Report “Adding the weight of these stones would risk causing the total loss of the pyramid”, opposes an Egyptologist to the Mykerinos renovation project

Egypt is reviewing its copy after the controversy sparked by the announcement, at the end of January, of a major project to renovate one of the pyramids of Giza. Experts will study the project before work begins.

In a video shot at the foot of the monument, from what looks like the start of construction, the head of Egyptian antiquities announced at the end of January a major project to renovate one of the pyramids of Giza, which he described as “project of the century”.

This project targets the most discreet of the three pyramids of Giza, Mykerinos, smaller than those of Cheops and Khafre. Situated slightly below its two majestic sisters, it still measures 60 meters high and the Egyptian government has big plans for it. “They will not make any changes to it, assures Ashraf confidently, that is to say, they will simply replace the granite that was there at the beginning”.

“They want to cover the little Mykerinos pyramid with granite, like thousands of years ago.”

Ashraf, tourist driver

at franceinfo

Ashraf contemplates the spectacle of these thousand-year-old monuments for the umpteenth time. “I came to the pyramids more than 700 times, I know everything that is here. It’s a big project. So, of course, it’s going to take years.”

A real problem of authenticity

The project could be spread over three years, but, faced with the excitement of certain specialists and amateurs, the Ministry of Antiquities finally commissioned a scientific committee in charge of studying the project before considering its launch.

On the Giza plateau, at the foot of the pyramid, French tourists skirt the famous granite blocks which litter the ground. “If it’s to put the stones that were lost back in place, I agree. To see what it was originally,” comments the couple. Marco, a Spanish visitor, has a more reserved opinion. “Of course it’s an incredible pyramid, very old, classic and I like how it’s preserved. We could just leave it like that,” he believes.

Specialists, guardians of authenticity, are fiercely opposed to the project. In the lead, Egyptologist Monica Hanna. “Any intervention aimed at completing the work of the ancient Egyptians would be a real problem for the authenticity of the pyramids”she says.

“The stones have been there for 4 000 years, modified by the wear and tear of time and pollutioncontinues the Egyptologist. Adding the weight of these stones would risk causing the total loss of the pyramid. she fears. Risks that the Egyptian state therefore promises to evaluate before considering the transformation of its ancient jewel which attracts 14 million visitors each year.