The Egyptian Museum

Location: Cairo, Egypt

How to get there:
International flights direct to Cairo, or via many European and Eastern European cities. Also
package tours and charter flights. Contact your travel agent for details. (Click here for a tip on how
to save time on your first visit to the museum.)
Description
The Egyptian Museum was first built in Boulak. In 1891, it was moved to Giza Palace of "Ismail
Pasha" which housed the antiquities that were later moved to the present building. The Egyptian
Museum is situated at Tahrir square in Cairo. It was built during the reign of Khedive Abbass Helmi
II in 1897, and opened on November 15, 1902. It has 107 halls. At the ground floor there are the
huge statues. The upper floor houses small statues, jewels, Tutankhamon treasures and the
mummies.
The Egyptian government established the ‘Service des Antiques de l’Egypte’ in 1835 mainly to halt
the plundering of archeological sites and to arrange the exhibition of the collected artifacts owned
by the government. The Azbakian garden in Cairo was first used as a storage place for these
artifacts. The collection was later transferred to another building in the citadel of Saladin.
In 1858, a museum was prepared at Boulaq, its contents collected by the French archeologist
August Mariette. In 1880, the contents of the Boulaq museum was transferred to an annex of the
Giza palace of Ismail pasha, the ruler of Egypt. The present museum was built in 1900, in the neo-
classical style by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon.
The mummies of some pharaohs of the 18 to 20th Dynasty found in Thebes. The first group was
found in Deir el Bahari cachette and these consist of the mummies of: Seqenenre, Ahmose I,
Amenhotep I, Tuthmosis I, Tuthmosis II, Tuthmosis III, Seti I, Ramses II, Ramses III.The other
group was found in the tomb of Amenhotep II, consisting of the mummies of: Amenhotep II,
Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep III, Merenptah, Seti II, Siptah, Ramses IV, Ramses V, Ramses VI, (and
three women and a child.)
This museum exhibits over 120000 objects, some of the important groups of these objects are :
Artifacts from the tombs of kings and members of the royal families of the Middle Kingdom found
at Dahshur in 1894.
The contents of the royal tombs of Tuthmosis III, Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep III and Horemheb and
the tomb of Yuya and Thuya. Artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamon, consisting of more than
3500 Pieces, of which 1700 objects are displayed in the museum (the rest are in storerooms).
Objects from some royal and private tombs at Tanis (in the Delta) dating from the 21st and 22nd
Dynasties. Artifacts from the Amarna period made for Akhenaton and members of his family and
some high officials. These were found in Tell el Amarna, Hermopolis, Thebes and Memphis
between 1912 and 1933. Collections of artifacts from the royal palaces.
The Museum also comprises a photography section and a large library. The Egyptian museum
comprises many sections arranged in chronological order
 The first section houses Tutankhamon’s treasures.
 The second section houses the pre-dynasty and the Old Kingdom monuments.
 The third section houses the first intermediate period and the Middle Kingdom monuments.
 The forth section houses the monuments of the Modern Kingdom.
 The fifth section houses the monuments of the late period and the Greek and Roman periods.
 The sixth section houses coins and papyrus.
 The seventh section houses sarcophagi and scrabs.
A hall for the royal mummies was opened at the museum, housing eleven kings and queens. More
than a million and half tourists visit the museum annually, in addition to half a million Egyptians.
See also:
 The Cachette Court of Karnak Statue Collection

The statues unearthed in the Karnak Cachette provide a remarkable compendium of Egyptian
statuary, and form a sort of art history of sculpture throughout Egypt's history. Objects in the
cachette date from the Old Kingdom through the late Ptolemaic Period, covering the spectrum of
ancient Egyptian history. Prominent are statues and objects from the New Kingdom, the Third
Intermediate Period and the 25th Dynasty, periods when Thebes was most active, while fewer
objects are found from the Old and Middle Kingdoms. Also in the 26th Dynasty, the kings
transferred central power to the north once more, and this is reflected in a noticeable decline in the
number of statues from that period. The number of statues once again increased during the 30th
Dynasty and during the entire Ptolemaic Period. Most of the material dates to the last four centuries
BC.
The material clearly reflects the rise and decline of Thebes. During the New Kingdom and until the
beginning of the 26th Dynasty, not only kings set up their statues in the Temple of Amun at Karnak,
but also high-ranking priests, as well as civil and military officials, in order to show their devotion
to Amun. After the seat of power switched back to the north, mostly only temple staff continued to
erect more statues in the temple.
The Ramesside Period is less well represented than the 18th Dynasty, with a relatively small
number of true works of art. There were eight statues of Ramesses II, and another two upright
statues of Ramesses III, including one of colossal size. Afterwards, only Ramesses VI is represented
by two notable statues that are rather stylized and conventional.

CAIRO
The National Museum

The National Museum could be worth a holiday

by itself. The museum (its official name is
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities) holds some of
the finest treasures of human history, and is filled far beyond the capacity of the 100 year old
building.
There are as much as 136,000 items exhibited. 40,000 more lie in the basement, many are
sinking into the soft ground. A great number of the items are tiny, coins or amulets, but
prepare yourself for the awe of facing great statues and treasures.
The museum was founded in 1857 by Said Pasha on the initiative of the French archaeologist
Auguste Mariette, who had excavated several temples, like the one in Edfu. The museum
moved a couple of times before installing itself in the heart of Cairo.

A large part of the 1st floor is dedicated to the

finds in the tomb of 14th century BCE Pharaoh
Tutankhamon in Luxor. The main attraction is in
room 3 with the mask made of gold, lapis lazuli
and other gems. Other great objects of his are
the coffins and the sarcophagus. Room 15
exhibits his bed, and room 25 his wooden
throne.
Room 56 holds a spooky collection of mummies.
This collection was originally closed in 1981 due
to religious sentiments concerning the public
show of dead bodies. But it reopened in the
early 1990's.
The most interesting exhibitions for many on the
ground floor will be from the Amarna period. This
belongs to the religious reform of Akhenaten,
who tried to turn Egyptian religion into
monotheistic faith, an endeavour that would
prove futile. Seeing from the many
representations of him, especially the 4 colossi,
he is represented with an attenuated skull. Some
speculations indicate that this is artistry,
indicating his quality, other speculations indicate
that he actually looked this way. We will never
know.

Practicalities
The museum is open daily, from 9.00 until 16.45,
except during the month of Ramadan, when it is
9.00 until 15.00.
Admission rates are £E20, for students (with
card) £E10. If you want to use your camera, this
will cost £E10, or your video camera at £E100.
Guided tours generally costs £E100 for two
hours.

Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo,
Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with
a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms.
The museum's Royal Mummy Room, containing 27 royal mummies from pharaonic times, was
closed on the orders of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. It was reopened, with a slightly curtailed
display of New Kingdom kings and queens in 1985. Today there are about 9 mummies displayed.
One of them is the newly discovered mummy of Queen Hatshepsut.

History
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It
houses the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King
Tutankhamen. The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Ezbekeyah
Garden. The museum soon moved to Boulaq in 1858 because the original building was getting to be
too small to hold all of the artifacts. 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 some
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

Photographs are forbidden inside. However, this picture was taken from outside the main entrance.
There are two main floors of the museum, the ground floor and the first floor. On the ground floor
there is 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 BC.
These artifacts are generally larger than items created in earlier centuries. Those items include
statues, tables, and coffins. On the first floor there are artifacts from the final two dynasties of
Ancient Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV,
Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and Maherpen, and also many artifacts taken from the Valley of the
Kings

King Tutankhamun
Unlike many of the tombs discovered in Egypt, that of King Tutankhamun was found mostly intact.
Inside the tomb there was a large collection of artifacts used throughout the King’s life. These
artifacts ranged 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
was also home to many weapons and instruments used by the King. Although the tomb held over
3,500 artifacts, it should be noted that the tomb was not found completely intact. In fact, there had
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 famous Gold Mask, which rested
over the bandages that wrapped around the King’s face. The mask weighs in at 11 kg (24.5 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 very well.

Pharaohs
The remains of many famous Pharaohs are stored in the Egyptian Museum. One of these is Pharaoh
Ramses III, who was an extremely skilled warrior. 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.C. They knew this because they found out when Amenhotep IV's father, Amenhotep III
died. 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. 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 Sneferu was believed to be the first king of the Fourth Dynasty. The year Sneferu was
believed to have started his reign over Egypt was around 2620 B.C. Sneferu is believed to have
been a fair and just king. Master of Justice or Truth was his other chosen name. Sneferu, like many
other kings, built many temples and structures. All of Sneferu’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 alike. For example, Sneferu, Tut, and Amenhotep all
had the name "Golden Horus".
Египатски музеј у Каиру

Muzej egipatskih starina, bolje poznat pod nazivom Egipatski muzej u Kairu, sadrži najopsežniju
kolekciju drevnih egipatskih antikviteta na svijetu. Ima preko 136.000 eksponata, dok su stotine
tisuća drugih u podzemnim skladištima.
Muzej se razvio od Službe za egipatske antikvitete, osnovane od strane egipatske vlade godine
1835. u pokušaju da zaustavi pljačku starina s brojnih nalazišta i očuva artifakte. Njen muzej
Boulaq se otvorio 1858. sa zbirkom prikupljenom od Augusta Mariettea, francuskog arheologa u
službi Isma'il Paše. Nakon što se nalazio u aneksu palače Isma'il Paše u Gizi od 1880. godine,
muzej se premjestio na današnju lokaciju, au neoklasicističkoj zgradi na Trgu Tahrir u središtu
Kaira godine 1900.
Kao kruna zbirke se često smatraju grobni artefakti faraona Tutankhamuna, čiji je netaknuti grob
Howard Carter pronašao u Dolini kraljeva godine 1922.
U Muzeju se nalazi Soba kraljevskih mumija, koja sadrži 27 kraljevskih mumija iz faraonskog
doba. Ona je zatvorena po naredbi predsjednika Anwara Sadata godine 1981. Ponovno je otvorena,
s nešto manjim prikazom kraljeva i kraljica Nove države, godine 1985.

Egipatski muzej
U njemu se, između ostalog, nalazi kolekcija najvećeg egipatskog blaga na svetu-
Tutankhamonovog blaga. Najpoznatiji eksponat je zlatna Tutankhamonova posmrtna maska, teška
11 kg. Mladi faraon bio je sahranjen u tri sarkofaga, umetnutih jedan u drugi. Najmanji sarkofag je
od čistog zlata i teži 110 kg. Tu je takođe i kraljevska stolica sa slikom njegovog venčanja kao zlatni
kovčezi u kojima su odloženi njegovi mumificirani organi. Zanimljivo je da Tutankhamon uopšte
nije bio značajan faraon. Vladao je od svoje 9. do 18. godine i navodno su ga ubili njegovi najbliži
zbog toga što je sledio ideje svoga oca faraona Akhenatena koji je verovao u jednog Boga, što je u
to vreme bilo neprihvatljivo. Pa zanimanje nije izazvao on kao vladar već njegova grobnica, koja je,
jedina od svih iz tog razdoblja, ostala neopljačkana.
Egipatski muzej antikviteta
Nalazi se u samom centru blizu središnjeg trga Midan Tahrir. S više od 120.000 izložaka
egipatske povijesti od najranijih dinastija do rimskog doba ovaj muzej predstavlja najveću
kolekciju te vrste u svijetu.
Da bi vidjeli sve izloške potrebno je nekoliko mjeseci. Da bi upili ono najvažnije treba vam
minimalno tri do četiri sata. Zbirku je sakupio francuski arheolog Auguste Mariette davne 1858.
god.
Najveće atrakcije su Tutankamonova galerija u kojoj se izlaže pogrebna maska od zlata i dragog
kamenja, 1.700 ostalih vrijednosti pronađenih u grobnici dječaka kralja (ulaz ograničen),
Kraljevska soba mumija u kojoj se nalaze trupla jedanaestero najjačih egipatsih faraona
uključujući i Setha I. i njegovog sina Ramzesa.Soba 27 pokazuje život na Nilu u vrijeme Srednje
dinastije, dok Sobe starog kraljevstva sadrže predivne statue i posmrtne maske iz Gizeha i Sahare.
Fascinantne su i Akhenatenova soba, soba dragulja i mumije životinja.

Adresa: Midan Tahrir

Tel: (02) 579 6974/6948
E-mail: egymu1@idsc.net.eg
Web stranica: http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg
Radno vrijeme: 9:00-18:45
Ulaznice: 20 E₤za odrasle; 10E₤ za djecu. Napomene: ulazak u sobu mumija posebno se naplaćuje
40 E ₤ za odrasle, 20 E ₤ za djecu. Posebno se naplaćuje fotografiranje.