News, Giza: Red Granite Head of King Senusret I Arrives at the Grand Egyptian Museum

The head of a statue of King Senusret I arrived safely at the Grand Egyptian Museum for restoration. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) received a red granite head Friday from a statue of King Senusret I from the antiquities ministry storage galleries in the Cairo Citadel. The transportation came within the framework of the Ministry of Antiquities’ mission to prepare for the museum’s grand opening, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2019.

GEM’s general supervisor, Tarek Tawfik, explained that the head is carved from red granite and has the common artistic features found in pieces attributed to the Middle Kingdom. 

The head, which was discovered in 2005 in Souq Al-Khamis at the Matriya archaeological site in 2005 by an Egyptian-German mission, portrays the facial features of King Senusret I wearing a partial headdress.

The statue’s royal beard, which was discovered separated 10 metres away from the corresponding head in 2008, was also transported to the museum. The head, according to Ayman Ashmawy, the head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Section who discovered the artifact in 2005, measures 122 cm x 108cm x 75cm and weighs roughly two tons.

Eissa Zidan, general director of the First Aid Restoration Department at the GEM, said Friday that the restoration team and archaeologists used the latest technology in the packing and transportation of the head and beard, which required wooden beams to settle the objects onto a hydraulic crane for lifting.

The head and beard are now at the GEM conservation centre for restoration, study, examination, analysis and documentation, while a three-dimensional imaging technique will be used to illustrate the suggested methods to re-attach the head to the beard.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Luxor: Karnak Temple Walkways Renovated For The Handicapped

The Antiquities Ministry announced on Monday the paving, equipping, and renovation of walkways between Buildings 7 and 10 of the Karnak Temple complex, in order to accommodate the walking-impaired. 

The announcement came as part of a larger plan by the ministry to rehabilitate archaeological sites and open museums to better suit visitors with special needs.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa al-Waziry reported that these walkways will be built along the temple’s second axis. The project will also link the first and second axes of the southern sector with the side corridors next to the Holy Lake.

Waziry also announced that the restoration work of Akh-menu, built by King Thutmose III, is complete. The old work of the 1990s have been removed to make way for newer restoration methods. He added that the internal compartments of Khonsu Temple and the statues of King Seti II have also been renovated.

According to archeological officials, the renovation of walkways in Luxor sites is a part of a project sponsored by the Luxor Governate’s local authorities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Antiquities, to increase accessibility across the city.

Source: Egypt Independent

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New Discovery, Aswan: Oldest-Ever Ancient Egyptian Workshop Discovered in Aswan

An over 4,400-year-old pottery workshop has been discovered near Kom Ombo Temple in Aswan, Upper Egypt as maintenance work was being carried out to reduce the level of underground water beneath the temple. Written By/ Nevine El-Arwef.

The workshop, the oldest ancient Egyptian workshop ever discovered, dating back to the Fourth Dynasty (2,613 - 2,494 BC), was found in the area located between the Crocodile Museum and the Nile's shore.

The structure has semi-circular holes of different sizes and contains a collection of cylindrical stone blocks used to melt and mix clay.

A pottery manufacturing wheel and its limestone turntable were also discovered.

"The discovery is an important and rare one," Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online, adding that this is the oldest workshop ever found in the country.

Waziri explains that the discovery gives insight into the daily lives of ancient Egyptians as well as the development of pottery and industry throughout Egypt's different dynastic periods.

Waziri asserted that this is the first pottery manufacturing wheel to be found from the ancient Egyptian era, adding that several reliefs and paintings showing the development of pottery in ancient Egypt had been previously discovered.

Egyptologist Morslav Verner had discovered just the head of a pottery manufacturing wheel made of burned clay in a pottery workshop found at Queen Khentkawes II's temple in Abusir necropolis.

Source: Ahram Online

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