The Relics of Egypt: Exploring the Largest Museum in the World is a documentary film which premiered in 2021. It was aired on Australian television (SBS) in 2022.
The topic of this film is the Grand Egyptian Museum (the GEM) which the Egyptian government is building in Giza, west of the capital Cairo, not far from the three famous pyramids which are built on the Giza Plateau.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Writer and director: Jeremy Frey
** Narrator: anonymous
** Language: English
** Subtitles: English
** Available on the SBS website
** Run time: 55 minutes
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was founded in 1902. At the time, the number of ancient items available was not so high, while the number of visitors to the museum was limited, so the museum had a good size.
In the 1960s and the 1970s, when mass tourism began to develop, the number of ancient items was much higher than before, and the number of visitors to the museum was increasing year by year. It was becoming more and more difficult for the museum to cope with the situation.
Around the year 2000, the Egyptian government decided that it was necessary to build a new museum to present the large number of ancient items in a better way and to make enough space for the large number of visitors to Egypt.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is abbreviated with three letters, which build an acronym: the GEM, which is a highly appropriate abbreviation.
The site chosen for the new museum is Giza, west of Cairo, not far from the three famous pyramids which are built on the Giza Plateau.
The Egyptian government did not wish to build the new museum on top of some ancient monument. This is why they chose the sandy area next to the Giza Plateau. The ancient Egyptians did not build anything in this area.
In 2002, an international competition was announced. Many architects from many countries submitted a project. In 2003, the winner was announced. The winner was a company of architects from Ireland.
The new museum has a rectangular shape. Viewed from
above, there are six long and narrow tubes which are placed almost parallel to
each other. The six tubes are pointing towards the three pyramids on the Giza
Plateau. This is how the new museum is integrated and connected with the ancient monuments in the area.
Construction began around 2005. At first, it was believed the project could be completed within ten years, that is by 2015. But this did not happen.
Large construction projects are almost never completed on time. The original budget is almost never enough.
Many large projects go over the budget, and it takes longer than planned to complete them.
Perhaps this is because the original budget was unrealistically small?
Perhaps this is because the original time table was unrealistically short?
Later, it was expected that the new museum could be completed within 15 years, that is by 2020. This did not happen, either.
The Egyptian government could not know that their plan would be disturbed by events and forces over which they had no control.
They could not know about the Corona Virus. They could
not know about the Covid-19 Pandemic which would cause their plan and many
other plans to be cancelled or put on hold for a while.
During 2020 and 2021, the work on the GEM did not stop completely, but the progress was slowed down because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
In 2021, the new museum was expected to open in 2022, but this did not happen, either. In 2022, it was expected to open sometime during 2023.
Perhaps this will happen.
The topic of this film is important. And the general topic is covered quite well, but there are some unfortunate flaws here and there. Let me explain:
# 1. The Rosetta Stone
35 minutes into the film, the narrator mentions the Rosetta Stone. Here is what he says:
“The Rosetta Stone has changed hands many times. Discovered in 1799 during Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign in Egypt, it was later retrieved by England and has been on display at the British Museum since 1802.”
The chronology is correct.
The stone was discovered by the French in 1799. In 1801, when the French were defeated by the British, the French were forced to hand it over to the British.
It was transported to England and has been on display at the British Museum since 1802.
But how can this chain of events justify the description given here?
“The Rosetta Stone has changed hands many times.”
How many countries are involved? Only two. The French and the British. When the term “many hands” is used, we expect at least three or four countries. But in this case, there are only two. The term used here is unfortunate.
# 2. The obelisks in Paris and in Rome
35 minutes into the film, the narrator mentions an obelisk in Paris and an obelisk in Rome. Here is what he says:
“In Paris, the obelisk at Place de la Concorde is one of the most iconic and ancient monuments in the city. It was a gift from Egypt to France in 1836, as a sign of goodwill. However, the obelisk at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican was brought to Italy at the request of Pope Sixtus V.”
(1) The information presented about the obelisk in Paris is highly misleading.
At the time, Egypt was a province of the Ottoman Empire. While the obelisk was a gift, it was not a gift from the Egyptian government or the Egyptian people. It was a gift from the Ottoman ambassador of Egypt.
The chronology offered by the narrator is not correct.
The gift was offered in 1830. The obelisk was taken down in 1831 and reached France in 1833. It was erected in the current location in 1836.
(2) The information presented about the obelisk in Rome is completely false.
This obelisk was brought from Egypt to Rome in antiquity. In AD 37, Emperor Caligula ordered the obelisk to be transported to Rome. In antiquity it was placed in the circus of Nero.
It was moved to its current location in 1586 according to an order by Pope Sixtus V. The pope was involved in the case, but he did not order the obelisk to be transported from Egypt to Rome.
When the pope decided to erect this obelisk in St. Peter’s Square, it was already in Rome. And it had been there for more than a thousand years.
# 3. The Curse of the tomb
38 minutes into the film, the narrator mentions the curse of the tomb or the curse of the mummy.
The curse is supposed to strike down any person who enters the tomb.
There is no curse. The curse is often mentioned when talking about ancient tombs in Egypt, but it is a myth. There is no curse in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
# 4. The tomb of Tutankhamun
41 minutes into the film, the narrator tells us that the tomb of Tutankhamun “was discovered intact.”
This is not true. It is a common claim but still not true. Tomb robbers entered the tomb in antiquity, but for some reason they did not steal much. Perhaps they did not steal anything at all. The break in was noticed in antiquity. And the tomb was sealed again.
In 1922, when Howard Carter discovered the tomb, it was not intact. It was almost intact.
It is not fair to blame the anonymous narrator for these false or misleading statements. He is merely reading a script which was written for him.
Who is the writer?
Who is responsible?
The answer is Jeremy Frey - writer and director - who displays a surprising lack of knowledge about the history of ancient Egypt and the history of ancient Rome.
There is more to complain about. And this time the anonymous narrator must be blamed.
He does not know how to pronounce certain words which are essential when we are dealing with the history of ancient Egypt
Case # 1 - Akhenaten
41 minutes into the film, he mentions the father of Tutankhamun, Akhenaten. But he does not know how to say this name. He says:
A-khe-na-ten
With the stress on the second syllable. But this is wrong. The normal and proper way to say this name is:
A-khe-na-ten
With no stress on any syllable or (to put it another way) with the same stress on all four syllables.
Why did nobody tell him he was wrong? Why did nobody tell him how to say this name?
Case # 2 - Papyrus
47 minutes into the film, he mentions the word papyrus. He says:
Pa-py-rus
With the stress on the first syllable. But this is wrong. The normal and proper pronunciation of this word is:
Pa-py-rus
With the stress on the second syllable.
He mentions this word again two minutes later. He still uses the wrong pronunciation, which shows that the first case was not a slip of the tongue. He does not know how to say this word!
I like this film and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, there are some flaws which cannot be ignored. I have to remove one star because of these flaws.
This is why I think this product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent)
REFERENCES
Lost Treasures of Egypt
(Four seasons) (30 episodes)
(2019-2022)
Tutankhamun in Colour
(2020)
Valley of the Kings:
The Lost Tombs
(2021)
Tutankhamun:
The Last Exhibition
(2021)
Tutankhamun:
Allies & Enemies
(2022)
The Champollion Adventure
(2022)
Decoding Hieroglyphics
(2022)
*****
The GEM seen from above
Six long and narrow tubes are pointing
towards the three famous pyramids
which are built on the Giza Plateau
*****
The Grand Egyptian Museum
Seen from outside
*****
The Grand Egyptian Museum
Inside the GEM
*****
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