The Greeks developed mathematics as a deductive science that reached its climax with Euclid of Alexandria in his masterpiece The Elements. Before that, during the ancient Egyptian era, mathematics was an inductive discipline of a utilitarian nature used to perform practical tasks such as flood control or land measurement using rope. It has been suggested that mathematics then amounted to no more than the two-times table and the ability to find two-thirds of any number. The whole structure of Egyptian mathematics was said to be based on these two simple rules, and indeed no evidence exists of a textual geometry with constructions and proofs.

Yet, looking at the Egyptians' stunning monuments, as well as a civilisation that spanned three millennia, one might expect to find a similar element of grandeur in their sciences — especially in mathematics and astronomy. How did they configure the manpower and materials needed to build more than 90 pyramids? It is obvious that to calculate the vast amount of computations they needed, the ancient Egyptians reached a fairly advanced mathematical knowledge.

Several eminent Greek mathematicians — Pythagoras, Thales and Archimedes, to name just a few — worked in Egypt, and it is likely that Egyptian mathematics was absorbed into the body of Greek mathematics. The Giza pyramids offer definitive evidence of the ancient accuracy of measuring...

Mathematics in Ancient Egypt, Assem Deif, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 829, January 25 - 31, 2007.

I have spent most of my life excavating so that I can reveal the secrets from the sand. I always feel magic and mystery at each discovery. I never thought that this passion would also include underwater excavations.

When I was visiting Hawaii, I tried underwater diving, but was not able to stay in the deep for more than a few minutes. However, I do enjoy watching divers, including Franck Goddio and others in Alexandria, swimming among hundreds of artefacts which have been discovered thus far. They are in two locations: the eastern harbour of Alexandria, where a number of royal palaces of Queen Cleopatra and Ptolemaic rulers were established, and at Abu Qir Bay where the lost cities of Canopus and Herakleion lie. Here evidence of the lost cities has been found, along with wrecks of Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet.

The problem with underwater archaeology is that the artefacts are encased with salt which takes a long time to clean off. When I became the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), I decided to leave these artefacts in situ, since many objects had been lifted off the sea bed and I thought we should leave the rest to the possible underwater museum, the only archaeological underwater museum in the world.

Recently, Goddio selected some 500 objects to be exhibited across Europe. The exhibition Egypt's sunken treasures went first to Berlin...

Last December the exhibition went to Paris, where it will be on display for three months at the Grand Palais...

Ägyptens versunkene Schätze, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin.

Trésors engloutis d'Égypte, Grand Palais, Paris.

I notice that a third venue has been announced for April 05, 2007 until January 28, 2008 as the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Art and exhibition hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) in Bonn.

Dig Days: The Underwater Treasures of Egypt in Paris, Zahi Hawass, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 829, January 25 - 31, 2007.

The Italian government had presented President Hosni Mubarak with a rare manuscript dating back to the third Hijra century.

The manuscript is a full text of a book written by Islamic Arab writer Ibn Dawoud Al-Asfahani.

A statement by the Italian Embassy said Ambassador Antonio Badini handed over the gift on the occasion marking the choice of Italy as the guest of honor of Cairo International Book Fair, that will kick off on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the book has been compiled in the year 300 and includes poems of romance showing the interaction between the Islamic and Christian civilizations at the time.

Italy presents Mubarak with rare manuscript dating back to 3rd Hijra century, Egypt State Information Service, Egypt, January, 23, 2007.