A grand museum displaying Egypt's ancient treasures is opening for a trial run | AP News

https://apnews.com/article/egypt-grand-egyptian-museum-antiquities-giza-pyramids-be3938b7d6ce96b1aa03693c0440a0f1

https://apnews.com/video/egypt-cairo-costa-rica-egypt-government-international-013f591d05e147338253d54a001c15d8

A grand museum displaying Egypt's ancient treasures is opening for a trial run

By  AHMED HATEM

Updated 5:46 PM PDT, October 15, 2024

CAIRO (AP) — The Grand Egyptian Museum will open 12 halls with exhibits about ancient Egypt in its main galleries starting this week in a trial run ahead of the still-unannounced official opening, officials said Tuesday

The museum, a mega-project near the famed Giza Pyramids which has cost well over $1 billion so far, will open the halls for 4,000 visitors per day starting Wednesday, said Al-Tayeb Abbas, assistant to the minister of antiquities.

The museum has been under construction for more than a decade, and an overall opening date has not yet been set, having been repeatedly delayed for various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Some sections have been open since 2022 for limited tours.

Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

More than 100,000 artifacts of Egypt's ancient treasures will be displayed in the world's largest archaeological museum, according to the Egyptian state information website.

Abbas told the AP that the trial run starting Wednesday would help prepare for the full opening by identifying operational issues, including which parts of the museum might become overcrowded.

Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

The displays across the 12 halls tap into issues related to society, religion, and doctrine in ancient Egypt, he added. The open-style halls have been classified by dynasty and historical order, and will showcase thousands of artifacts.

Eras that will be exhibited in the main galleries include the Third Intermediate Period (about 1070-664 B.C.), Late Period (664-332 B.C.), Graeco-Roman Period (332 B.C.-395 A.D.), New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.), Middle Kingdom (2030-1650 B.C.), and Old Kingdom (2649-2130 B.C.). One of the halls displays statues of "Elite of the King," members of the royal family and high-ranking officials who worked in the army, priesthood, and the government.

Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

Limited tours have been allowed in parts of the site since late 2022 to test visitors' experience and the museum's operational preparedness.

Aude Porcedde, a Canadian tourist who visited several sections, told the AP she was amazed by the museum, adding that Egyptian civilization is important for her and for the world to know more about.

"There is a lot of history and a lot of things we are not aware of, especially coming from the other side of the world, and seeing everything here and learning from the locals has been great," said Costa Rican tourist Jorge Licano.

King Ramses II statue is displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

The grand staircase, six stories high and with a view of the pyramids, and the commercial area are open to the public, showcasing monuments and artifacts that include sarcophagi and statues. Other parts of the museum, including the King Tutankhamun treasure collection, are set to open at later dates.

All halls are equipped with advanced technology and feature multimedia presentations to explain the lives of the ancient Egyptians, including its kings, according to Eissa Zidan, director-general of preliminary restoration and antiquities transfer at the museum.

One of the halls will use virtual reality to explain the history of burial and its development throughout ancient Egypt.

"The museum is not only a place to display antiquities, but it also aims to attract children to learn about ancient Egyptian history ... The museum is a gift to all the world," Zidan told the AP.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northern California Egyptology Lecture Nov. 17 - Archives in the Crocodile: The Tebtunis Crocodile Papyri

The American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California chapter, and the UC Berkeley Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures invite you to attend a lecture by Leah Packard-Grams, UC Berkeley: Archives in the Crocodile: The Tebtunis Crocodile Papyri As the Missing Link between Ptolemaic and Roman Notarial Practices Sunday November 17, 2024, 3 PM  Pacific Standard Time Room 56 Social Sciences Building, UC Berkeley This in-person lecture will not be virtual or recorded.  No registration is required for the lecture. About the Lecture: One of the most important finds of Egyptian papyri was discovered entirely by accident. An Egyptian workman (whose name the excavators do not report) broke open a crocodile mummy he had found while digging, and beneath the linen mummy bandages were hidden papyrus archives that reveal the history of the "lost century" of ancient Egypt. The documents found stashed inside the 36 votive crocodile mummies at the site of Tebtunis are everyday papers, but their value and uniqueness is hard to overstate: The texts are from the 1st century BCE, a time when Egypt's documentary record plummets. In this century, Egypt was in its last decades of native rule under Cleopatra's father Ptolemy XII, and the Roman Republic was peering at the bounty of Egypt with an eye toward conquest. The archives in the Tebtunis crocodiles show a glimpse of everyday life in this period of uncertainty, offering insights into the economic conditions and state-mandated notary practices of the lost century of Egypt's history. These crocodile papyri have never been examined in a holistic way that considers their archaeological assemblage of votive artifacts, the full extent of the subarchives, or the importance of the crocodile temples to the documents themselves. This is precisely what this project proposes to remedy.  About the Speaker: Leah Packard-Grams an interdisciplinary ancient historian, papyrologist, and archaeologist in UC Berkeley's interdisciplinary program (AHMA) currently writing her dissertation on the topic of today's lecture. Her primary interests include Greek and Demotic papyrology, the archaeology of Greco-Roman Egypt, and the materiality of ancient textual artifacts. She is part of two excavations in Egypt (El Hibeh with UC Berkeley + Amheida with NYU). She is passionate about diversifying the field of ancient history to include those accounts of people who have been historically marginalized, and strives to bridge the disciplinary divides that artificially separate archaeology, papyrology, and Egyptology. ----------------------------- Parking is available in UC lots all day on weekends, for a fee. Ticket dispensing machines accept debit or credit cards. Parking is available in lots around the Social Sciences Building, and in lots along Bancroft. A map of the campus is available online at http://www.berkeley.edu/map/ . About ARCE-NC: For more information, please visit https://www.youtube.com/@NorthernCaliforniaARCE, https://facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaARCE/, https://twitter.com/ARCENCPostings, and https://khentiamentiu.org. To join the chapter or renew your membership, please go to https://arce.org/join-arce/ and select "Berkeley, CA" as your chapter when you sign up.