News, Giza: Japanese Development Agency Official Inspects Restoration Work on Khufu’s Second Solar Boat

JICA's Miyahara Chie paid a visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum's conservation laboratories and got an update on restoration work partly funded by the Japanese government. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

JICA's Miyahara Chie observes restoration work conducted 

on King Khufu’s second solar boat

A senior official from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) took a tour of conservation facilities at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) on Sunday afternoon, observing restoration work being conducted on King Khufu’s second solar boat.

Miyahara Chie, the deputy director-general of JICA's Middle East and Europe Department, visited the GEM's conservation laboratories and was updated on work to restore the ancient wooden boat, a project that is partly funded by the Japanese government.

Eissa Zidan, supervisor-general of boat restoration work, told Ahram Online that Chie was very enthusiastic about the restoration project and hopes to see the craft reassembled and put on display at the GEM soon.

Two boats belonging to Pharaoh Khufu were discovered inside two pits in 1954 as Egyptian archaeologists Kamal El-Mallakh and Zaki Nour were carrying out routine cleaning on the southern side of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

After its initial discovery, the first boat was removed piece by piece under the supervision of restoration expert Ahmed Youssef, who spent more than 20 years restoring and reassembling it. The boat is now on display at Khufu’s Solar Boat Museum on the Giza Plateau.

The second boat remained sealed in the neighbouring pit until 1987 when it was examined by the American National Geographic Society in association with the Egyptian Office for Historical Monuments.

In 2009, a Japanese scientific and archaeological team from Waseda University headed by Sakuji Yoshimura offered to remove the boat from the pit, restore and reassemble it, and put it on show to the public. The launch of the project involved a $10 million grant from the Japanese government.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Colossal Ramses II Statue Arrives at New Display at The Grand Egyptian Museum

The colossal statue of the pharaoh arrived at its new resting place to the sounds of the national anthem. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The 3,200-year-old colossal statue of King Ramses II is seen during its transfer
to the main entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo's twin city Giza
on January 25, 2018.

The colossus of Ramses II arrived safely at its new display area in the atrium of the Grand Egyptian Museum on Thursday, in preparation for the museum’s soft opening later this year. The statue had been being stored in another part of the GEM, and the 400-metre journey to its permanent resting place was marked with ceremony. Senior officials were in attendance, and the statue was preceded on its jourey by 11 Egyptian horsemen in ceremonial military dress. As it reached its final location, the national anthem was played.

Thursday’s trip was the fourth time that the colossus of the great king, who ruled from 1279–1213 BC, has been moved.  The first trip took place 3,000 years ago; the statue was carved in an Aswan quarry and then taken to Mit Rahina archaeological site in the Memphis necropolis, to be displayed as part of the façade of Ptah’s temple. In 1955, president Gamal Abdel-Nasser decided to move the statue to Bab Al-Hadid (now Ramses Square) in Cairo, as part of an initiative launched by the minister of governmental affairs, Abdel-Latif El-Boghdadi, to beautify the streets and squares of Cairo. The third relocation was in 2006 when former minister of culture, Farouk Hosni, decided to move the statue from Ramses Square to the headquarters of the GEM to protect it from pollution. 

The relocation process was carried out in collaboration with the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces and the Arab Contractors Company, which was responsible for the previous move in 2006.  Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany said that over the past three months the statue has been intensively studied to assess its condition before transportation. Safeguarding procedures have been put in place, and the foam rubber covering the statue has been replaced with stronger material and weak points consolidated.

Statue of Ramses II uncovered in Memphis by Joseph Hekekyan, 1852-1854

El-Enany added that the whole process has cost about EGP 13.6 million, including packing and unpacking the statue and preparing the road. Mohsen Salah, chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, told Ahram Online before the move that the statue would be transported in at iron cage, wherein it would be hung like a pendulum to allow it to move freely during the 400-metre journey. Tarek Tawfik, supervisor general of the Grand Egyptian Museum, said that the museum is expected to be fully open totally in 2022, but its soft opening will be at the end of this year.

The museum, located on the Giza Plateau, will feature an atrium, a grand staircase, and the Tutankhamun hall. The golden king’s whole collection will by put on show for the first time; it includes 5,200 artifacts. The partially broken colossus of Ramses II was discovered at Mit Rahina archaeological site in 1820 by the Italian adventurer Giovanni Caviglia, along with another similar one that remains on site. Caviglia tried to move it to Italy but he was unable to because of its 83-tonne weight. Mohamed Ali decided to offer the statue to the British Museum in London but the offer failed for the same reason. The statue stood in its place at Mit Rahina until it was eventually transferred to Ramses Square.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Luxor: Searching for The Tomb of Tutankhamun's Wife Ankhesenamun

A team of archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass may be closing in on the resting place of the boy king's wife. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

An Egyptian archaeological mission led by renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass began excavation work in the Valley of the Monkeys, a section of the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s west bank, to search for an 18th Dynasty tomb “probably” of the wife of the boy king Tutankhamun, Ankhesenamun.

Mostafa Wazir, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities told Ahram Online that the team is working in the area near the tomb of king Ay, the successor of king Tutankhamun, in search of a yet unidentified 18th Dynasty tomb. He pointed out that in 2010 the team uncovered in this area four foundation deposits which suggest the existence of a tomb. According to ancient Egyptian traditions, he asserted, such deposits have to be dug after the completion of any tomb but digging deposits before the construction of any temple.

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass told Ahram Online that in 2010 the team has unearthed inside these deposits a collection of knives and clay pots from the reign of king Amenhotep III, the father of the monotheistic king Akhenatun and the grandfather of the golden king Tutankhamun. “This suggests that the tomb could belong to one of Tutankhamun’s family members, probably his wife Ankhesenamun,” Hawass told Ahram Online. He added that radar survey carried out earlier has detected the existence of an anomaly five meters below the ground level. Some suggest that it could be the entrance of a tomb.

"Until excavations were conducted, archaeologists couldn't be certain of the tomb's existence. And if so we do not know for sure to whom it belongs," Hawass said, adding that "it could be anything, until we excavate." Ankhesenamun was the wife of Tutankhamun but married Ay not long after Tutankhamun’s death. Due to the location of the evidence, Hawass and his team think that any undiscovered tomb may belong to her. The Valley of the Monkeys, also known as the Western Valley, earned its name from local inhabitants because of the walls paintings which king Ay’s tomb, which depict 12 monkeys.

Source: Ahram Online

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New Discovery, Al-Alamein: 1st Century Tomb Discovered in Northern Egypt's Al-Alamein

An Egyptian archaeological mission working at an archaeological site in Al-Alamein on the northern coast has discovered a rock-hewn tomb that dates to the first and second centuries AD. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The discovery was made during an archaeological survey carried out ahead of infrastructure work in New Alamein City.

Naema Sanad, director-general of the Marina archaeological site and head of the mission, told Ahram Online that the tomb contains of a staircase engraved in rock that leads to the main chamber of the tomb, whose walls hold a number of burial holes called “Locauli.”

Sanad says that the southern wall of the tomb is adorned with a Greek religious and artistic decoration called the “welfare horn,” which depicts a horn with a basin decorated with flowers and tree leaves. To the right of the tomb’s entrance is another chamber that was added during a later period.

Eman Abdel-Khaleq, senior inspector of the site, pointed out that the mission has discovered many artefacts in the tomb, including a collection of coins dating to the period when the tomb was built in addition to many pottery vessels and two lamps.

Source: Ahram Online

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Short Story: Living Through The Past

The values that built Egypt’s ancient civilisation are still very much in evidence today, writes Hussein Bassir.

Civilisation began in Egypt’s Nile Valley and Delta. The ancient Egyptians, the builders of this unique civilisation, were distinguished for their skill, perseverance, calmness, forbearance, faith and tolerance.

Egypt is also a meeting place for civilisations, a crucible for cultural exchange, and an object of desire for invaders throughout its long history. The names given to the land have been numerous. The name Egypt comes from the ancient term Hutkaptah, meaning “temple of the soul of Ptah”, the god of the ancient capital Memphis. The ancient Egyptians belonged to both the Semitic and Hamitic peoples.

The written story of Egypt begins around 3000 BC. When the legendary king Menes unified Upper Egypt (the south) and Lower Egypt (the Delta) and established a centralised state around 3000 BC, values and standards were introduced that still govern the state of Egypt today.

Egypt then entered the period of the Old Kingdom, the age of the Pyramids, which lasted from 2686 to 2160 BC. During this time, the Egyptians built the Pyramids at Giza and Saqqara, and carved the statue of the Great Sphinx on the Giza Plateau, which represented the Pharaoh Khafre, builder of the Second Pyramid at Giza. These magnificent monuments bear witness to the archaeological, engineering, astronomical and administrative skills of the ancient Egyptians.

After this golden age, Egypt entered a period of decline, before emerging as a powerful force in the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC), the age of Egyptian classical literature. Following this second golden age, the country embarked on the most difficult period in its ancient history, namely the occupation by foreign tribes known as Hyksos, meaning “rulers of foreign lands”.

These crept over the country’s eastern borders and took control of large parts of the land when the Egyptian state was weak. After a long and bitter struggle, the Upper Egyptian Pharaoh Ahmose I (1550-1525 BC) managed to expel the Hyksos from Egypt by driving them into neighbouring Palestine. The New Kingdom, the final golden age of ancient Egypt, was now established.

Egypt adopted a new foreign policy based on expansion and foreign conquest and brought numerous other powers under its control. This period, which lasted until 1069 BC, is known as the age of empire. Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) is considered the founder of the Egyptian Empire in Asia and Africa, while other famous Pharaohs of this age include Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Seti I, Ramses II and Ramses III….. READ MORE. 

Source: Al-Ahram Weekly

Re-Opening, Cairo: Egyptian Monuments Reopen

Three Mameluke monuments in Islamic Cairo are to be reopened to the public after restoration. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref. 

Three Mameluke-period monuments, the Al-Muayyedi Bimaristan, the Tekkeyet Al-Bustami and the Darb Al-Laban Gate in Islamic Cairo are to be reopened to the public next week after restoration work.

A Bimaristan is a Mameluke hospital, while a tekkeya is a Sufi charitable building. The buildings have been shrouded in scaffolding for the past three years as restoration work continues, with it being slated to finally come off next week.

The monuments, like others in heavily populated areas, were suffering from environmental dangers, including air pollution, high subsoil water levels, high levels of humidity, water leakage, the effects of a decayed sewerage system installed 100 years ago, and the adverse effects of the 1992 earthquake that increased the number of cracks in their walls, leading in some cases to partial collapse. 

“One of the most serious causes of the damage to the buildings has been encroachment from the monuments’ neighbours who used the tekkeya for example as a residential building and the bimaristan as a garbage dump,” Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, director of the Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project that supervised the work, told Al-Ahram Weekly.

He said the walls of the three monuments had cracked and partly collapsed, masonry was damaged, and the condition of the ceilings was critical. Decorations were heavily damaged and several parts were missing, while most of the flooring was broken.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany said the restoration had been carried out according to the latest scientific methods. “Every effort was made to ensure that all the original architectural features were retained,” he said, adding that the restoration of the buildings had had important advantages in that individual monuments were being preserved for future generations and the entire neighbourhood was being revived and upgraded.

Abdel-Aziz said that the aim of the restoration was mainly to strengthen and consolidate the monuments and protect them from future damage. The walls were reinforced, cracks were treated, façades were consolidated, missing and decayed stones were replaced, and masonry was cleaned and desalinated. Tilted pillars and walls were readjusted to their original positions, broken woodwork was re-installed and missing parts were replaced with others of the same shape, size and material.

The ceilings were consolidated and insulated with special material to prevent the leakage of rainwater into the monuments. A special system was also designed to accumulate rainwater in one place and feed it into the main sewage system.

The areas surrounding the three monuments were cleaned, restored and upgraded in order to be venues hosting cultural events as well as for holding workshops to raise the cultural awareness of their inhabitants.

The Al-Muayyedi Bimaristan was built by one of the most important Circassian Mameluke sultans to rule Egypt, Al-Muayyad Sheikh Al-Mahmoudi, who reigned between 1418 and 1420 CE. The Bimaristan is the second public hospital still remaining from the period after that of the Mameluke sultan Qalawun built in 1284 in Al-Muizz Street in Islamic Cairo…. READ MORE.

Source: Ahram Online

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New Discovery, Sharqiya: Ramses II Stelae Uncovered at San Al-Hagar Site

The newly discovered stelae

San Al-Hagar is a very distinguished archaeological site houses a vast collection of temples, among them temples dedicated to the goddess Mut, god Horus and god Amun. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

During work carried out at San Al-Hagar archaeological site in Sharqiya governorate with a view to develop the site into an open-air museum, archaeologists stumbled upon a stelae of 19th Dynasty King Ramses II.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the stelae is carved in red granite and depicts King Ramses II presenting offerings to a yet unidentified ancient Egyptian deity. 

Part of the development work & Waziri examining the stelae

He said that although several foreign missions have worked on the site, it has never been completely excavated and was neglected.

“This discovery encourages the Ministry of Antiquities to start a comprehensive development project at the site in order to rescue its monuments and transform it into an open-air museum,” Waziri added.

San Al-Hagar is a very distinguished archaeological site houses a vast collection of temples, among them temples dedicated to the goddess Mut, god Horus and god Amun. Several foreign missions, among them a French mission, have worked on the site since the mid-19th century.

Waadalla Abul Ela, head of the ministry's projects sector, explained that a project started a month ago aims to create a collection of concrete mastaba for the monumental blocks, statues and stelae that were laying on the floor of the temple.

 Source: Ahram Online 

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