Avoid scandal.
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism announced this Saturday that it had formed a study committee after a controversy surrounding the renovation of the Mykerinos pyramid, on the Giza plateau.
A week ago, the head of Egyptian Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, published a video showing workers aligning granite blocks on the base of the lowest of the three pyramids of Giza.
Immediately, many Egyptologists and Egyptians rose up, denouncing an attack on heritage and calling on UNESCO and academics to mobilize.
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Egypt: controversy surrounding the renovation of one of the pyramids of Giza
Trying to bring down the debate in a country where the tourism sector accounts for 10% of GDP, the ministry announced that a “high-level scientific committee chaired by Zahi Hawass”, the country's much-publicized Egyptologist, would study this project. renovation “with Egyptian, American, Czech and German engineering and archeology experts”.
Lively debates around heritage
“A decision will be taken to decide whether or not to carry out this project” of renovation, affirms the ministry, specifying that the committee will also have to take care of the “necessary procedures for coordination with Unesco”.
At the foot of the Mykerinos pyramid, however, AFP journalists have already noted that work was underway during the past week.
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When it was built, the base of the Mykerinos pyramid was covered in granite.
Over time, it has lost part of its covering.
The current project aims to restore this layer of granite in order to restore the pyramid to its original appearance.
The question of heritage preservation in Egypt - home to the Cheops Pyramid, the only one of the seven wonders of antiquity still visible today - is often the subject of heated debate.
The recent destruction of entire sections of historic Cairo has strongly mobilized a civil society almost banned from political activity and which now concentrates the bulk of its fight against the regime on the areas of town planning and heritage.