Tutankhamun’s trumpets: from 3,000 years of silence to a modern museum echo

Two ornate trumpets from Tutankhamun’s tomb—one silver, one bronze—were famously blown during a 1939 BBC broadcast, creating a rare sonic link between ancient Egypt and the modern world. Today they reside in climate-controlled displays at the Grand Egyptian Museum, with stringent security and conservation measures that make future performances unlikely, highlighting the delicate balance between preservation and public access.