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Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Working at the Great Pyramid Temple + Member Talk!



The Great Pyramid Temple conservation project begins!
Dr. Zahi Hawass has partnered with Dr. Mark Lehner and AERA to work together on the Great Pyramid Temple Project to improve the visitor experience at Giza, while also better protecting the archaeology.

For many years visitor traffic has cut through the remains of the Great Pyramid's temple, contributing to the erasure of this central focus of the Giza complex. We are working to conserve what remains of the temple and present it to visitors in a way that promotes understanding of the pyramid and its temple as a major hallmark of Egypt's ancient cultural heritage.

On September 16th, with all necessary safety procedures in place, we returned to the field to began the first phase of this important project -- cleaning and documenting the current state of the archaeology. The next stage will then be to build a protective stone wall, wooden walkways, a viewing platform, and signage for both the temple and surrounding boat pits.

In the photo to the right, the temple's unique black pavement of polygonal basalt slabs can be seen as we survey in front of the Great Pyramid. These slabs were sawed with copper blades and sand and placed together in jigsaw patterns with square sockets for the granite pillars that surrounded the temple's open court.

We have made some exciting finds working here that we look forward to sharing with you once fieldwork ends. Stay tuned for an update after the first phase of this project is completed later this year!

Funding for this project is being provided by ARCE's Antiquities Endowment Fund along with the support of AERA's members and donors.
AERA Member Talk: The People Who Built the Pyramids – How We Know
AERA members are invited to watch the online lecture "The People Who Built the Pyramids - How We Know" given by Dr. Mark Lehner and premiering on Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm ET. 


For the past thirty years, Dr. Mark Lehner has directed AERA's excavations at the Giza Pyramids Plateau. This project has revealed the settlements and everyday life of the people who built the pyramids, including their workshops, bakeries, barracks, and the houses of those who administered the pyramid projects. Dr. Lehner's talk will elaborate on recent discoveries, including the reconstruction of buried waterways and harbor basins that match information from the Wadi el-Jarf Papyri and Journal of Merer, the leader of a team who delivered stone for Khufu's Great Pyramid. Learn about the royal port and palace city sprawled below the Giza Pyramids and what we now know about the people who built the pyramids.

This lecture in honor of International Archaeology Day is co-hosted by the Department of Egyptian Art of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Archaeological Institute of America – New York Society, the American Research Center in Egypt, the American Research Center in Egypt, New York Chapter.
AERA members are invited to attend this online lecture and will be emailed a special invitation to watch. The lecture will be available for viewing from October 17th-19th.
Not an AERA member yet? Join now!
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Join AERA and help us explore further

Our members and donors support our excavations in Egypt, field school training, rescue archaeology, conservation, education and outreach. Members receive printed copies of AERAgrams and annual reports as soon as they are published. 
AERA is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, nonprofit organization. Your membership or donation is tax deductible.
Ancient Egypt Research Associates, Inc. | info@aeraweb.org | aeraweb.org


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