This may be the ultimate fixer-upper.
Egyptian archaeologists are working to restore one of the pyramids at Giza to the way it looked when it was built some 4,000 years ago. They call this plan the “project of the century.”
Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities, said: announced last week The effort is to resurface the exterior of Menkaure’s Pyramid, the smallest of Giza’s three major pyramids, with hundreds of granite blocks that once covered the ancient structure.
“There have been many projects in history that have been called ‘projects of the century’, but in my opinion, the work of restoring the granite casing of the Pyramid of Menkaure is equally important and important,” Waziri said. He spoke while standing there. of the pyramid.
According to Waziri, the project is “Egypt’s gift to the world.”
The Pyramid of Menkaure, built around 2000 BC as a tomb for King Menkaure, is the only known pyramid in Egypt built with a shell of granite blocks, Waziri said.
Once covered in smooth blocks, the structure has collapsed in dozens of earthquakes over the past 1,000 years, which scientists believe were caused by earthquakes.
Archaeologists plan to use exactly the same blocks of granite that fell and were scattered around the pyramid’s base and can be seen in photographs dating back to the 20th century.
The team, led by a coalition of Egyptian and Japanese experts, will spend at least a year studying and planning the effort before an international team decides whether to proceed with reconstruction.
The plan has received some backlash, with some criticizing the smooth blocks as looking odd when placed against the weathered surfaces of the existing pyramids.
Even other historians condemned the project, some of them condemning the plan on Waziri’s Facebook page.
“It’s impossible,” wrote Egyptologist Monica Hanna. “The only thing missing was adding more tiles to Menkaure’s pyramid. When can we stop the absurdity in the management of Egyptian heritage?”
“All international principles regarding renovation prohibit such intervention.”
