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. It has 136,000 items on display, with many more hundreds of thousands in its basement storerooms.
The museum is an outgrowth of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, established by the Egyptian government in 1835, in an attempt to limit the looting of antiquities from sites, and protect artifacts. Its Boulaq museum opened in 1858 with a collection assembled by Auguste Mariette, the French archaeologist retained by Isma'il Pasha. After residing in an annex of the palace of Isma'il Pasha in Giza from 1880, the museum moved to its present location, a neoclassical structure on Tahrir Square in Cairo's city centre, in 1900 under Gaston Maspero.
The highlight of the collection is often considered to be the tomb artifacts of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, whose almost intact tomb Howard Carter found in the Valley of the Kings in 1922.
The museum's Royal Mummy Room, containing 27 royal mummies from pharaonic times, was closed down 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.
2006-12-15 13:08:12
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answer #1
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answered by micho 7
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I could have done a cut and paste direct from another source,e.g.wikipedia.
But personally I don't think that is what this site is about. So,I will just add a bit of information that is not in any of the web sites.
The current Egyptian Museum(built1902) contains the largest and best collection of artifacts that represent a civilizations history, in the world. Many of the exibits have never made it from the vast basements to the public eye.
Those that are on display are badly in need of recataloging, as the labelling tags have either faded beyond reading, or have dissappeared.
They are displayed in old wood and glass cabinets with little or no overhead lighting.
There are plans that the new museum (no date as yet)will be built that it will allow all exibits to be on show after computer coding, and have fibreoptic lighting as well as airconitioning.
Over the period of 104 years the museum has been opened, a large percentage of exibits have become "lost".It is said that the curators will have to escavate the bursting at the seams basement. When,finally the new museum is built.
The current efforts to relocate artifacts has already resulted in what may well be the mummy of the famed female Pharoah Hatshepsut.
The only part of the current museum that is airconditioned is the Tutanhkamun exibition room. Leaving the other exibits, especially the mummies of the great Pharoahs, thier Queens and nobles at great risk, they are noticably decaying.
It is a problem as the The Museum is greatly understaffed and underfunded,the main reason for many of the problems occuring.
If you go to the museum be prepared for a long wait to enter,and be prepared to go through a series of security checks.
I would suggest going as early in the morning as possible.The temperature inside can get stifling, due to the thousands passing through easch hour.If you are a real Egyptophile, plan your visit so you can see one section one day and another the next. o Else you will likely come out not knowing a scarab from a sarcophagus.
The new museum at Giza is completed and will be an extraordniary experience.
I do hope you get to visit the Egyptian Museum as it as a unique and wonderful experience that I recommend.
2006-12-15 22:04:41
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answer #2
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answered by sistablu...Maat 7
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i cant add too much details here, but the egyptian museum is very well known around the world, it was built in the 1800s, and it is located in Tahreeh square, in Cairo.
tourists come from all over the world to see it, cause it consists of many pharaonic monuments and treasures, very rare stuff, also there are mummies and large statues there.
follow this link, it will help you http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/about_history.html
2006-12-15 09:03:09
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answer #3
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answered by Yasmine 4
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it is a museum contain a big amount of Egyptian monuments you will admire every piece you will see on it
2006-12-18 11:38:19
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answer #4
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answered by Ravioli man 2
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