact with them, instead of just viewing them behind glass. We can also put them into loan boxes sent out to schools to teach the children about history.”

The news comes just weeks after Chinese tourism ministers were forced to demolish a life-size sphinx, following a fall-out with Egyptian officials. Egyptian tourism chiefs have so far remained silent regarding the UK 3D fakes. 3D Printing has previously been used to replicate everything from guns to unborn fetuses.