Royal Mummies
Transfer Parade
Egypt is preparing to transfer 22 royal
mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian
Civilization in the Fustat area. The mummies will be transferred in an
international ceremony and under high security measures. The transfer process
will be treated as an important event, no less in importance in the previous
transfer of Ramses statue that was transferred to the main lobby of the Grand
Egyptian Museum.
A committee composed of specialists from the
Tahrir Museum and the National Research Center of the Ministry of Antiquities,
the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and the Grand Egyptian Museum are
maintaining and sterilizing the mummies.
Moreover, the mummies- after being
documented- will be transferred in special containers to protect them from any
shocks or damages. A rehearsal of the transfer took place on Jan. 14. Special
cars will be used for the transport of the 22 mummies, to prevent any harm or
damages.
The transfer event will also be broadcast
globally, covering the mummies' departure from the Egyptian Museum and their
arrival at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat.
The number of mummies and coffins to be transported
are 22 and date back to the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties. 18 of the
mummies are for kings, while 4 are the mummies of queens.
Among the mummies transferred are mummies
for King Ramses II, King Seqenenre Tao, King Tuthmosis III, King Seti I, Queen
Hatshepsut, and Queen Meritamen; the wife of King Amenhotep I, and Queen Ahmose
Nefertari, the wife of King Ahmose I.
The royal mummies will be transferred to the
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in a large march, in preparation for
the opening of three halls that include the central exhibition hall and the
mummies hall.
The royal procession that will take place on
this occasion will take spectators back to the ancient Egyptian period, when
kings and queens were transported to their tombs towards eternity. The new
procession will see the royal mummies transported on the Nile and then
accompanied by chariots and horses.
Mummies' Exhibition Halls
The Mummies Hall is designed to look like
the royal tombs in Luxor’s Valley of the Kings. It has a slope leading down to
it, where visitors will find themselves face-to-face with the royal mummies in
a dimly lighted hall that is painted black.
“The NMEC’s exhibition committee selected
black as the color of the Mummies Hall in order not to disturb visitors during
their tour inside and to make the mummies the protagonists of the exhibition,”
Mahmoud Mabrouk, the ministry of antiquities adviser for exhibition scenarios said.
He said the mummies would not be exhibited
like they were in the Egyptian Museum, but that a new display would be created
to acquaint visitors with the mummification process and its importance to the
ancient Egyptians.
This would include panels about the first
and second cachette of mummies, along with photographs of the Pharaoh Amenhotep
II’s tomb (KV 35) and the hiding place where the second group of royal mummies
was uncovered. Other objects would be shown, such as linen shreds decorated
with an image of the ancient Egyptian god of mummification Osiris.
The history of each king and queen would be
on show beside his or her mummy, as well as the results of DNA tests, the
diseases the mummy had suffered during life, as well as the lineage and members
of the family.
Path of the transfer parade
Cairo governorate declared a state of
emergency, in coordination with several entities, to prepare the path of the
transfer parade, and the part that is being developed in the vicinity of the
Museum of Civilizations in Ain Sira, which receives royal mummies, where the
part located directly in front of the museum has been converted into a tourist
attraction project linked to the museum, as well as the establishment of
several roads to serve the area and link it to the main roads.
Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square will also be a
part of this procession. As the majestic parade will pass through the square on
its journey to the NMEC, the newly re-erected obelisk in the square and the
four ram-headed sphinxes will be revealed to the public.
