The authorities of Egypt decided to restore one of the main pyramids in Giza, which caused the indignation of scientists around the world. As reported by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, officials want to reconstruct the original appearance of the pyramid of pharaoh Mykerin (Menkaura), the latest of the three main pyramids of Giza.
Initially, the pyramid was veneered with red Aswan granite for about a third of its height. However, over time, more than half of the cladding has disappeared. As part of a reconstruction project that Egypt wants to implement jointly with Japan in three years, it plans to restore the granite cladding using blocks lying at the base of the pyramid. It is believed that they are the same missing cladding, probably fell and lie at the foot.
However, the project of the Egyptian authorities was not so clearly received in social networks. Under the videos showing the process of preparation for the reconstruction, users left indignant comments and offered to “straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa” and paste the wallpaper on the pyramids at the same time.
Many scientists opposed the reconstruction. Monica Hanna, an archaeologist and Egyptologist from the Arab Academy of Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport, called the project “absolutely unscientific”. In particular, she noted that most of the blocks lying around the pyramid were not processed, that is, the ancient Egyptians did not use these stones for facing during the construction of the pyramid.
“Therefore, any attempt to process the blocks around the pyramid is a blatant interference with the work of the ancient Egyptians, who had yet to complete this pyramid,” Hanna wrote.
The associate professor of the Department of Restoration and Conservation of Antiquities of the University of Science and Technology in Giza, Ibrahim Mohamed Badr, also spoke against the reconstruction, expressing his fear that as a result blocks will be installed on the pyramid that has nothing to do with it. Kathleen Cooney, a professor of Egyptian art and architecture at the University of California in Los Angeles, noted that at one time the facade of the pyramid remained unfinished, so the decision to hang the cladding on the pyramid is a strange attempt to “change the past.”
The Washington Post noted that the Giza pyramids are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, so they cannot be changed just like that. According to the publication “Al-Manassa”, the Egyptian authorities have suspended the works so that a special commission can evaluate the project’s feasibility.