Egypt unveils renovated wing of Cairo museum

The ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt has unveiled a renovated wing of its oldest museum in the capital, Cairo, on Monday.

The refurbishment of the museum wing marks the start of a broader renovation program for the 120-year old museum situated near Tahrir Square.

“Today we announce the completion of the first phase of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square's renovation as we are delivering a message to the whole world that the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square is still developing”, said Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Eissa, during the speech. 

The centrepiece of the reopening of the upgraded wing is a scroll containing around 113 spells from the Book of the Dead and discovered last year.

“I am very proud finally to find the tallest, the longest, the strongest, the best quality papyrus ever discovered in Egypt is this one, Waziry 1 papyri, I am very proud”, admitted Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The scroll consists of 150 columns written entirely in black and red in hieratic.

For well over a decade, Egypt has been building a state-of-the-art museum near the pyramids which is set to house tens of thousands of ancient artefacts.

The Grand Egyptian Museum has so far cost over 1 billion US dollars and its opening date has been repeatedly delayed.