Egypt’s antiquities minister announced yesterday the discovery of a princess’s tomb dating from the fifth dynasty in the Abu Sir region. “We have discovered the antechamber to Princess Shert Nebti’s tomb which contains four limestone pillars,” Mohamed Ibrahim said. The pillars “have hieroglyphic inscriptions giving the princess’s name and her titles, he added. Ibrahim said that the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s mission, directed by Miroslav Bartas, had made the discovery.

Culture Minister Saber Arab opened the Institut d’Egypte following the completion of restoration work. The Institut d’Egypte burned down on 17 December 2011 during clashes between military forces and protesters in front of the nearby Cabinet building, in which at least 17 people were killed and hundreds injured.

The bulk of the collection originated in Egypt, in addition to a small group of fragments from the University of Chicago. A large number of pieces date to the period between 700 and 850 CE. The collection includes a significant number of documents from the pre-Ottoman period and thus offers unique source material on the political, economic, religious and intellectual life of Egypt during the first two centuries of Islamic rule and the period up to Ottoman domination.

The household was the basic unit of the Egyptian social organization, but its composition varies depending on administrative or sociological considerations: administrative records focus on nuclear families while private sources stress the importance of the extended family. Households included people linked by family ties but also serfs, clients, dependants and “friends”, sometimes encompassing hundreds of persons.

According to C14 dating the solar boat found in summer 2012 dates to the first egyptian dynasty (ca. 2950 BC).

Hibis Temple was closed for restoration in the late 1980s and declared off limits to visitors. Restoration work began in early 2000s. Columns and walls were consolidated, cracks repaired and reliefs restored. To protect the temple from drainage and underground water, insulation materials were used as a protective layer between the ground and the foundation of the temple. New lighting systems were installed to allow access to the temple at night.

According to a plan drawn up in 2009, the museum was to be built on a 22500 sq metres site overlooking the Hurghada National Library and shaped like a shell with two sections: one devoted to the museum, restoration labs and storage sections, while the second was to be a visitors' centre displaying photos and documentary films on Hurghada’s archaeological sites and its history since prehistoric times.

“The museum is not only specific to Suez, except when it comes to showcasing the history of the Suez Canal from the ancient times to this day, as well as certain key periods in our history. The other showrooms portray Islamic, Pharaonic, and Greco-Roman histories among others and the museum is meant to attract all sorts of audiences, not just those with an interest in Suez,” a museum spokesperson said.

Egypt is currently building two new museums - the Grand Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation - while nearly all the country's current museums suffer mismanagement, poor upkeep, low visitor turnout, and financial stagnation. Unless cultural management is overhauled and revolutionised, the fate of Egypt's two new museums is likely to be similar to that of other museums in the country.

Dozens of journalists, photographers, TV anchors as well as top government officials at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) gathered Thursday at a large tent erected at the void area in front of the Khafre pyramid in Giza to celebrate the official re-inauguration of Egypt's second largest pyramid and six Old Kingdom royal and noblemen tombs.