The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has received a collection of 346 artefacts from the Old and Middle Kingdoms, including 10 statues of King Senusret I. The artefacts had been housed in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.
Atef Moftah, the General Supervisor at the GEM, , said on Tuesday that the statues of King Senusret I were deposited inside the Great Hall. This has been done in preparation for their placement in the museum’s permanent exhibition space.
Dr Al-Tayeb Abbas, Director General of Archaeology at GEM explained that the statues were discovered in 1894 inside a hole at the mortuary temple of King Senusert’s pyramid in Fayoum governorate.
The limestone statues, depicting a young Senusret sitting on a throne, were transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in 1895.
Senusert I was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt, and is considered one of the most powerful kings of this Dynasty.
Abbas added that one of the most important of artefacts transferred is a rectangular board for the seven oils which were used during burial rites, featuring black inscriptions and seven oval-shaped openings.
Other finds include an offering table used by the Pharaohs Sneferu, Djedefre, and Khufu, a statue of fifth dynasty official Akhethotep who was second only to the Pharaoh Djedkare, and an Old Kingdom wooden statue of a lady.
