Egypt’s GEM restorers add final touches to 1st hanging obelisk

CAIRO – 27 July 2020: The restorers of the Grand Egyptian Museum are currently performing accurate restoration work on GEM’s hanging obelisk, which will be placed in the museum's exterior foyer.

The restoration work includes chemical and mechanical cleaning, treatment of cracks and surface crusts, strengthening, and preparing the obelisk for installation in a huge world-class event.

The hanging obelisk is placed in front of the main entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum, in the external lobby, on an area of 28,000 square meters and it is the first hanging obelisk in the world.

General Manager of the First Aid Conservation and Transportation of the artifacts at the Grand Egyptian Museum Eissa Zidan said that the restoration and construction of the world's first hanging obelisk will be completed soon.

The Obelisk design allows visitors to enter to see the archaeological base below it and by looking at the top of the obelisk, cartridges of King Ramesses II can be seen.

Eissa added that the word, Egypt, will be engraved in all languages of the world on the columns and sides of the base bearing the obelisk.

The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the main events that Egypt and the whole world is waiting for in 2020. The Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest museum in the world to be dedicated to one civilization.

This is one of a kind museum is tailor made to preserve and exhibit Egypt's precious national heritage. It also consists of state-of-the-art conservation laboratories, educational facilities, temporary exhibition halls, a children’s museum, a conference centre, restaurants, cafes, shops and large gardens for everyone to enjoy.

GEM will house over 5000 artifacts from Egypt’s most famous king Tutankhamun's royal tomb, many never seen in public before. The Main Galleries show material from the Prehistoric to the Roman periods, while the entrance areas focus on Kingship and Power.

All the GEM exhibitions will be contextualised for the visitor with stories, texts, digital interactives and media displays.

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

Among the most important transferred artifacts are the statues of King Ramses II, Sekhmet and Seti, in addition to a huge pink-granite statue portraying Ramses VI, and another distinguished set of statues that showcase the mastery of ancient Egyptian art.

Additionally, an alabaster statue of King Khafra and a statue of priest Kay made of colored limestone were transferred to GEM.
 

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 was 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.




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.