Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Know More about 2019 Antiquities’ Achievements


Tue 24 Dec 2019 | 11:14 AM
Ali Abu Dashish

Antiquities Ministry was able to accomplish a huge number of archaeological projects and discoveries during the year 2019. "SEE. News" reviews the Ministry of Antiquities achievements for the year.

January 28, 2019: Two obelisks were transferred from San Hajar, in the city of Culture and Arts in the new administrative capital.

March 3, 2019: Groundwater Reduction Project in Kom el Shoqafa was carried out.

March 3, 2019: Completion of the Restoration Project of the Wardian tombs in Alexandria.

March 25, 2019: Groundwater Reduction Project in Kom Ombo District was implemented.

April 5, 2019: Abydos Archaeological Zone Development Project, Sohag.

April 5, 2019: Groundwater Reduction Project in Osirion, Sohag.

April 18, 2019: The façade of Luxor Temple was completed for the first time after the restoration and erection of the third and final statue of the restoration. It also included the erection of King Ramses II statues in front of the first edifice of the temple.

April 19, 2019: Opat Temple at Karnak opens for visit after restoration.

May 2, 2019: Fatima Al-Shaqraa Mosque was opened in Al-Darb Al-Ahmar, Cairo, after its restoration.

May 3, 2019: Opening of Al-Kashef and Al-Mujahideen mosques in Asyut Governorate.

May 9, 2019: The first stage of the St. Catherine Monastery development project, which included the restoration of the library and the Transfiguration Church, was completed.

June 28, 2019: The Pyramid of Mortality in Fayoum was opened for the public for the first time since its discovery in 1889.

June 28, 2019: Khund Asbay Mosque in Fayoum opened after the completion of its restoration project - the mosque was closed since 2013.

July 11, 2019: Beginning of the development of the Mary Tree area.

July 12, 2019: The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun was moved from his tomb in Luxor to the Grand Egyptian Museum and undergoing restoration for the first time since the tomb was discovered.

July 13, 2019: King Snefru Curved pyramid and the Ela Ideological Pyramid opened in Dahshur for a visit.

July 14, 2019: Opening the Naguib Mahfouz Museum, affiliated to the Culture Ministry, in the building of Abu al-Azhar tomb antique gold.

August 8, 2019: Relocation of the Andalusia Garden obelisk in Zamalek and its establishment in the new city of El Alamein.

August 31, 2019: The Antiquities Museum in Tanta was opened for visit after its development - the museum was closed since 2000.

September 8, 2019: Restoration two tombs (TT159 and TT286), on the arm of Abu al-Naga in Luxor.

September 29, 2019: Prince Youssef Kamal Banja Hammadi Palace was opened after its restoration.

September 29, 2019: Restoration of the Monastery of Dhaba, Nagaa Hammadi.

*The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization

The implementation rate of the third stage: 98% and falls within the cooperation protocol signed between the Ministry of Antiquities and the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, which are the central exhibition halls, royal mummies, in preparation for its partial opening in early 2020).

- Development of the pyramids region: implementation rate 99% (a cooperation protocol signed with Orascom Investment Holding to provide and operate visitor services in the region on December 13, 2018).

- Completion of 95% of the restoration project of the synagogue (Eliyahu Hanbi) in Alexandria.

- 95% of the restoration of the Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis district was completed.

- The continuation of the project of developing the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria.

March 2019: The lighting project of Prince Muhammad Ali Palace in Manyal sponsored by Philips.

March 2019: Development of the area around the Dandara Temple in Qena was completed.

April 2019: Completion of the development of the Abydos Archaeological Zone and Visitor Center.

May 2019: Implementation of the works of the second stage of the development of informative panels in the Egyptian Museum in Editing.

June 2019: Offering audio guide service at the Egyptian Museum of Editing, Luxor Museum, and Abu Simbel Temple.

June 2019: The completion of the implementation of the track for people with special needs "blind" in the Egyptian Museum of Editing, in cooperation with the Italian Archeology Institute.

June 2019: Completion of works for the first stage of implementing models using the Braille method of artifacts on display at the Museum of Islamic Art.

*External exhibitions:

- March 21, 2019: the opening of the exhibition of the effects of King Tutankhamun in the hall

Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris, breaking the record number of visitors to cultural exhibitions in France (1,423,170 visitors).

October 6, 2019: The antiquities exhibition at the Ronald Reagan Library Presidential in Los Angeles, California, USA.

November 2, 2019: The opening of the monuments of King Tutankhamun (the treasures of the Golden Pharaoh) at Saatchi Gallery in London.

*Internal exhibitions:

February 4, 2019: The Minister of Antiquities opened a temporary exhibition in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on the excavations of the joint French-Italian mission in the area of Umm Al-Barijat in Fayoum.

April 16, 2019: The Minister of Antiquities opened a temporary exhibition in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on the excavations of the Egyptian German Mission in the Tuna al-Jabal region in Minya.

June 19, 2019: Holding of an exhibition of furniture inspired by the ancient Egyptian furniture in the bazaar of the Egyptian Museum in Al-Tahrir in cooperation with the Egyptian-Danish Dialogue initiative under the title "The First Innovators".

June 21, 2019: Opening of the exhibition titled "Sports through the different eras of Egyptian civilization", at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir

June 22, 2019: Two exhibitions of Chinese Islamic photos and antiquities held at the Museum of Islamic Art in cooperation with the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo.

April 1, 2019: The Ministry of Antiquities mission in the Quena region in Menoufia discovered a limestone sarcophagus with mummy and golden flakes.

April 5, 2019: A cemetery from the Ptolemaic period for a man and his wife, containing human remains and a group of buried birds and animals, in Al-Diabat area, Sohag Governorate.

April 13, 2019: The Ministry of Antiquities in Saqqara discovered the tomb of the noble Khoy, which dates back to the end of the Fifth Dynasty.

April 18, 2019: The Antiquities Mission in Luxor discovered a cemetery in the arm of Abu al-Naga belonging to the family 18 and two cemeteries in the Assassif region dating back to the Ramesses era.

April 23, 2019: The Antiquities ministry and the University of Milan, Italy, discovered a rock cemetery dating back to the Greco-Roman era in the Aga Khan Cemetery area in western Aswan.

May 4, 2019: The Ministry mission discovered a cemetery dating back to the Old Kingdom era in the southeastern side of the Giza Pyramids monuments.

June 28, 2019: The Antiquities ministry mission discovered a rocky cemetery in the Rabwat area, south of the Pyramid of Lahoun, in Fayoum.