The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism decided to form a scientific committee composed of Egyptian and foreign antiquities specialists to review the restoration project for the smallest pyramid among the pyramids of Giza.
The ministry's statement, today, Saturday, reported the decision issued “to form a higher scientific committee (…) to review the joint project between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Japanese Waseda University delegation to conduct architectural restoration work for the Pyramid of Menkaure in the pyramid's antiquities area.”
According to the statement, the committee is headed by archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, and includes “a number of senior Egyptian and foreign scholars specializing in antiquities.”
The Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mustafa Waziri, posted on his official Facebook page a short clip explaining the “Menkaure” pyramid restoration project, describing it as “the project of the century.”
He said that the project “represents the re-installation of the granite blocks that represented the outer covering of the Menkaure Pyramid,” explaining the progression of the work steps, starting with “a study of the stone blocks, then a survey of the area, a laser scan, and then re-installing the blocks.”
According to the ministry’s statement, the formed committee “will, after completing the review of the project, prepare a detailed scientific report on the results of its work, the conclusions of the scientific review it conducted, and take a decision on whether to move forward with the project or not.”
The “Menkaure” pyramid is the only one in Egypt among more than 124 pyramids, whose design included an outer covering of granite, according to Waziri.
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