2024-03-07 18:32:00
08:32 PM Thursday 07 March 2024
Books – Muhammad Shaker:
Informed sources at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities revealed to Masrawy that Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, will leave his position next Sunday, to assume an important cultural position in the New Administrative Capital, with Dr. Mohamed Ismail assuming the position of Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The sources confirmed that Dr. Waziri collected his belongings from the Supreme Council of Antiquities and was preparing to leave, following the repercussions of the crisis of restoring the Small Pyramid, known in the media as “tiling the pyramid of Menkaure.”
In the same context, Dr. Zahi Hawass, the former Minister of Antiquities, published a tweet on his official account on the “X” website, in which he said: “Wait for Dr. Mustafa Waziri to receive an upcoming promotion!”
The sources confirmed that this crisis, which ended with a decisive decision by the Supreme Scientific Committee, which was formed by the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa, to reject the project completely, will have major repercussions on the functional structure of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, after the crisis topped the search engines on social media sites. It also preoccupied archaeological public opinion worldwide.
The sources expected that there will be decisions taken in this regard that will be announced in the coming days, and that they will be a big surprise, given the selection of leaders from outside the Fund and outside of expectations.
This comes at a time when Masrawy learned that this news had spread among the workers, and they demanded that the changes be extended to many of the leaders in a large number of important archaeological areas who had remained in their positions for more than five years, so that the blood of the ministry would be completely changed. Good and until it benefits from new experiences that have the ability to make decisions that keep pace with modern changes and the current stage.
Ahmed Issa, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, received the report prepared by the Supreme Scientific Committee formed under the chairmanship of archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities Dr. Zahi Hawass, and the membership of six senior scientists and experts specialized in the fields of archeology and engineering, Egyptians and foreigners from the United States of America, the Czech Republic, and Germany, to review. The joint project between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Japanese Waseda University delegation, presented to conduct architectural restoration work for the Pyramid of Menkaure in the pyramid’s antiquities area.
The committee, with all its members, agreed not to approve the reassembly of any of the granite blocks around the body of the Menkaure Pyramid, and the necessity of preserving the current condition of the pyramid without any additions due to its exceptional global archaeological value. The shape of the original covering of the pyramid can be inferred from the courses (rows). The seven currently located on the body of the pyramid have been around for thousands of years.
The committee stressed that it is impossible to confirm the original and exact location of any of these granite blocks on the body of the pyramid, and that returning them will cover the existing evidence of the ways and how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids.
According to the report, the committee expressed its initial approval to carry out archaeological excavations to search for the boat pits of the Menkaure Pyramid (such as those located next to the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre), provided that there are clear and detailed scientific reasons that are presented in a study that is presented to the Supreme Scientific Committee before starting these excavations. And the work should not be limited to the idea of searching for boat holes or boats only.
The committee also supported the archaeological scientific project submitted to study and survey the Pyramid of Menkaure and organize the granite blocks that make up the outer covering that fell from it, and carry out excavation work to uncover the rest of these blocks with inclined angles around the pyramid, in addition to cleaning and organizing the site for visits, stressing that it will not start or carry out any work. Scientific or archaeological matters in this project except after the project manager submits a comprehensive, detailed proposal for the project that includes a comprehensive scientific work plan, for discussion by the committee, which in turn will submit a scientific report to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities for coordination with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and for presentation to the Permanent Committee. for Egyptian antiquities.
The committee stressed the need for the work plan for this project that will be presented to include the time period for implementing the project, and the names of the archaeological members of the work team who must have experience in the field of recording, archaeological excavation, and studying the layers of the earth, in addition to the need for the work team to include an engineer with experience in The field of cultural heritage and restoration, and an architect with experience in architecture, noting the need for the project manager to devote himself full time to implementing this archaeological scientific project.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Scientific Committee was formed last week in accordance with the ministerial decision issued by the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, headed by Dr. Zahi Hawass, archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities, and membership of Dr. Mamdouh El-Damaty, former Minister of Antiquities and supervisor of the Department of Archeology and Excavation Sciences at the Faculty of Archeology, Ain Shams University, and Dr. Hani Helal, former Minister of Education and Professor of Engineering at Cairo University, Dr. Mostafa Al-Ghamrawi, former Head of the Structural Engineering Department at Cairo University, Dr. Mark Lehner, archaeologist and head of the Society for Research in Ancient Egypt, Dr. Miroslav Barta, archaeologist and Director of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, and Dr. Dietrich Rau, Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo. .
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