subject: Explore The Secrets Of Egyption Museum Right Now, Cairo Excursions [print this page] The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history.
It houses the world"s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen.
The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Ezbekeyah Garden. The museum soon moved to Boulaq in 1858 because the original building was getting to be too small to hold all of the artifacts.
In 1855, shortly after the artifacts were moved, Duke Maximilian of Austria was given all of the artifacts. He hired a French architect to design and construct a new museum for the antiquities.
The new building was to be constructed on the bank of the Nile River in Boulaq. In 1878, after the museum has been completed for some time, it suffered some irreversible damage; a flood of the Nile River caused the antiquities to be relocated to another museum, in Giza.
The artifacts remained there until 1902 when they were moved, for the last time, to the current museum in Tahrir Square.
During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the museum was broken into, and two mummies were reportedly destroyed. Several artifacts were also shown to have been damaged.
There are two main floors in the museum, the ground floor and the first floor. On the ground floor there is an extensive collection of papyrus and coins used in the Ancient world.
The numerous pieces of papyrus are generally small fragments, due to their decay over the past two millennia.
Several languages are found on these pieces, including Greek, Latin, Arabic, and the Ancient Egyptian writing language of hieroglyphs.
The coins found on this floor are made of many different metals, including gold, silver, and bronze.
The coins are not only Egyptian, but also Greek, Roman, and Islamic. This has helped historians research the history of Ancient Egyptian trade. Also on the ground floor are artifacts from the New Kingdom, the time period between 1550 and 1069 BC.
These artifacts are generally larger than items created in earlier centuries. Those items include statues, tables, and coffins (sarcophagi).
On the first floor there are artifacts from the final two dynasties of Ancient Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and the courtier Maiherpri, as well as many artifacts from the Valley of the Kings.
Main articles: King Tutankhamun and Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Unlike many tombs discovered in Egypt, that of King Tutankhamun was found mostly intact. Inside the tomb there was a large collection of artifacts used throughout the King"s life.
These artifacts ranged from a decorated chest, which was most likely used as a closet or suitcase, two ivory and gold bracelets, necklaces, and other decorative jewelry, to alabaster vases and flasks.
The tomb was also home to many weapons and instruments used by the King. Although the tomb held over 3,500 artifacts, the tomb was not found completely intact.
In fact, there had been at least two robberies of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamun's burial.
