On the occasion of the 117th anniversary of the opening of the Egyptian Museum, two exhibitions will be opened in the museum: the Cachettes and Education in Ancient Egypt.
The Cachettes:
This exhibition will contain objects discovered in the four mummy cachettes:
Deir al‑Bahari Cachette
This cachette was situated behind the southern spur of the mountain of Deir al‑Bahari in the Middle Kingdom tomb of Princess Inhapi (Theban Tomb 320), where royal and priestly mummies were discovered in 1881. The mummies of most of the great kings of ancient Egyptian history were found here: Seqenenre Taa, Ahmose, Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Thutmose III, Ramses I, Sety I, Ramses II, and Pinedjem II. Mummies of queens were discovered here as well: Ahmose Nefertari, the wife of King Ahmose; Sitkamose; Nedjmet, the wife of Herihor; Henuttawi, the wife of Pinedjem I; Maatkare, wife of Osorkon I; Isetemkheb, the daughter of Menkheperre, and Nesikhonsu, the wife of Pinedjem II.
Amenhotep II Cachette
This cachette was found in 1898 by Victor Loret, where the mummy of Amenhotep II and another 13 mummies, nine of which were those of kings and queens: Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Merenptah, Sety II, Siptah, Ramses IV, Ramses V, Ramses VI, and queen Tiye.
Bab al‑Gasus Cachette
In 1891, the largest intact tomb ever found in Egypt was discovered below the first court of the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir al‑Bahari on the west bank of Luxor. The location was pointed out by Mohamed Ahmed Abd al‑Rassul, who had also revealed the location of the Deir al‑Bahari cache of royal mummies in 1881. The clearance of the tomb was conducted by Eugène Grébaut, Director of the Antiquities Service and the Gizeh Museum, Georges Daressy, Urbain Bouriant, and Ahmed Kamal. The tomb, now known by its Arabic name of Bab el-Gasus, contained 254 richly decorated coffins (101 double sets), and over 100 mummies and their funerary equipment. It contained the burials of 21st Dynasty (c.1070–945 BC) middle‑ranking priests and priestesses of Amun from Thebes (ancient Luxor). Today, the collection is one of the largest in the Egyptian Museum.
Asasif Cachette
The Egyptian Archeological mission in Asasif discovered 30 sealed painted 22nd Dynasty wooden coffins.
Education in Ancient Egypt
This exhibition represents the learning process in ancient Egypt and the importance of reading and writing. It also sheds light on mathematics, geometry, and architecture in ancient Egypt. This exhibition will also shed the light on the development of astronomy in ancient Egypt.
In an effort to increase public interaction with the museum, a special education program entitled “The Museum Race” has been implemented. This is a program used in many international museums, with the aim of exposing children of different ages to historical objects by using puzzles related to the course of the exhibition’s narrative.
The “Interactive Egyptian Museum Race” has been prepared in the form of an Arabic and English booklet containing a series of missions to discover hidden answers in the exhibition hall. Contestants need to find the solutions by following the exhibition’s story. The booklet also included some puzzles, coloring pages, and other activities that linked to the themes of the exhibition.
Click here to download the Museum Rally Booklet.
