22 heavy artifacts placed on GEM’s grand staircase

CAIRO – 29 February 2020: Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism placed 22 heavy artefacts on the grand staircase of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the most important cultural projects that the entire world is highly anticipating. The speedy completion of the museum's construction and archaeological works comes among the priorities of the Egyptian state.

The state is doing everything it is capable of to meet the deadline previously set for the inauguration of the museum, which falls in the last quarter of 2020.

General Supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the surrounding area Atef Moftah previously said that the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum will be in the last quarter of 2020, where all the work will have been completed by the first quarter of 2020.

Moftah further explained that a museum with such details is like no other around the globe and consists architectural and archaeological structures, and very complex and interconnecting networks. Underneath the museum, there is a very complex web of networks, which was diligently installed using the latest scientific methods.

The general supervisor noted that it has been discussed with a number of companies to link the Pyramid’s archaeological area with the inaugural ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum. A special walkway of up to 2 km in length and 0.5 km in width will connect the museum to the Great Pyramids of Giza.

Moreover, the Shooting Club is currently being evacuated. Some 50 percent of the evacuation process has been completed; the club will be fully evacuated by March. A stage is being prepared to be installed in the club as part of the inaugural ceremony.

Coordination is taking place with the concerned authorities to link the Haram Plateau project and some important hotels to the site. Chairlifts will link 10 different areas together. Negotiations are currently being held with pioneering international companies in preparation for the widely anticipated historical event.
Over 1,000 employees at the Grand Egyptian Museum are being trained on mechanisms to deal with rains or fires.
Moftah previously announced that the museum has received a collection of 356 artifacts from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, among which 57 artifacts from the treasures of the Golden King Tutankhamun.

Director General of the Grand Egyptian Museum for Antiquities affairs Dr. Al-Tayeb Abbas, previously said that the one of the most important of these artifacts is a statue of god Ptah, whose weights range between 5 and 6 tons, which will be displayed on the grand staircase within another distinguished group of royal statues.

Among the transferred artifacts a pink granite statue of King Ramses II and a black granite statue of King Thutmose III in addition to a naos for King Nectanebo and a box of quartzite for preserving canopic pots from the collection of King Thutmose III.

Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities previously announced that about more than 90 percent of the Grand Egyptian Museum work was finalized.

The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the main events that Egypt and the whole world is waiting for in 2020.

More than 49,603 artifacts were moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum so far.





One of the most important transferred artifacts were the statues of King Ramses II, Sekhmet and Seti, in addition to a huge pink-granite portray of Ramses VI, and another distinguished set of statues that express the mastery of ancient Egyptian art.

Also a statue of King Khafra made of alabaster and a statue of the priest Kay made of colored limestone, depicting the priest sitting on a seat with a half backrest, beside his left foot is a small statue of his wife and a sarcophagus of king Senusert I was transferred to GEM.

On October 19 ministry of antiquities announced the discovery of the largest cache in the cemetery of El-Assasif by the Egyptian archaeological mission. A total of 30 coffins spanning back to the 22nd Pharaonic Dynasty were discovered and placed in a warehouse to protect them from thievery.

The 30 archaeological coffins have been transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The cache was buried one meter from the surface of the ground. The first row consisted of 18 coffins and the second consisted of 12 coffins for men, women, and 3 children.


For the first time GEM will display Tutankhmaum treasures in one place. The total number of antiquities belonging to King Tutankhamen is 5398. Among king Tut’s artefacts that were transferred is his coffin.

The transferred coffin is one of the three coffins of Tutankhmaum, portraying the golden king as God Osiris. The coffin was discovered in King Tut’s burial chamber in 1922. The outer ark is made of gilded wood.

The hands are clipped with gold foil, crossed across the chest, while holding royal decals inlaid with blue and red glass beads. It is 223.5 cm in length, 86.8 cm in diameter, while its height is 105.5 cm. The ark contains silver handles on both sides that were used to move the lid.




Minister of Antiquities announced that 50000 artifacts will be displayed in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest museum in the world dedicated to one civilization only; the dazzling ancient Egyptian civilization.


GEM will include a children's museum, an educational center, a handicraft center, educational classes and a museum dedicated to sun boats, in addition to the first field for a hanging obelisk.



The Grand Egyptian Museum will turn Egypt to a main worldwide hub for Pharonic artifacts and a must-visit place for both tourists and Egyptologists.

This great museum is tailor made to benefit from the diversity of Egypt's monuments and artifacts to be displayed in one place and one location to maintain and preserve this one of a kind heritage.

GEM site is only 2km from the Giza Pyramids, located between the ancient Great Pyramids and the modern city of Cairo, at the junction between dry desert and the fertile floodplain, the Grand Museum is a portal to the past.

The Giza Pyramids and its Necropolis nominated by UNESCO among the world Cultural Heritage Sites as it houses unique monuments from the dazzling Egyptian civilization.

The Grand Egyptian Museum complex is built on a plot of land of approximately 117 feddans, about 480,000 square meters.

GEM opening will be attended by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as well as kings, princes, presidents, heads of international organizations, and senior officials from all around the world.