Egyptian Museum Field Trip

This morning my Egyptology class met at the famous Egyptian Museum in Cairo to get a closer look at some its treasures. Rather than just look at some of these priceless artifacts via a powerpoint presentation, we actually got to see them in person. This way, we can see the intricacies of each object, and I'll give some examples later on in my post.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities was first established in 1835 by the Egyptian government, but because of its number of artifacts and some flooding, it was eventually moved to its current site in 1902 at Tahrir Square. It holds over 120,000 artifacts, although much of that resides in the storerooms.

The center piece of the front area of the Museum is a pond. Without our professor, most of us would have passed by it without realizing its symbolism. The reed-like plants in the center of the pond are supposed to be papyrus (they are actually a different of plant but they nonetheless strongly resemble papyrus), thereby symbolizing Lower Egypt (northern Egypt, including the Nile Delta). The lilies on the water symbolize Upper Egypt. Our professor had us get down on our stomachs and smell the lily flower because it apparently has hallucigenic qualities. I guess it makes the visit that much more colorful.

Unfortunately, you're not allowed to bring your cameras inside with you, so I remembered one of the things our professor showed us and found its picture on the internet. The above picture is of the Narmer Palette, and it is one of the first things you see upon entering the inside of the Museum. This picture shows both sides of the Palette. To give you an idea of its size, it's about 2 feet tall. Dating back to the 31st century BC, it's one of the oldest artifacts with hieroglyphics. It is thought to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt because King Narmer wears the Lower Egyptian crown, the Deshret on one side, and the Upper Egyptian crown, the Hedjet, on the reverse. This was definitely one of the most interesting pieces I saw at the Museum today. There is no way one person could see everything in one day, and I'll be sure to go back soon. I was surprised though that even after just two weeks of my Egyptology course, I could notice some of the special characteristics that make each piece unique. Also, I was able to determine some of the symbolic meaning as well. Hopefully, by the end of the semester, I'll be able to unearth even more of the underlying meanings of these objects. They are sort of like a mystery puzzle, and it's really fun to solve them. Side note: It helps when you have an expert in the field explaining them to you.

This is one of the many artifacts littering the front outside area of the Museum. It made me think of my buddies at home and abroad.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair