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The Inquiry: What’s going on with the pyramids?

What’s going on with the pyramids?

29/02/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, What’s going on with the pyramids?

Why did Egypt announce plans to renovate one its most famous pyramids?

Egypt recently announced plans to restore one of its pyramids. The project was then paused after concerns were raised. What was the plan? And why was it so controversial?

One of the most famous of Egypt’s pyramids, Menkaure’s pyramid on the Giza plateau, is the subject of controversy after the Egyptian authorities announced plans to restore it in what the country’s Head of Antiquities has called “the project of the century” and Egypt’s “gift to the world”.
 
But not everyone believes such a restoration is in keeping with the demands of proper archaeological preservation.  

The plans met with opposition from archaeologists and Egyptologists both inside and outside the country. The project has now been paused after recommendations from a scientific committee commissioned by the Egyptian authorities.

So what’s going on with the pyramids?

Presenter: Gary O’Donoghue
Producer: Louise Clarke
Researcher: Matt Toulson
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical producer: Nicky Edwards
Production co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Contributors: 
Aidan Dodson, honorary Professor of Egyptology at Bristol university in the UK
Dr Jennifer Hellum, senior lecturer in classics and ancient history at the University of Auckland in New Zealand
Heba Saleh, Cairo correspondent for the Financial Times
Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo

Photo by KHALED ELFIQI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock via BBC Images

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