The Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri on Saturday announced further details regarding the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry plan’s to develop the Giza pyramids – the “Project of the Century” – with Japan helping to fund renovation work at the Pyramid of Menkaure.
There are more than 100 pyramids in Egypt, he said, most of which were covered with a casing such as the Pyramid of Khafre, where part of the outer covering of limestone remains at the top.
During a telephone interview with al-Mehwar TV channel, Waziri explained that the Pyramid of Menkaure was once exposed to an earthquake or something similar, causing several of its outer stone blocks to fall off.
A plan is now being worked on to reinstall the casing, he said.
He continued that the original floor of the area was uncovered and excavations were carried out until 2017 to draw the stone blocks with the Japanese mission.
Waziri noted that the plan to develop the pyramids will include restoration and covering Menkaure pyramid casing, with a digital imagining of the stone blocks.
He assured: “We will not pay a dime, and the Japanese side is the one who will cover the cost, from their money, neither a loan nor a grant.”
“The Japanese side will undertake the necessary studies, as all the granite blocks scattered on the ground will be studied, then a laser scan will be done, and this will take one year,” he explained.
The results of the scanning and imaging will be presented to specialized American, Egyptian, and Japanese scientific committees, he explained, and the possibility of reinstall the granite casing blocks to their original place will be studied.
