“Egypt’s Gift to the World” Top Archaeologist Mostafa Waziri Describes Menkaure Pyramid Renovation

On Friday, Mostafa Waziri, the Head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities posted a video showing workers in the process of restoring granite blocks to the Menkaure Pyramid base. He dubbed the project “Egypt’s gift to the world” and “the project of the century.”

Headed by Egyptian and Japanese minds, namely Mostafa Waziri and Yoshimura Sakoguchi, the restoration, which could take up to three years, includes photogrammetry and laser scanning processes that proceed with the installation of granite coverage.

Originally, the Menkaure Pyramid was covered in granite, which was lost over time due to erosion and other factors; the project aims to restore the original look of one of Egypt’s celebrated landmarks.

However, the posted video has spurred controversy on social media, where hundreds of users seemed to have a counter opinion to Waziri.

Egyptologist Monica Hanna, one of the several people who ridiculed the project, wrote on her X account, “Impossible!… All international conventions in restoration would reject this intervention in its entirety. I hope that all university professors in antiquities and restoration stand against this project immediately…”

In parallel to the debate on the Pyramid, the disappearance of some of the features of Alexandria’s Al-Mursi Abu al-Abbas Mosque, in a flawed renovation, has caught the attention of social media users, Egyptian Television, as well as officials working on the projects — accusing the process of acting recklessly toward places that carry within it centuries-long of heritage.

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