News, Giza: Egypt's GEM Announces Pre-Qualification Stage for Bidding on Facilities Management

The submission of pre-qualification applications is scheduled for Tuesday, 24 July, after which a list of qualified applicants will be announced mid-August. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Towards the rear of the atrium of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), where the granite colossus of King Ramses II proudly stands, Egypt's ministers of investment and international cooperation, antiquities and tourism, and Giza's governor, gathered along with a group of foreign ambassadors to Egypt.

Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities announced Sunday in a press conference addressing local and international companies and consortiums the opening of a pre-qualification stage for those hoping to bid for the contract to manage and operate facilities at the GEM complex overlooking the Giza Plateau. The press conference was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, and supported by the Ministry of Tourism.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany said that GEM's facilities include a conference centre for 1,000 people, a cinema for 500 people, 10 restaurants, with two overlooking the Giza pyramids, food courts, bookshops and other retail outlets, a traditional arts and crafts centre, and a multifunctional building that could be for administrative purposes or as a boutique hotel.

El-Enany asserted that the Ministry of Antiquities is the only authority responsible for the management and security of GEM‘s treasured collection as well as anything related to antiquities, such as exhibition halls, the maintenance and restoration centre, and the children’s museum.

Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat said that GEM, the largest and most significant cultural project in process globally, is going to be a wonderful tourism attraction that blends history with a modern and authentic twist. “Egypt is the world’s capital of cultural tourism,” she pointed out, adding that nothing will make a bolder statement than when this magnificent museum has its official opening.

"And to complement GEM, the Giza Plateau is undergoing a massive renovation project to include boutique hotels, restaurants and cinemas and we’re determined to give all that come to visit the most wonderful experience," Al-Mashat said. "The whole undertaking will reflect the splendor of Egyptian history in an attractive and modern way for international visitors, and for everyone throughout Egypt," she added. Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr expressed her happiness to be at GEM to announce the launch of the prequalification stage of bidding for the facilities management contract.

She described the GEM complex as a state-of-the-art, world class destination, and cultural and touristic hub comprising large investment opportunities. “These opportunities are available online on the investment map where investors are encouraged to explore the area and location and see nearest facilities services and other landmarks,” she pointed out… READ MORE.

Source: Ahram Online

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News Giza: Egyptian Antiquities Minister Assures That Last Week's Fire did Little Damage to Grand Egyptian Museum

El-Enany with media at the GEM

Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany escorted members of the media on a tour of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza to show that the fire that broke out at the museum last week did little damage to the museum. Written by/ Nevine El-Aref.

The visit included a tour of the museum buildings as well as the display of the King Ramses II colossus and artifacts at the GEM’s conservation centre.

Last Sunday, a minor fire broke out on the wooden scaffolding on the museum’s rear façade. No one was harmed and no artifacts were damaged in the fire. One hour after the fire broke out, the museum’s fire station, with aid from Civilian Security fire trucks, succeeded in extinguishing the flames, Mostafa Waziri Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said at the time.

An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the blaze. The GEM is currently under construction, with scaffolding positioned outside several buildings. 

The museum is being built to house antiquities from ancient Egypt, including many items currently held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square. A partial opening is planned for later this year.

Source: Ahram Online

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New, Giza: Luxor Museum's Tut Collection Moved to Grand Egyptian Museum.

A collection of 122 artifacts from the King Tutankhamun collection previously housed at the Luxor Museum was successfully transported to its new home in the Grand Egyptian Museum late Tuesday night. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

A gilded bust representing the cow goddess Hathor

The collection includes baskets, boxes, a wooden chair, a bed and a chariot, among other pieces. Among the most treasured, is a gilded head of the goddess Hathor, according to Tarek Tawfik, Supervisor General of the GEM.

A number of other artefacts shed light on funerary ritual practices and daily life during Tutankhamun's roughly ten-year reign.

Eissa Zidan, head of restoration at the GEM, told Ahram Online that all pieces had been restored before transportation and were packed over a period of nine days and according to the latest scientific techniques.

He added that a Japanese team of archaeologists helped the Egyptian team in packing and transporting Tutankhamun's funerary chariot in a specially-designed vehicle to protect against vibrations.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, located on the Giza plateau, is set to open later this year.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Portuguese President de Sousa And Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Tour Giza Pyramids

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany gifted the Portuguese president with a replica of King Khufu's funerary boat. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

El-Enany, De Sousa and Tawfik at the GEM

Accompanied by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and his diplomatic delegation toured the monuments of the Giza plateau and both Egyptian museums on Friday.

At the plateau they visited the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, and the panorama area where El-Enany spoke to President de Sousa and his delegation on the greatness of ancient Egyptian civilization.

De Sousa and the delegation expressed their fondness for Egypt's distinguished heritage and insisted on documenting their visit by taking photos in front of the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx.

The group also toured the Grand Egyptian Museum's conservation centre and lab for wooden artifacts which currently houses the recently transferred King Tutankhamun collection.

They also visited the lab for heavy artefacts, which houses the colossi of Kings Amenhotep III and Menkaure, which will soon be displayed in the museum's grand staircase and atrium, respectively.

The Portuguese president and antiquities minister also viewed the royal mummies' hall and the Golden King collection at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir. El-Enany gifted de Sousa with a replica of King Khufu’s boat crafted by the replicas unit at the ministry.

Source: Ahram Online

News, Giza: King Meneptah Column Arrives at Grand Egyptian Museum

King Meneptah was the fourth king of the 19th Dynasty and the son of King Ramses II. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Column of King Meneptah arrived Saturday at its permanent display area in the atrium of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza.

King Meneptah was the fourth king of the 19th Dynasty and the son of King Ramses II. He ruled for 10 years, from 1213-1203 BC.

Tarek Tawfik, supervisor general of the Grand Egyptian Museum, told Ahram Online that the pillar was discovered in 1970 inside Meneptah Temple in Matariya archaeological site, east of Arab Al-Hesn area.

It is carved in red granite with a limestone base. It is decorated with engravings of the king’s different titles, cartouche and scenes depicting his victory in wars against Libyan tribes.

The pillar is 17 tons in weight and 5.6 metres tall. It was first transported in 2008 to the Salaheddin Citadel for conservation and restoration as the residential area around it was suffering with high levels of subterranean water.

The pillar was then kept in the Citadel for 10 years until it was chosen to be among the GEM exhibits. It is to be put on show in the atrium at the GEM's main entrance, neighbouring the colossus of his father, Ramses II.

Eissa Zidan, director general of First-Aid Restoration at the GEM, explained that great care was taken before transportation, the pillar restored after comprehensive study to detect and consolidate its weak points.

It took eight hours to prepare the pillar for transportation. A wooden base padded with of layers of foam was made, with the pillar tied with carefully tensioned rope to safeguard it during transportation. The Tourism and Antiquities Police accompanied the pillar on its journey.

Osama Abulkheir, director general of the Restoration Department at the GEM, said that upon its arrival the pillar would be examined and further restoration work completed.

Source: Ahram Online

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New Discover, Dahshur: Rock-Hewn Burial Shaft Uncovered in Egypt's Abusir Necropolis

Three rock-hewn burial shafts filled with coffins and faience pots have been uncovered in Egypt's Abusir necropolis near Cairo. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The discovery was made after authorities received reports of illegal excavations in the area.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the antiquities ministry formed an archaeological committee led by Sabri Farag, the director-general of the Saqqara Necropolis, to conduct urgent excavations at the site.

Waziri explains that excavation revealed three rock-hewn burial shafts containing funerary collections, including four wooden coffins in bad conservation condition bearing hieroglyphic texts.

Farag says that one of these texts bears the cartouche of King Ptolemy IV (244 – 204 BC), but the remaining text is not clear enough to decipher. More studies are set to be carried out to determine to which reign the coffins belong.

Farag said the coffins hold four mummified bodies, presumably of birds, along with three round-shaped linen wrappings housing the mummies' stomachs.

A collection of 38 symbolic pots carved in faience was also found. All the objects are being held in storage at the site for restoration.

Source: Ahram Online

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New Discovery, Giza: Tomb of 5th Dynasty Top Official Hetpet Discovered Near Pyramid of Khafre on Giza Plateau

After almost 109 years of searching, the tomb of Hathor’s priestess Hetpet has been uncovered. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

“It is the first discovery to be announced in 2018,” said Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany at a press conference held at the step of Hetpet’s tomb in Giza's western cemetery.

El-Enany explained that blocks of the tomb were unearthed in 1909 by a British explorer who sent them to Berlin and Frankfurt.

“The tomb has never been uncovered until October 2017 when the Egyptian mission started excavation in the Giza western cemetery,” El-Enany said.

The minister explained that the cemetery was previously excavated by several archaeological missions since 1843, and the most distinguished and important ones were made by renowned Egyptologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass.

The newly discovered tomb belongs to a lady named Hetpet, a top official in the royal palace during the end of the 5th Dynasty.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the head of the mission, told Ahram Online that the tomb has the architectural style and decorative elements of the 5th Dynasty, with an entrance leading to an “L” shape shrine with a purification basin.

On its western rear end there is a rectangular arcade lined with incense and offering holders. There is also a naos with a yet missing statue of the tomb’s owner. The tomb has very distinguished wall paintings in a very good state of conservation depicting “Hetpet” standing in different hunting and fishing scenes or sitting before a large offering table receiving offerings from her children.

“Scenes of reaping fruits, melting metals and the fabrication of leather and papyri boats as well as musical and dancing performances are also shown on walls,” Waziri said. He added that among the most distinguished paintings in the tomb are those depicting two monkeys in different positions. Monkeys were domestic animals at the time.

The first scene shows a monkey reaping fruits while the second displays a monkey dancing in front of an orchestra. Similar scenes are found in other tombs. The first one is painted on the wall of a 12th Dynasty tomb of Khnoum Hetep II in Beni Hassan in Minya governorate; the second is found in the Old Kingdom tomb of Ka-Iber in Saqqara, though it displays a dancing monkey in front of a guitarist not an orchestra.

Source: Ahram Online

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News: Grand Egyptian Museum Receives First $1,000 Donation From Tourist in New Funding Drive

American tourist John Robert Massi handed over $1,000 toward the construction of the new museum and was rewarded with a tour of the site. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Ministry of Antiquities has announced its first donation in response to a new campaign to help fund ongoing construction work at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).

The gift of $1,000 was made by American tourist John Robert Massi, who arrived in Egypt on Wednesday to embark on an inspection tour of the GEM site.

Tarek Tawfik, Supervisor-General of the GEM, told Ahram Online that Massi was impressed by the construction work and the state-of-the-art laboratories. He told Tawfik that he hopes to return to Egypt for the museum's soft opening in 2018.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Chariot and Clothes of Egypt's Tutankhamun Transported to GEM

The collection of King Tutankhamun is being transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) ahead of its soft opening in 2018. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is receiving another three artefacts of the King Tutankhamun collection — a chariot and two of his shirts, from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.

The collection of King Tutankhamun is being transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) ahead of its soft opening in 2018.

Tarek Tawfiq supervisor general of the GEM, told Ahram Online that the chariot is the third to be transported to the GEM. 

Tutankhamun had six chariots. He explained that the move comes within the framework of an Egyptian-Japanese project between the Ministry of Antiquities and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to pack and transport 71 artefacts now on display at the Egyptian Museum to their new permanent exhibition spaces in the GEM.

Tawfik said that among the 71 artefacts was a collection of reliefs of founder of the ancient Fourth Dynasty Senefru and a collection of 65 objects from Tutankhamun’s funerary collection, including three funerary beds, five chariots and 57 pieces of textile.

Director of first-aid restoration at the GEM, Eissa Zidan, said the restoration team had consolidated the wooden surfaces of the chariot as well as weak points in joint areas. The chariot, he said, was packed and transported as one item with the chair of the throne.

Zidan pointed out that the artefacts were padded with special materials to absorb any vibrations during transportation. State-of-the-art technology and modern scientific techniques had been used in order to guarantee the safe lifting and moving of the chariot from its display case at the Egyptian Museum. The team had also used acid-free packing materials.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: The Ancient Gate Arrived to The Museum Overlooking Giza Plateau

The ancient gate of King Amenemhat I transported to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) from its original location to join other artefacts in preparation for the new museum's scheduled opening next year. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Tarek Tawfik, supervisor-general of the GEM, told Al-Ahram Online Wednesday that the gate would be put on display at the museum’s grand staircase along with the colossus of King Ramses II and other gigantic monuments.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the gate was carved from red granite and engraved with hieroglyphic inscriptions, among them the official cartouche of King Amenemhat I and his different titles. The gate was uncovered by an Austrian mission in the Ezbet Helmi area of Tel Al-Dabaa in Egypt's Nile Delta. It weighs six tonnes and is supported by a vertical stone lintel which is inscribed with hieroglyphic text.

Eissa Zidan, the director of first-aid restoration at the GEM, said that prior to the move, the gate was subjected to essential restoration work, using scientific methods to pack and transport the items. He said the artefact would undergo further restoration at the GEM.

King Amenemhat I reigned from 1991 – 1962 BC and was the first ruler of ancient Egypt's Twelfth Dynasty which is considered by scholars to be the golden age of the Middle Kingdom.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Foreign Diplomats Tour Grand Egyptian Museum Site Ahead of 2018 Opening

The 150-strong delegation from the Egyptian Diplomatic Club was given a presentation on the GEM's construction history and a preview of the planned displays, including the complete treasures of Tutankhamun. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

A delegation of foreign diplomats visited the site of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) on Sunday, inspecting the ongoing construction work in an effort raise the project's profile ahead of its opening in 2018. The 150 diplomats from the Egyptian Diplomatic Club were given a guided tour of the site overlooking the Giza Plateau, including the conservation and research center and the main building, which is still being built.

Tarek Tawfik, supervisor general of the GEM, told Ahram Online that the delegation consisted of foreign ambassadors, cultural counsellors in Egypt and Egyptian diplomats. They began their visit with a minute's silence to mourn the victims of Friday's terrorist attack at Al-Rawda Mosque in North Sinai. The delegation was provided with a presentation on the GEM's construction, which started in the early 2000s, as well as the Ministry of Antiquities' plan to open the museum in 2018. 

Tawfik said the world is awaiting the opening of the GEM, which will display the complete collection of King Tutankhamun's treasures for the first time since his tomb was discovered in 1922. The treasures are currently stored in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square. The GEM project is intended to provide a modern and spacious venue for the display of Egypt's antiquities, many of which are stored at the museum in Tahrir Square.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Exploring Egypt's Great Pyramid From The Inside, Virtually

A team of scientists who last week announced the discovery of a large void inside the Great Pyramid of Giza have created a virtual-reality tour that allows users to 'teleport' themselves inside the structure and explore its architecture.

Using 3D technology, the Scan Pyramids Project allows visitors wearing headsets to take a guided tour inside the Grand Gallery, the Queen's Chamber and other ancient rooms not normally accessible to the public, without leaving Paris. "Thanks to this technique, we make it possible to teleport ourselves to Egypt, inside the pyramid, as a group and with a guide," said Mehdi Tayoubi, co-director of Scan Pyramids, which on Nov. 2 announced the discovery of a mysterious space inside the depths of the Pyramid.

The void itself is visible on the tour, appearing like a dotted cloud. "What is new in the world of virtual reality is that from now on you are not isolated but there are several of us, you're in a group, you can take a tour with your family. And you can access places which you usually can't in the real pyramid."

While partly designed as a fun experience, the "collaborative immersion" project allows researchers to improve the technologies they used to detect the pyramid void and think about what purpose it may have served. The pyramid, built in around 2,500 BC and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was a monumental tomb soaring to a height of 479 feet (146 metres). Until the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, the Great Pyramid stood as the tallest manmade structure for more than 4,000 years.

While there are passage ways into it and chambers in various parts, much of the internal structure had remained a mystery until a team from France's HIP Institute used an imaging method based on cosmic rays to gain a view inside. So-called muon particles, which originate from interactions with rays from space and atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere, are able to penetrate hundreds of metres through stone before being absorbed. That allows for mapping inside stone structures.

"Muon tomography has really improved a lot due to its use on the pyramid and we think that muography will have other applications in other fields," said Tayoubi. "But we also wanted to innovate and imagine devices to allow the wider public to understand what this pyramid is, understand it from within." When looking through their 3D goggles, visitors can see the enormous stones of the pyramid as if they were real, and walk virtually along its corridors, chambers and hidden spaces. As they approach the pyramid from the outside, the tour even includes audio of Cairo's deafening and ever-present traffic.

Source: Ahram Online

More News About Pyramid Scan Project

• ScanPyramids Mission Rushed in Announcing 'Discovery of New Void’ inGiza’s Khufu' - Egypt Antiquities Ministry 
• Void within Great Pyramid of Giza 'not a new discovery': Zahi Hawass  
• Scientists announce discovery of hidden chamber in Egypt's Great Pyramid: Nature Journal 

News, Giza: ScanPyramids Mission Rushed in Announcing 'Discovery of New Void’ in Giza’s Khufu' - Egypt Antiquities Ministry

Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities said on Thursday that researchers in the ScanPyramids mission were mistaken in publicly announcing that they "discovered a new void space" inside the Great Pyramid of Giza before first discussing their findings with senior Egyptian and international Egyptologists, who have been commissioned by the ministry to study the issue. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

In an article published in the journal Nature on Thursday, an international team of researchers said they have found a hidden chamber in Khufu, the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The team said “the 30-meter (yard) void deep [they identified] within the pyramid is situated above the structure's Grand Gallery, and has a similar cross-section.The purpose of the chamber is unclear, and it's not yet known whether it was built with a function in mind.”

The researchers explained that they “made the discovery using cosmic-ray imaging, recording the behavior of subatomic particles called muons that penetrate the rock similar to X-rays, only much deeper.”

Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of the Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that publishing the findings in an ongoing research by ScanPyramids project in a scientific  journal such as Nature Journal before discussing these findings with leading Egyptologists was a mistake.

“The findings of the ScanPyramids research project have to be first discussed scientifically among scientists and Egyptologists and then reviewed by the scientific committee, which was tasked by Egypt's ministry of antiquities to supervise research on the matter. This committee is led by renowned Egyptian Egyptologist Zahi Hawass with the participation of the well-known American Egyptologist Mark Lehner and Czech Egyptologist  Murslav Barta,” Waziri added.

“These experts have previously said that the existence of void spaces inside the pyramids is not a new thing and this is a well known fact among Egyptologists," Waziri said. “It was too early at this stage in their study to publish that there was a new discovery,” Waziri added.

An official Egyptian archaeologist, who requested anonymity, told Ahram Online that he believes the mission broke the Egyptian antiquities laws and regulations by announcing findings  to the media through video conference, and, therefore, might be barred by Egyptian authorities from continuing their research.

More News About Pyramid Scan Project

• Void within Great Pyramid of Giza 'not a new discovery': Zahi Hawass  
• Scientists announce discovery of hidden chamber in Egypt's Great Pyramid: Nature Journal 

Source: Ahram Online

News, Giza: Ptolemaic Crown Pillar To Be Transported To The Grand Egyptian Museum

The crown pillar, first discovered in 2009, will undergo restoration before exhibition. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Tlifting of The Crown

The crown pillar of King Ptolemy I is set to arrive within hours to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Al-Remaya Square from the Delta town of Samanoud, Tarek Tawfik, Supervisor General of the museum, told Ahram Online.

According to Tawfik, the crown is headed to the museum's laboratory for restoration and maintenance procedures before being placed on display within the GEM exhibition.

Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Ministry of Antiquities, explained that the crown pillar was uncovered while ministry representatives monitored the digging for the Samanoud City public hospital in 2009.

The piece was subsequently kept in situ until this week, when the hospital embarked upon the construction of an building extension. The ministry thus decided to relocate the crown to the GEM. Ashmawy told Ahram Online that the crown is probably the top of a pillar from the Ptolemaic gate in Samanoud. The surviving pillar and crown together are 9 meters tall. The crown alone weighs 10 tonnes.

According to Eissa Zida, Director-General of the GEM's first-aid restoration department, a plan was devised in consultation with other experts to remove the crown from the pillar. The decision, intended to ensure the artifact's secure transportation, was made in accordance with the Samanoud antiquities authority, the Ministry of Antiquities' engineering department, and the restoration department at the GEM.

Zida asserted that the team implemented the latest technological and scientific techniques while the lifting, packing, and transporting the crown. King Ptolemy I was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great who ruled Egypt starting in 323 BC, assuming the local title of pharaoh.

Source: Ahram Online

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New Discovery, Abu Sir: Parts of A Ramses II Temple Uncovered in Giza's Abusir

Cartouche of Ramesse II. Courtesy of the Czech Institute of Egyptology

The newly uncovered temple in Abusir necropolis helps piece together the activities of Ramses II in the Memphis area. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Parts of a temple to King Ramses II (1213-1279 BC), along with reliefs of solar deities, have been uncovered by an Egyptian-Czech mission during excavation work in Abusir necropolis in the the governorate ofGiza

Mohamed Megahed, deputy to the mission director, told Ahram Online that the temple is located in an area that forms a natural transition between a terrace of the Nile and the floodplain in Abusir. He added that the temple is 32 by 52 metres and behind it was a large forecourt along with two identical and considerably long storage buildings to the right and left side of the complex.

Studies carried out so far, Megahed explained, show that it can be assumed that stone columns lined the side walls of the court, which was enclosed by mud brick walls that were in at least some places painted blue. The rear end of the court, a ramp or staircase leads to an elevated stone sanctuary whose back part was divided into three parallel chambers.

“The remains of this building, which constitutes the very core of the complex, were covered with huge deposits of sand and chips of stone of which many bore fragments of polychrome reliefs,” Professor Mirsolave Barta, director of the Czech mission, told Ahram Online. He pointed out that the fragments not only show the decorative scheme of the sanctuary, but also function to help date the entire complex.

A relief on which is engraved the different titles of King Ramses II was also found, as well as another connected to the cult of solar deities such as Re, Amun and Nekhbet.

“The discovery of the Ramses II temple provides unique evidence on building and religious activities of the king in Memphis area and at the same time shows the permanent status of the cult of sun god Re who was venerated in Abusir since the 5th Dynasty and onwards to the New Kingdom,” Barta asserted.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Tutankhamun's Second Bed Transferred to New Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza

The second ceremonial bed of King Tutankhamun was escorted on Monday from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, in preparation for its soft opening in mid-2018.

The bed was moved using a specially made hydraulic vehicle to prevent any vibrations that might cause damage, with a team of 20 archaeologists supervising the process, said Tarek Tawfik, the GEM's general supervisor.

The first gilded bed and a funeral chariot from Tutankhamun's tomb were transferred last May as part of a plan to move 1,000 artifacts to the GEM.

The Grand Egyptian Museum had been scheduled to open in 2015, but its construction has been delayed due to the expense involved, amounting to more than $1 billion.

Located at the foot of the Giza Pyramids, the GEM is not yet complete. However, when it finally opens it will display the collections of the current Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square, including many objects that are kept in storage.

The new complex is expected to host more than 100,000 relics, including 4,500 items of Tutankhamun treasure discovered in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

Source: Ahram Online

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News: Batch of Colossal Statues to Be Moved to Grand Egyptian Museum on Wednesday

The statues include a number of depictions of king Khafre, a bust of King Thutmose II wearing the nemes, a red granite statue of goddess Hathor and fragments of the sphinx's beard. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

A gathering of journalists and TV crews are scheduled to witness the arrival of a dozen colossal statues at the new Grand Egyptian Museum on Wednesday.

Tarek Tawfik, supervisor general, told Ahram Online that the statues are being transported from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir and include a unique collection of depicting the fourth dynasty king Khafre, a bust of King Thutmose II wearing the nemes, a red granite statue of goddess Hathor, a colossus head of king Userkaf and two large limestone fragments of the sphinx’s beard. The statues are to be displayed on the museum's Grand Staircase.

Eissa Zidan, general director of the first aid restoration department at the GEM, saaid that all the artefacts were subjected to restoration before packing and a detailed report on their conservation condition was written. The experts said that all necessary procedures have been taken to ensure the pieces are transported safely.

One technique used for the Hathor statue was an American method, they told Ahram Online, which involves fixing the artefact on a foam base and covering it in Japanese tissue paper. The museum on the Giza plateau is scheduled to open at some point in 2018.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Chinese Cultural Attaché in Egypt Visits Grand Egyptian Museum

Tawfik with Yuewen at the GEM

Chinese cultural attaché to Egypt Shi Yuewen visited the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza on Tuesday. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Yuewen visited the museum’s laboratories and witnessed restoration work being carried out on artefacts that are to be among the museum's collection, Tarek Tawfik, supervisor-general of the GEM, told Ahram Online.

The museum, which will see a soft open in 2018, will hold the Tutankhamun halls and a number of gigantic ancient Egyptian colossi, such as the colossus of King Ramses II, which was transported to the GEM from Ramses Square in downtown Cairo in 2006.

Yuewen said that the upcoming period will witness increased cooperation between Egypt and China in the archaeological field.

Source: Ahram Online

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