BIA

FÉVRIER 2015
Minister of antiquities, Mamdûh al-Damâtî,
told Ahram online that the first bust is 174 cm
tall and depicts Sekhmet sitting on the thrown,
while the second is 45 cm tall and features the
face of the lioness god Sekhmet.
Such a large number highlights the
important role of the goddess during the reign
of the 18 th dynasty king Amenhotep III, father
of the monotheistic king Akhnaten, and
grandfather of the golden king Tutankhamun.
Sekhmet was believed to be a protective
goddess as she was also the goddess of war
and destruction. “Some Egyptologists,” pointed
out SOUROUZIAN, “believe that king Amenhotep
constructed a large number of statue goddess
Sekhmet in an attempt to cure him of a
specific disease that he suffered during his
reign.” Sekhmet was well known for her
supposed ability to cure critical diseases.
Ten years ago, the archaeologists unearthed
a large number of statues of Amenhotep III and
his wife Queen Tiye, as well as some parts of
the temple’s walls. The team aims to produce a
virtual reconstruction of the temple using the
latest computer programs, she added, saying
that this reconstruction would show the original
position of every surviving piece within the
original temple. (Nevine El-Aref, “Busts of the
lioness goddess unearthed in Luxor”, Ahram
Online, February 24, 2015. Voir également
MENA, « Découverte à Louqsor de deux statues
de Sekhmet en granit noir », al-Shurûq, 22
février ; “German archeologists discover statues
of Sekhmet in Luxor”, Egypt Independent,
February 24).
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Le ministre de l’Archéologie, Dr Mamdûh al-
Damâtî, a reçu ce matin le vice-président
exécutif des missions et programmes de la
National Geographic Society (NGS), Terry D.
GARCIA ; ainsi que Fredrik T. HIEBERT. L’entretien
a porté sur les moyens de renforcer la
coopération bilatérale dans les domaines de
l’archéologie et de la recherche scientifique. Ils
ont également discuté la possibilité d’organiser
quelques expositions égyptiennes à l’étranger,
afin de compenser la perte des ressources
financières du ministère. al-Damâtî a révélé que
la NGS soutiendra financièrement les fouilles
archéologiques, à commencer par celle de
Mârînâ. (Dînâ ‘Abd al-‘Alîm, « al-Damâtî examine
avec des cadre du NGS les modalités de
coopération », al-Yawm al-Sâbi‘, 24 février
2015. Voir également ‘Alâ’ al-Dîn al-Zâhir,
« Coopération entre le ministère de
l’Archéologie et le NGS en matière de
recherche scientifique », Ruz al-Yûsuf, 24
février).
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Jeudi 26 février 2015
After a five-year hiatus, the second phase
of the restoration project for the al-Zâhir
Baybars Mosque in Cairo is to resume soon
after approval from the Permanent Committee
of Islamic Antiquities.
According to Mustafa Amîn, secretarygeneral
of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
(SCA), the mosque restoration started in 2007,
but was stopped in 2010 when the SCA’s
archaeological committee supervising the work
realised that the contractor in charge was
using red bricks that did not match the
mosque’s original bricks.
“The committee had agreed to use adobe
bricks in the restoration work that were similar
to those of the mosque,” Amîn told the Weekly.
He said that the restoration, funded by the
government of Kazakhstan to the tune of LE88
million, would continue soon. Up to now, LE31
million has been made available for the first
and second stages of the second phase of the
work.
According to the original plan, the
restoration work would be carried out in three
phases to return the mosque to its original
glory.
BIA LI — Janvier/Juin 2015 49