After video of a worker using a hammer, chisel, and other tools on the stones of the Great Pyramid of Giza went viral on social media last November, outrage about the incident has grown to include a statement in Egyptian Parliament and one Egyptologist claiming “mismanagement.”
The viral video of construction workers at the 4,600-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was taken by tourists. Officials from the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities told local media outlets that the ancient monument had suffered no damage.
“We urge citizens to refrain from spreading rumors. What appeared in the video was not an act of demolition, but a removal of almost two-decade-old construction materials, which have no archaeological value, to extend power to the Pyramids,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The operation has been carried out by a private sector company in the absence of a specialized antiquities inspector or a restoration specialist,” said Ayman Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The incident still prompted MP Amira Abu Shoka to file an urgent motion before the Egyptian Parliament’s speaker in which he demanded an explanation from Sherif Fathy, the country’s minister of tourism and antiquities.
In a statement, Abu Shoka said the video of the construction workers was responsible for “ruining Egypt’s tourism reputation and the country’s image.”
In response to Abu Shoka, Fathy promised an investigation. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities issued a statement saying that the construction work shown in the video was the installation of a new lighting system and involved the removal of modern construction materials that were added decades ago, not ancient stones.
Despite the ministry’s insistence that the work did not affect the original structure, public outrage has continued, with Egyptologists calling for greater adherence to regulations by UNESCO for the protection of ancient sites and the Venice Charter, an international agreement for the conservation and restoration of monuments and sites signed in 1964.
The Art Newspaper reported that Egyptologist Monica Hanna said “mismanagement” was the greatest threat to Egyptian heritage. Hanna pointed to a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza. The renovation plan for that pyramid was aborted last February after an international outcry.
The outrage over the construction work at the Great Pyramid occurred before the planned opening of a new visitor centre at Giza this month, part of a extensive revamp of the Giza Plateau estimated to cost more than 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($51.1 million). Development of the area included a new highway, as well as several new cafes and restaurant, prompting concern from the public.
“Any work on the Giza plateau, whether it is the removal of concrete or the installation of lights, or indeed, any building work, must be carefully monitored as there is scope for destruction and loss of data,” Salima Ikram, a professor of archaeology at the American University in Cairo, told the Art Newspaper. “Buildings on the plateau should be limited and kept far away from the pyramids as these would disrupt the view and alter the landscape dramatically.”
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