Egypt exhibits 16-meter scroll of the Book of the Dead after renovation of its oldest museum

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt inaugurated on Monday a renovated wing of its oldest museumwhich houses a 16 meter roll discovered long ago last year.

The redevelopment marks the first stage of wider renovations for the 120-year-old salmon-colored palace complex in central Cairo facing the capital’s famous Tahrir Square.

Papyrus Wazirythe centerpiece of Monday’s presentation, contains approximately 113 spells from the Book of the Dead. The museum also added modern glass protection and new interior lighting.

The inauguration ceremony of the renovated wing was led by the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Eissa.

For more than a decade, Egypt has been building a state-of-the-art museum near the pyramids, it will house tens of thousands of ancient artifacts. The Great Egyptian Museum it has so far cost over a billion dollars and its opening date has been pushed back several times.

Egypt often publicly touts ancient finds to attract more tourists, a major source of hard currency for the cash-strapped North African country. The sector suffered a long recession after political unrest and violence following an uprising in 2011.

On the other hand, at the beginning of February, Egypt restored, documented and opened to tourists the Middle Kingdom tomb of Meru, the oldest publicly accessible site on the western shore of Luxor, is home to some of its most spectacular pharaonic monuments, including the Valley of the Kings.

Meru was a high court official of King Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty, who reigned until the 2004 CA and that, like Meru, he was buried in the northern necropolis of Asasif, the government said in a statement on Thursday.

The rock-cut tomb of Meru was restored by the Polish Center for Mediterranean Archeology at the University of Warsaw and the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.

“It is the first site of such an ancient period in western Thebes which is made accessible to visitors,” the statement said, citing Fathi YassinDirector General of Antiquities of Upper Egypt.

The tomb, which faced the processional avenue to the temple of Mentuhotep II, contains a corridor leading to an offering chapel with a niche and a statue of the deceased. A burial pit descends into a room with a sarcophagus.

“It is the only decorated room in the tomb, with an unusual decoration of lime plaster painting,” Yassin said.

Meru’s grave had been known since at least the middle of the 19th century, according to the Polish-Egyptian Archaeological Mission. THE italian curators they cleaned some murals in 1996.

Some of the Middle Kingdom’s most prominent officials were buried at Asasif, the statement said.

(With information from Reuters and AP)

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