Short Story: Fox Grotto Reopens

The Fox Grotto Museum near Marsa Matrouh has been officially reopened after seven years of closure. Nevine El-Aref attended the ceremony.

On Egypt’s Mediterranean coast near the town of Marsa Matrouh stands the Fox Grotto Museum welcoming visitors and summer holidaymakers. After seven years of closure for restoration and development, the museum, the place where German army field-marshal Erwin Rommel, the so-called “Desert Fox,” hid in the area’s cliffs and planned German military operations against the British during World War II, was finally reopened by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and Matrouh governor Alaa Abu-Zeid this week.

Rommel was one of Germany’s leading field commanders in World War II, and he was famous for his courage, determination and leadership. He fought the 12-day Battle of Alamein against the British from 23 October 1942, only to retreat on 4 November in the face of an onslaught by British troops. According to a plaque at the Cave Museum, Rommel died in October 1944, having been accused of plotting against the life of German dictator Adolf Hitler and given the choice of either standing trial or quietly committing suicide to ensure the safety of his family. Rommel chose the latter course, and his death was announced as having been due to a heart attack.

The cave is located in front of Rommel Beach in Marsa Matrouh, and it was originally cut out of the rocky cliffs during the Roman period as a storage space due to its position near an ancient seaport. When the German troops entered Al-Alamein, Rommel selected the cave as his headquarters because it was hidden in the cliffs overlooking the harbour. In 1977, the idea of transforming the cave into a museum was launched as a way of paying tribute to Rommel’s career. However, the plan was not put into effect until 1988, when it was opened to the public in order to display a collection of Rommel’s personal possessions, many of them donated by his son Manfred, as well as weapons, shells and military equipment used during World War II.

The museum is not like any other in Egypt, as it is cave-shaped with showcases installed within its walls. Some artefacts are exhibited freely on the rocks. It contains Rommel’s full-length leather coat, clothes trunk, photographs, field telephone, compass, military attire, maps he drew himself, battle plans and medals he received. Copies of a newspaper produced by Rommel’s troops in Africa during the war called Al-Waha (Oasis) are also on display, as well as boxes housing the files of German soldiers from the time.

“The reopening of the Cave Museum highlights the aim of the Ministry of Antiquities to promote tourism through opening new attractions as well as increasing archaeological awareness among people in general,” El-Enany told the Al-Ahram Weekly. He described the development of the museum as “a positive example of collaboration between the ministry and the governorate.” The Matrouh governorate had allocated a budget of LE2.5 million to restore the cave.... READ MORE.

Source: Al-Ahram Weekly

New Discovery, Luxor: Amun-Re Goldsmith Tomb Uncovered in Draa Abul Naga Necropolis on Luxor's West Bank

The tomb was discovered along with a number of others by an Egyptian archaeological mission led by Mostafa Waziri. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities on 

September 9, 2017 AFP 

In a gala ceremony held in Draa Abul-Naga necropolis on Luxor's West Bank on Saturday, Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany announced the discovery of an 18th Dynasty tomb of god Amun-Re’s goldsmith, Amenemhat (Kampp 390), and a Middle Kingdom burial shaft for a family. Luxor Governor Mohamed Badr attended the ceremony as well as members of parliament, the Greek and Cypriot ambassadors to Egypt, as well as China's cultural attaché and the Swiss head of mission.

The discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission led by Mostafa Waziri. The newly discovered tomb includes an entrance located in the courtyard of another Middle Kingdom tomb, Kampp 150. 

The entrance leads to a squared chamber where a niche with a duo statue depicting the tomb owner and his wife is found on one end. The statue shows Amenemhat sitting on a high backed chair beside his wife who wears a long dress and wig.

Between their legs stands, on a smaller scale, a small figure of one of their sons. Waziri told Ahram Online that the tomb has two burial shafts: the main one for the tomb’s owner and his wife. It is seven metres deep and has a collection of mummies, sarcophagi and funerary masks carved in wood along with a collection of ushabti figurines. 

The second shaft was uncovered to the left of the tomb’s main chamber and bears a collection of 21st and 22nd dynasty sarcophagi subject to deterioration during the Late Period.

In the open courtyard, the mission stumbled upon a collection of Middle Kingdom burial shafts, where a family burial of a woman and her two children was unearthed. It includes of two wooden coffins with mummies and a collection of head-rests.

Osteologist Sherine Ahmed Shawqi, who studied the mummies’ bones, explains that early studies on these mummies show that the woman died at the age of 50 and that during her life she was suffering from cavities that led to abscesses in her jaw and a bacterial disease in her bones. "This woman probably cried extensively as the size of her carbuncular are abnormally enlarged," Shawqi said, adding that inside the coffin the head-rest of the deceased woman was found as well as a group of pottery vessels.

Studies on the mummies of her two children show that they were two adult males of age ranging between 20 to 30 years old. Both mummies are in a very good state of conservation with the bones still having mummification liquids.

Waziri asserted that one of the male mummies shows that he was suffering from cavities during his life while the second shows that it was probably put later in the same coffin because the bones were bare. 

Archaeologist Mohamed Baabash, who is a member of the excavation team, said that during excavations the mission stumbled upon several funerary objects, some of which belong to the tomb owner.

Among the discovered artifacts are limestone remains of an offering table; four wooden sarcophagi partly damaged and decorated with hieroglyphic text and scenes of different ancient Egyptian deities; and a sandstone duo statue of a trader in King Tuthmose III’s temple named “Mah.” 

A collection of 150 ushabti figurines carved in faience, wood, burned clay, limestone and mud brick was also unearthed. The mission also unearthed a collection of 50 funerary cones, 40 of which are evidence of the presence of other tombs belonging to four officials.

The exact location of the latter has not been yet found. These officials are Maati, Bengy, Rourou and vizier Ptahmes. The other stamps belong to Neb-Amun, the grain harvester and supervisor of Amun's grain storehouses, whose tomb is probably TT145, and Nebsenu, the high priest of Amun whose tomb is probably Kampp 143.

Source: Ahram Online

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Short Story: Documenting The Palace

The Palace of Prince Omar Tosson in Cairo’s Road Al-Farag district is to be documented for the first time, reports Nevine El-Aref.

In the Road Al-Farag district in Cairo stands the 19th-century Prince Omar Tosson Palace, its architecture largely hidden behind four modern school edifices.

The palace was nationalised after the 1952 Revolution like other former royal palaces and buildings in Egypt, and it was converted into a secondary school. Subsequently it was badly neglected.

The palace was originally built after 1886 and comprises a basement and two upper floors. The basement has a long corridor leading to the Nile Corniche where a yacht was once docked to transport the prince on his journeys outside Cairo.

The first floor has a main hall with several chambers to host visitors, a library, dining rooms, bathrooms, kitchens and rooms for servants. The second floor houses the private rooms of the prince’s family and a special wing for him with separate bathrooms and side rooms.

The palace has two gardens, the first outdoors and the second indoors as a small winter garden. There is a small extension building once used for storage. The ceilings of the rooms in the palace are particularly distinguished, being carved in wood and bearing gilded decorative elements.

The palace was registered on Egypt’s Heritage List of Islamic and Coptic Antiquities in 1984, but it was still badly neglected. Several restoration projects were drawn up, but none was implemented.

However, all this is in the past, as today steps towards the palace’s restoration are being taken by the Ministry of Antiquities and Cairo University’s Construction Engineering Technology Laboratory.

Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, director of the Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the palace project aimed to document it using the latest technology and 3D laser scanning to analyse the architectural and decorative elements of the palace as well as its environment... READ MORE.

Source: Al-Ahram Weekly

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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Re-Opening Museum, Marsa Matrouh: Rommel's Cave Museum in Egypt to Be Re-Opened Friday After Years of Restoration

The cave in Matrouh was used by Axis general Erwin Rommel during World War II as a makeshift base. Written Nevine El-Aref.

Rommel’s Cave Museum in Egypt's Matrouh will be re-inaugurated on Friday after being closed for seven years for restoration and development.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and Governor of Matrouh Major General Alaa Abu Zeid will reopen the site, which was used by Axis general Erwin Rommel during World War II as a makeshift base.

The restoration and development of the cave was carried out by the antiquities ministry in collaboration with Matrouh governorate.

“I really appreciates the collaboration as the governorate has provided the required budget to restore the museum, as well as offering the ministry a part of Misr Public Library to establish another museum for antiquities that would relate the history of Matrouh through displaying all the artefacts found within its sands,” El-Enany told Ahram Online.

He added that the library museum is scheduled to be inaugurated before the end of 2017.

El-Enany pointed out that the opening of Rommel’s Cave Museum highlights the aim of the ministry to promote tourism to Egypt through opening new attractions as well as increasing archaeological awareness among Egyptians in general.

There are also plans to implement evening opening hours at the site.

Elham Salah, head of the ministry’s Museums Department, told Ahram Online that Rommel’s Cave Museum contains a collection of weapons, shells and military equipment used during World War II, as well as military attire, maps showing battle plans, copies of a newspaper produced by Rommel’s troops in Africa during the war, and files on German soldiers.

She explains that the museum was closed for restoration and development in 2010, and early this year the ministry resumed restoration work at the cave. The conservation of its artefacts was carried out by a team of skilful restorers led by Sameh El-Masry.

Salah pointed out that the development work included changing the museum displays and installing new lighting and security systems.

“Rommel’s Cave is one of the area’sA natural caves in the rocky cliff, which has existed since Roman times, and has an entrance and exit on the Mediterranean,” Salah told Ahram Online.

In 1977, she said, the idea of transforming the cave into a museum was launched as a way of paying tribute to Rommel’s career. However, the plan was not put into effect until 1988, when it was opened to the public in order to display a collection of Rommel’s personal possessions, many of them donated by his son Manfred, as well as weapons, shells and military equipment used during World War II.

Source: Ahram Online

Find More About Re-Opening Sites in Egypt  Click Here 

New Discovery, Western Desert: New Roman Tombs Discovered in Egypt's Dakhla Oasis

The Funerary Mask & One Of The Discovered Ostraca

Five mud-brick tombs uncovered in Beir Al-Shaghala necropolis in the Western Desert. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

An Egyptian archaeological mission from the Ministry of Antiquities has uncovered five Roman tombs during excavation works carried out in Beir Al-Shaghala site in Dakhla Oasis in Egypt's Western Desert.

Ayma Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department, explained that the tombs are built in mud brick and have different architectural style.

The first tomb has an entrance leading to a rectangular hall with two burial chambers while the second has a vaulted ceiling and its entrance leads to a burial chamber.

The third tomb is a pyramid-shaped tomb. The mission has succeeded in uncovering its upper part while the lower part is still buried in sand. 

The fourth and fifth tombs share one entrance and each tomb has a separate burial chamber with a vaulted ceiling. Ashmawy pointed out that the mission's excavations in the area will continue.

Bei'r Al-Shaghala Necropolis, Some Of The Clay Pots Discovered,
The Tomb With Vaulted Ceiling & The Tomb With Pyramid Shaped End

Gamal Al-Semestawi, general director of antiquities of the Middle Egypt, said that a number of artifacts were found inside the tombs, including the remains of a funerary mask depicting a human face painted in yellow, a set of pottery vessels of different shapes and sizes, as well as two ostraca, one of which contains hieroglyphic text while the second bears text written in Hieratic.

A clay incense burner and remains of a small sandstone sphinx, 14 centimetres by 12.7 centimetres tall, have also been found within the tombs.

Magdi Ibrahim, director general of Dakhla Oasis and head of the mission, said the mission succeeded in its six previous excavation seasons to discover eight Roman tombs in a good state of conservation and with similar architectural design. They are composed of a rectangular hall and two side chambers with sandstone vaulted ceilings. The hall has a mud brick ceiling.

Al-Shaghala area is located to the west of Mout city almost 3 kilometres from Dakhla Oasis in a mid-point between three other archaeological sites.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Egyptian Antiquities Ministry Inspects Khufu's Boat After Accident Causes 'Mild' Damage To Beam

The accident occurred at the site where the ancient boat is being removed from its burial pit. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref. 

The crane used in lifting up the beams from the pit

A team of archaeologists and restorers were dispatched on Monday to the Giza Plateau to inspect work achieved at Khufu’s second boat project, and to investigate the condition of a damaged beam.

Since 2010, a Japanese-Egyptian team has been working to lift, restore and reconstruct the ancient boat, 4,500 years after it was buried as part of King Khufu's funeral rites. So far, 745 pieces of the 1,264 pieces of the whole boat have been removed from the excavation pit.

Ayman Ashmawi, the head of the Ancient Egyptian Department at the Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the boat beam was damaged by accident when a crane malfunctioned, leading it to come into direct contact with a beam within the pit.

the crane lifting up a beam inside the pit

"A very small part of the beam was subjected to a very mild deterioration which does not have any impact on the beam itself and could be easily restored during the restoration work carried out by the efficient and skillful Japanese-Egyptian team," Ashmawi asserted, adding that his observation and the team escorted him during his inspection tour confirm the report submitted by the project team.

Ashmawi told Ahram Online that a committee from the Projects Department at the ministry is to be assigned to re-inspect the beam in order to make another report. He also said that the whole case is now under an administrative investigation in order to find out if there was any employee failure related to the incident.

Eissa Zidan, director-general of first aid restoration at the project, explained that the pit houses around 1,264 wooden beams in 13 different layers. The majority of the beams are in a very bad conservation condition while a minority are almost fully decomposed.

A total of 732 excavated pieces have so far been restored, Zidan said, and a collection of 560 pieces have been transported to the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking Giza plateau.

There are plans to lift and restore all the beams in an attempt to reconstruct the boat and put it on display beside the first boat discovered in 1954 by Egyptian historian Kamal El-Malakh and restored by well-known restorer Ahmed Youssef.

Source: Ahram Online

• About King Khufu Second Solar Boat … CLICK HERE