by Ihab Shaarawy

Every bit as remarkable as the world premiere of the exhibition on "Egypt Sunken Treasures", which is to be shown in Berlin, Germany from May 13 through September 4 [2006], is the manner in which the artefacts will be brought from Alexandria to Berlin. Some of them weigh several tonnes and for the journey, they are to be loaded onto the transport aircraft Airbus 300-600ST Beluga, which Airbus is lending for this special cultural undertaking.

Having spent thousands of years on the bottom of the sea, the monumental statues, fragments of ancient columns and cult objects will arrive in Germany's capital aboard an aircraft with today's most voluminous cargo hold.

"By supporting the exhibition Airbus and its parent company EADS wish to make a contribution to cultural life and to enable the city of Berlin and its visitors from all over the world to experience "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" in what is on of the most famous and beautiful exhibition buildings in Germany — the Martin-Gropius-Bau," EADS and Airbus have said in a press release.

The exhibit will present 489 artefacts discovered during underwater archaeological excavations done from 1992 to 2005.

Those excavations have been performed under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM). Those excavations were performed in the Great Port of Alexandria (the Portus Magnus now submerged) as well as in the bay of Abu Qir; more particularly on the sunken city of Heracleion, discovered in 2000, and on the site of East Canopus already partially spotted in 1934 by Omar Toussoum.

Among those objects are three colossus statues of a Pharaoh, a Queen and Hapy, divinity of the flood of the Nile and of the fertility.

There is also a black granite stele which has revealed the Egyptian name of this city of Heracleion, which is Thinis.

A large statue head, likeness of Caesarion, son of Cleopatra and Cesar, which as retrieved in Alexandria, and a beautiful Ptolemy Queen, proceeding from East Canopus, will be also part of this trip.

But the exhibits' travels are by no means over then they have completed the trip to Berlin on board the "Beluga". At the end of their stay at the Martin-Gropius-Bau the statues will take off again, this time on a flight to France. From December 8 [2006] to March 16 [2007] “Egypt's Sunken Treasures” will be on show in the Grand Palais, Paris.

'Egypt's Sunken Treasures' riding high, The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, April 11, 2006.

Two intact tombs from the first dynasty period, clay models of granaries and the oldest "writer's palette" are among the most recent discoveries made by Polish archaeologists in Tell el-Farcha in the Eastern Nile Delta.

The golden-plated figurines from before 5 thousand years found recently have been transported to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Further excavations resulted in unearthing two tombs, archaeologist Piotr Kołodziejczyk said. The excavations are carried out by Polish Expedition in cooperation with the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology.

One of the uncovered tombs (ca. 3050-2900 BC) contained a skeleton, clay pottery and vessels of sandstone and alabaster. The other tomb several dozen older contained 25 clay vessels.

"The discovery confirms the role of Tell el-Farcha as one of the major centres of the state of the pharaohs that was formed at that time. This changes the to-date views of the role of the inhabitants of the Nile Delta in the establishment of Egyptian monarchy," the Pole believes.

Discoveries by Polish archaeologists in Egypt, Science & Scholarship in Poland, Poland, April 06, 2006.