Egypt renovating one of its ancient pyramids using granite, some experts horrified

World 31 January, 2024 14:21

A restoration project to cover one of Egypt's most iconic pyramids with granite cladding has produced a decidedly mixed reaction among heritage experts and social media users, Business Insider reported.

Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, posted a video on Facebook announcing the project, which appears to be already underway.

The footage shows Waziri in front of the Menkaure Pyramid, the smallest of the famed structures on the outskirts of Giza, Cairo.

Estimated to have been built almost 5,000 years ago from limestone, granite, and mortar, the pyramid was designed to be the last resting place of the pharaoh Khufu.

The video shows workers excavating sand from a section of the pyramid's base. Layers of grey blocks are already visible.

The project will span three years and will involve intensive study and documentation, Independent Arabia reported Waziri as saying.

But the reaction from some experts, and the general public, has been wary.

"Interfering with the nature of the monument can cause visible problems and major damage," Egyptologist Monica Hanna told Independent Arabia.

Although the project's Japanese partners have the technology, they don't have the archaeological expertise needed, she added.

Hussein Bassir, director of antiquities at the Biblioteca Alexandrina, said that the project should be approached with enormous caution and only after considering multiple risks, the outlet reported.

Meanwhile, Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University in Cairo, told the outlet that the project could work "as long as the stones used are the ones found around it, and not adding new ones that do not belong to the pyramid."

It's unclear if that is part of the plan.