Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities stated on Saturday it’s establishing a committee to evaluate the restoration of Giza’s Menkaure Pyramid, following public outcry over the mission.
Every week in the past, the top of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, posted a Fb video displaying staff putting blocks of granite on the base of the shortest of Giza’s three pyramids.
The photographs sparked a firestorm of criticism from Egyptologists who expressed fears {that a} large-scale reconstruction of the well-known monument was underway, on the expense of preserving its historic material.
In an try and calm the talk, in a rustic the place tourism accounts for 10 p.c of GDP, the ministry introduced that it has established a “scientific committee chaired by Zahi Hawass,” a famend Egyptian archaeologist, to evaluate the mission. .
The committee consists of “specialists in engineering and archaeology” from the Czech Republic, Germany, america and Egypt.
The fee’s last report will embody “the mandatory procedures and steps for coordination with (the U.N. heritage group) UNESCO.”
“A choice will likely be made on whether or not or to not proceed with the mission,” the ministry stated.
Nevertheless, on the foot of the Menkaure pyramid, AFP journalists reported that work was already underway final week.
In its authentic building, the bottom of the pyramid was lined with granite, however over time a few of this masking was misplaced.
The renovation goals to revive the unique model of the construction by reconstructing the granite base.
The problem of heritage preservation in Egypt – dwelling to the Nice Pyramid of Giza, the final of the Seven Wonders of the Historic World nonetheless seen – is usually the main target of heated debate.
The latest demolition of elements of Cairo’s historic coronary heart sparked public campaigns, a rarity in a rustic the place political opposition is basically banned.
