- See also Egyptian Museum (disambiguation).
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms and carparks.
The museum's Royal Mummy Room, containing 27 royal mummies from pharaonic times, was closed on the orders of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. A mummy is a Corpse whose Skin and Flesh have been preserved by either intentional or Incidental exposure to Chemicals extreme Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 It was reopened, with a slightly curtailed display of New Kingdom kings and queens in 1985, along with the reconstructed Royal Tomb of Akhenaten in the museum's carpark. The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in Ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten is the burial place of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, in the Royal Wadi in Amarna.
Contents |
History
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of history. Not only does it house the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, it also houses the many treasures of King Tutankhamen, and many interesting statues that moved with the museums many relocations. The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Asbakiya Gardens. Azbakeya ( أزبكية; also spelled Azbakia, El Azbakeya, or Ezbakeya) is one of the districts of Cairo, Egypt which is The museum soon moved to Boulaq in 1858 because the original building was too small to hold all of the artifacts. Boulaq ( بولاق; also spelled Bulaq) is a district of Cairo, Egypt. In 1855, shortly after the artifacts were moved, Duke Maximilian of Austria was given all of the artifacts. He hired a French architect to design and construct a new museum for the antiquities. The new building was to be constructed on the bank of the Nile River in Boulaq. In 1878, after the museum was completed for some time, it suffered irreversible damage; a flood of the Nile River caused the antiquities to be relocated to another museum, in Giza. The artifacts remained there until 1902 when they were moved, for the last time to the current museum in Tahrir Square.
Interior design
There are two main floors of the museum, the ground floor and the first floor. On the ground floor visitors will find an extensive collection of papyrus and coins used in the Ancient world. The numerous pieces of papyrus are generally small fragments, due to their decay over the past two millennia. Several languages are found on these pieces, including Greek, Latin, Arabic, and the Ancient Egyptian writing language of hieroglyphs. The coins found on this floor are made of many different elements, including gold, silver, and bronze. The coins are not only Egyptian, but also Greek, Roman, and Islamic, which has helped historians research the history of Ancient Egyptian trade. Also on the ground floor are artifacts from the New Kingdom, the time period between 1550 and 1070 BC. These artifacts are generally larger than items created in earlier centuries. Those items include statues, tables, and coffins. If visitors follow these displays in chronological order they will end up on the first floor, which contains artifacts from the final two dynasties of Ancient Egypt. Some artifacts in this area include items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Tuhtmosis III, Tuhtmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and Maherpen, and also many artifacts taken from the legendary Valley of the Kings.
King Tutankhamun
The majority of the world has come to know the tomb of King Tutankhamun better than any royal tombs because unlike the others, it was found mostly intact. Inside the tomb you will find a large collection of artifacts used throughout the King’s life. These artifacts range from a decorated chest, which was most likely used as a closet or suitcase, to ivory and gold bracelets, necklaces, and other decorative jewelry, to alabaster vases and flasks. The tomb is also home to many weapons and instruments used by the King. Although the tomb holds over 3,500 artifacts, it should be noted that this tomb was not found completely intact. In fact, there have been at least two robberies of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamun's burial. The most well known artifact in King Tutankhamun’s tomb is the infamous Gold Mask, which rests over the bandages that wrap around the King’s face. The mask weighs in at 24 pounds of solid gold, and is believed to represent what the King’s face really looked like. Many features of the mask the eyes, nose, lips and chin are all represented in a youthful way.
Pharaohs
The remains of many famous Pharaohs are stored in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. One of these is Pharaoh Ramses III, who was an extremely skilled warrior. Usimare Ramses III (also written Ramesses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great His army was very impressive, as it has been duplicated and copied all over the world. For many of the mummified pharaohs, it has been very difficult to determine when they were born. Also, historians can only estimate a time when they reigned over Egypt. For Amenhotep IV, historians have estimated that he reigned around 1372 B. Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) (In English ˌɑkəˡnɑtən or approximately "AHK-en-AHT-en" his royal name Amenhotep C. They knew this because they found out when Amenhotep IV's father, Amenhotep III died. Amenhotep III (sometimes read as Amenophis III meaning Amun is Satisfied was the ninth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. Also, that Amenhotep IV's tomb inscribed five names he gave himself and one of them, Golden Horus, proves that he was crowned on the bank of the Nile, his father's favorite domain. Before he even became pharaoh, however, he was already married to Nefertiti, a radiant beauty. But, when Amenhotep IV did become pharaoh, he destroyed the religion of Amun. He did this because he wanted start his own new religion of Aten, the disc which sent out rays ending in hands. King Snofru was believed to be the first king of the Fourth Dynasty. Sneferu, also spelled as Snefru or Snofru (in Greek known as Soris) was the founder of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt, reigning The year Snofru was believed to have start reigning over Egypt was around 2620 B. C. Snofru is believed to be a fair and just king. Master of Justice or of Truth was his other choice name. Snofru, like many other kings, built many temples and structures. All of Snofru’s structures and buildings had a signature. His signature was having a statue of a woman symbolizing the foundation. The statue of the young women is presenting the sign of life and votive offerings, as well as the signs of the city and the stronghold. There are about four or five of these in each province. A lot of the pharaohs had coronation names and they all seemed to be a like. For example, Snofru, Tut, and Amenhotep all had name Golden Horus.
See also
References
Brier, Bob. The Museo Egizio is a museum in Turin, Italy, specialising in Egyptian Archaelogy and Anthropology. The Egyptian Museum of Berlin (Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung is home to one of the world's most important collections of Ancient Egyptian artifacts The Grand Egyptian Museum ( GEM) will be built by 2009–2010 at the cost of $US 550M “The Murder of Tutanhamen: A True Story. ” 2006.
Montet, Pierre. Lives of the Pharaohs. World Publishing Company, 1968. Pages: 134, 149, 153, 211
Rigby, Mark T. “Egyptian Museum. ” 2006. http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/museum.htm
“The Cairo Museum. ” Monday, April 24, 2006. http://www.akhet.co.uk/cairo.htm “The Egyptian Museum. ” May, 2003. http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/
“The Story of the Egyptian Museum. ” http://promet.org.gr/Default.aspx?tabid=109 Wafaa El-Saddik. “The Egyptian Museum. ” Museum International. (Vol. 57, No. 1-2, 2005). Pg. 31.
Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Francesco Tiradritti, editor, Araldo De Luca, photographer. 1999, New York: Abrams ISBN 0810932768. Also published, with variant titles, in Italy and the UK. Reviews, US ed.
External links
- Egyptian Museum official website
- Entry at Insecula (Encyclopédie des arts et de l'architecture) (French)
- In Egyptian Museum
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic