“Project of the century” or “absurdity”? In Egypt, the new renovation plan for the pyramid of Mykerinos, on the Giza plateau, is unleashing passions. In a video published Friday, the head of Egyptian Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, shows workers aligning granite blocks on the base of the Mykerinos pyramid, the lowest of the three pyramids of Giza.
When it was built, the pyramid of Mykerinos was covered in granite. Over time, it has lost part of its covering. The current project aims to restore this layer of granite in order to restore the pyramid to its original appearance. This “renovation” will last “three years” and will be “a gift from Egypt to the world in the 21st century”, welcomes Mostafa Waziri, head of the Egyptian-Japanese mission in charge of the project, ensuring that it “will allow us to see, for the first time, the pyramid of Mykerinos as it was built by the ancient Egyptians”.
“When will the project to straighten the Tower of Pisa be planned? »
But, under the video, dozens of horrified commentators lost their temper. ” Not possible ! », replies, visibly outraged, Egyptologist Monica Hanna on Facebook. “All that was missing was to tile the pyramid of Mykerinos! When are we going to stop the absurdity in the management of Egyptian heritage? », she writes again. “All international principles on renovations prohibit such interventions, all archaeologists must mobilize immediately,” she says.
Online, Internet users are all going with their sharp barbs: “When will the project to straighten the Tower of Pisa take place? », writes one, in reference to the Italian monument known precisely because it is leaning. “Rather than tiles, why not wallpaper on the pyramids? », suggests, ironically, another Internet user. The question of heritage preservation in Egypt, a country which counts on tourism for 10% of its GDP and where the Cheops pyramid is located, the only one of the seven wonders of Antiquity still visible today, is often raised. subject of lively debate.