Numerous artifacts transferred to the NMEC prior to imminent opening

CAIRO – 27 October 2020: The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat received a variety of important archaeological collections that were recently discovered during the excavations carried out by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the city of Memphis and its cemeteries in Saqqara, as part of the preparation for the imminent opening of the museum.

The artifacts include a number of statues, among them a 79 cm high granite statue of one of the Egyptian deities wearing a long robe and a wavy wig topped with a crown, holding in her right hand the symbol of life: the ankh, in addition to a number of frescoes, including a painting with an inscription showing the goddess Hathor in the form of a lady with cow horns  with the sun in between, which symbolizes motherhood, love, beauty, patroness of childhood and music in ancient Egypt.

The museum also received a group of other holdings, which is a large alabaster vessel with an ornament known as the decoration of the coiled rope, it was found inside the pyramid of King Djoser (Step Pyramid) in Saqqara, spanning back to approximately 4,650 years ago.

That is in addition to receiving a statue of a senior employee in the Fourth Dynasty, a funerary stela with a hierarchical top by a writer from the Amarna era, a distinctively crafted red clay pot with four nozzles and ten handles and a necklace made of semi-precious red agate stones.

Ahmed Ghoneim, chairman of the Executive Authority of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, explained that the central exhibition hall, which covers an area of about 2,300 square meters, will display about 1500 archaeological and heritage masterpieces representing the emergence and development of Egyptian civilization through the ages.

Ghoneim further stated that the Royal Mummies Hall will also be opened, to which 22 mummies of the great kings and queens of Egypt from the 17th, 18th, 19th  and 20th  Dynasties will soon be transferred in a huge ceremonial procession that befits the Egyptian civilization.

According to Ghoneim, these halls will be equipped with the latest means and methods of screening and modern explanations of documentary films, interactive screens, illustrations, cards and technological applications.