Development works in Alexandria’s Greco-Roman Museum almost complete

CAIRO – 28 June 2022: The Egyptian state, represented by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, is working on developing a number of archaeological museums in terms of updating lighting systems and implementing a new display scenario.

Recently, 22 halls were completed in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, out of a total of 100 halls.

The Greco-Roman Museum is one of the most important landmarks of the city of Alexandria. It was officially opened in 1892 during the reign of Khedive Abbas Helmy II. The museum was built to preserve the antiquities discovered in Alexandria.

The museum initially included 11 halls, and other halls were added along the years. After the development that took place in 1984, the number of halls increased to reach 27, in addition to the museum garden, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Most of the museum's holdings date back to the period between the third century BC and the third century AD. This includes the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, as well as the Coptic era.

The museum continued to perform its scientific, cultural and educational mission for Egyptian and foreign visitors until the decision of the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities was issued in 2005 to close the museum for development.

As per the decision, preparing the museum’s inventory and documenting all the museum’s holdings started. Antiquities needing restoration were filtered out to be restored before being transported to the museum stores. Two sets of pieces were loaned to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Archeology Museum and the Alexandria National Museum for temporary display.

The library of the Greco-Roman Museum is one of the most important libraries in Alexandria, with many rare books. It has been moved to a hall in the Naval Museum to be available to students. In September 2010, the original ceiling of the library was removed to create the second floor as planned by the new design of the building after development, but the work stopped after the January 2011 revolution.

However, after the June 30 revolution, work was resumed, and the museum is scheduled to open during the coming period. This creates a new attraction for tourism in the city. The development work included completing the various engineering works, and the preparation for the museum’s display scenario. The locations of the show-cases and the large-sized artifacts have been decided and the dimensions of their bases have been determined.

The museum has been equipped for individuals with special needs and facilitated tourism. The development work has extended to the area surrounding the museum, including squares, streets, buildings, lighting poles, and parking spaces for cars and tourist buses have been provided.

The museum will display some 20,000 artifacts dating back to the Greek and Roman eras. It is considered one of the most important and oldest tourist and archaeological landmarks specialized in the Greco-Roman civilization in the Mediterranean basin in Alexandria.