The Egyptian Museum

Tour inside the The Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo Contains the largest collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities even if competing with the British Museum and the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum (New York) .The Egyptian Museum is located in Tahrir Square - the heart of Cairo- since 1906 , The museum contains 136 thousand pharaonic,In addition to the hundreds of thousands of pharaonic in stores.

- The emergence and establishment of the museum: -

• the story of the establishment of the museum began with Great interest in the world  to Egyptian Antiquities after deciphering the Rosetta Stone at the hands of French scientist Champollion

• The initial nucleus of the museum at the small house in the ancient Uzbek pool where Muhammad Ali ordered to register the Egyptian fixed Antiquities and transfer the value Antiquities to the Museum of Uzbek and that in 1848.

• After the death of Muhammad Ali returned the theft of antiquities again and his successors walked on approach Credits, which led to the museum's holdings diminished.

• In 1858 (Mariette) was appointed as the first officer (the occupancy of Antiquities) which   corresponds now to(the Head of the Antiquities ). He found that there must be management and the Museum for Antiquities and therefore choose the Bulaq to create a museum of Egyptian antiquities and transfer the antiquities found during digging (such as the antiquities of Aah Hotep cemetery).

• In 1863, the Khedive Ismail, approved a project for a museum of Egyptian antiquities, but the project was not implemented,But suffice giving Mariette (Arboukhana) in front of Alontekkhana in Bulaq to expand his museum.
 
 • In 1878 - a very high Nile flood occurred, causing flooding Bulaq Museum and the loss of some of its contents.

• In 1881 museum was reopened, and in the same year, Mariette died - and his successor (Maspero) as Director of Antiquities and Museum.

• In 1891, when the groups of Bulaq Museum increased , it was transferred to Giza Saray. 

• When the scientist (De Morgan) came 'as head of the Department and the museum ,he

  made re-coordination of these groups in the new museum, known as the Museum of Giza.

• In the period from 1897 - 1899 M. Loret  Came as a successor to De Morgan.

• But Maspero returned once again to manage the interest - and the museum from 1899 - 1914 AD . In 1902,he transfered the Antiquities to the current building of the museum (in Tahrir Square), and was one of the most active in his second period of his world, Ahmed Pasha Kamal  who was the first specialist in ancient Egyptian Antiquities  and worked for many years the museum.

The first Egyptian director to the museum  was (Mahmoud Hamza) ,he was appointed in 1950. 

• This was a brief guide to the museum of status Maspero is due to 1883 but he has done a great guide for the new museum remained prints and repeats from 1915 until now (but with a series of amendments).

The most important museum collections : 

• The museum consists of two floors , the ground of them was allocated to the heavy  Antiquities ,The upper has been allocated for light Antiquities and complete sets (such as the Tutankhamun).
• The museum includes a large number of Egyptian antiquities from prehistoric times until the end of the Pharaonic era as well as some Greek and Romanian Antiquities.

examples of the museum collections

1- A set of pottery (from prehistoric times).
2 - Slaah Narmer (the era of unification).

3- Statue of Khasekhem (family 2). 

4 - Statue of Djoser (family 3).

5 - statues of Cheops / Chephren / Menkaure (family 4). 
 

6- Statue of Kaabr / statues of servants (family 5). 
7 - Dwarf Statue of SNP (family 6).

 
8 - Statue of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre (family 11).

9 - statues of Amenemhat I / II / III (family 12).

10 - Ka Statue of King Hor (family 13).

11 - statues of Hatshepsut / Tuthmosis III (family 18).

12 - Group of Tutankhamun (family 18).




13 - set the treasures of Tanis. 

- Sections of the museum: -

Antiquities were divided according to their importance or the amount provided as Section VI and VII,but the arrangements for the second and third and the fourth was based on the chronological order and taken into account the most important Antiquities included in section and other major periods in the another section,as follows:

Section I:  the Antiquities of the King Tutankhamun which is the outcome of the discovery of one Cemetery for one period of time .Antiquities amounted to more than 3500 pieces of antique gold in addition to the mummies.

Section II:  the old state, one of the prosperous periods in the history of ancient Egypt, a period of building the pyramids , the period of King Cheops and  A period in which the rule of the four families, "the third of the sixth."

Section III:  Central State. 

Section IV:  the modern state, the period of the great empire of Ramses II , Tutankhamun , Akhenaten , Merneptah and Tuthmosis 

Section V: From the family "21 to 30" that is, until the entry of Alexander the Great to Egypt. 

Section VI:  Department of papyrus and the currency, which brought together all the papyri .. 

Section VII: the "scarabs."


The most important gods at the Pharaohs which is found within the museum:

God Amun

 
Is one of the most important deities at the Pharaohs ,Karnak Temple is the most important temples .. And Amun means approximately hidden

The god Anubis

Is usually the gods of the dead .. And appears with dog's head or a black wolf and body a man

God Hathor 

 

God of love, music, dance and fun ... Portrayed in three forms ((  Women with cow's ear or cow's head in the body of a woman and the sun disk between the horns


God Bastit

 
It appears with head cat .. It is like the goddess Hathor, fun, music and dance ..

God Horus

The son of Isis and the Azores ... Was also the god of the sky

God Isis

 
Goddess Isis in the form of humans .. Shaped like a woman .. Cows with horns set in the middle The sun disk ..
Known as the wife of Osiris .. It holds the key to life in her hand a symbol of life

 Other photos from the museum

 

pair of gilded statues

 

The Ancient Egyptian Jewelry

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Triad of Menkaure

 

Tutankhamun

The Story of Tutankhamun and his treasures .. Which overflowing with magic and mystery

 The Resulting of the detection of Tutankhamun's tomb is a great group full property was discovered. From this discovery, we can identify the personal life of the king during the most prosperous eras in ancient Egypt.

Tutankhamun's name impressed the world and confusion at the same time,Do not see the treasures have seen before,His life is a collection of puzzles,And his death is the most difficult secrets,  still flirts with fantasy explorers and researchers so far.

The King Tutankhamun, is one of the kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty and most famous kings of Pharaonic Egypt, although he has no victories or historical situations.Ruled Egypt for nine years and died at the age of eighteen, was not wisdom tooth has appeared in his mouth yet! ,But the fame of King Tutankhamun return to his tomb and his coffin and its wonderful that  found complete did not extend a hand of thieves.

Causes of death 

And his fame is also returns to the mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death, where he settled in the minds of many that the death of a pharaoh of Egypt in a very early 
age is not normal ,And what support that is the assumption of The existence of traces in the bones of the skull and thigh

The secret behind the assassination of King,Some guessed that the Minister of "Tutankhamun" "Eye of Re"masterminded a plot to kill him.The proof is his marriage to "Ankh Amun Essen " the young king's widow after his death.Also find a message sent by the "Ankh Amun Essen" to the king of the Hittites appealing to him to Send one of his sons to marry her after the death of her husband.Already the king of the Hittites sent One of his sons to marry her but he died before he enters Egypt.There were rumors that the Minister "Eye of Re" masterminded the murder to him - apparently he was planning to seize the throne of Egypt,So kill the King Tutankhamun and King of the Hittites son, and this hypothetical theory without some striking evidence of it.


 Another group view that the death of the young pharaoh was the result of his illness, This is announced by the Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, that there is no evidence that Tutankhamun had been killed and the Skull fracture is not due to receive a blow to the head, but the events of this slot is after death for the purpose of embalming,and the break of the femur are due to that Tutankhamun suffered an accident before his death, and perhaps the resulting inflammation caused his death.



 Smallest Pharaoh ascend the throne

 The Tutankhamun was 9 years old at his inauguration Pharaoh of Egypt, TheTutankhamun origins Return to his grandfather King "Amenhotep III," who gave birth his son, "Amenhotep IV" of his wives one of the largest Queen "T" Known as "Akhenaten", who gave birth his son, "Tutankhamun" from one of of his wives called "Kia" 

The most important causes of famous young King Tutankhamun ,First :His treasure is the Fully royal treasure was found at all - not unprecedented,Consists of 358 pieces, including wonderful golden mask and three coffins- the smallest of pure gold-and that  enormous collection has been in Egypt was untouched by the thieves and smuggled out, but they are complete at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt.



King Holdings

Perhaps the special antiquities room of the young pharaoh is the most popular visitors to the Egyptian Museum at all, it is always crowded by tourists and Egyptians alike. Gold has entered in making the majority of the treasures, which raises the admiration and astonishment of all who see it.
 Discovered his tomb full in the "Valley of the Kings" - in the west in Luxor by Howard Carter in 1922,There are four huge wooden Compartments in it, Prepared after the sudden death of King,put some in other and the walls are decorated inside and outside with texts and images from the book of death.

The Smallest Compartment contained rectangular coffin of quartzite cover of granite, Placed three coffins shapes human figures some in some in its heart,The smallest of pure gold,And that contained the mummy of the king and the golden mask - with special decorations of the mummy.The Special room for the three special coffins of the mummy of King included

- A pair of sandals made ​​of gold found on the feet of the mummy of the king.

- Found many of the necklaces made ​​of gold around the neck made of sheets of gold Some of them of the traditional style known as the "Ausekh" which means a large and Wide, some of them has weight from the back to balance the necklace on the chest.

- Mirror box Of gilded wood in the form of the relationship hieroglyphic "ankh", which means long life or a mirror.

- Bracelets of gold adorned with glass. 

- The Special coffins of the king mummy and both of them inside the other,the smallest coffin of pure gold.

- The most beautiful in the room was a king mask of beaten gold , Weighs "11 kg",Cover the head of his mummy to be the the Ba'ath as the beliefs of ancient Egyptians, king wearing a royal headdress known as the "Nims" and false beard,  held of  three branches and a necklace on the chest While" Aleekab" (cobra) above the forehead ,ears are pierced to stabilize earring in his ears.

 

Also found in the room fingers of of gold to the hands and feet were used to protect these organs from damage and also to maintain the original shape that is affected by the process of mummification,Since the gold was an expression of the body of the gods so the ancient Egyptian interested in covering the mummies of their kings with gold expression of their transition to the world of the gods.In addition to the five earrings and amulets of gold in the form of cobra found on the mummy of King's neck rolls.

In the lobby of Tutankhamun, we found a throne ,which is one of the finest Collectables of the young king, Characterized by the exquisite of living colors and which has been fixed so far not been affected by the passage of all these years.

This chair is made of wood stuffed with gold and silver , And decorated with semi-precious stones and colored glass. The graphic on it shows the queen on the back of the chair, which paint the King with perfume,The bodies of the King and Queen inlaid with colored glass, and covered with silver.

 

Also provided the throne with a palm of wood to feet inscribed with the symbolic images of the enemies of Egypt, northerners and southerners, who are tied and lying on the ground in humiliation.

 

                       One aspect of the  trumpet sounded

               

                  Vase carries  the name of Tutankhamun and                                        and his wife Ankh Amon Essen