MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART: A bank account had been set up to collect donations for the restoration of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Cairo. The bank account, number 70007000 at all Egyptian banks under the name of the Saving Egyptian Heritage Fund, can receive funds in Egyptian pounds, US dollars and Euros in order to fund restoration projects for heritage buildings that have been damaged or that are experiencing significant deterioration. The account was set up after a car bomb exploded near the Cairo Security Directorate in the Bab Al-Khalq area of Cairo, leading to significant damage to the MIA's neo-Mamluke building and to a great number of its artefacts. FEATHERED SARCOPHAGUS UNEARTHED: A rare wooden anthropoid sarcophagus of a top government official of the ancient Egyptian 17th Dynasty has been unearthed during routine excavations carried out by a Spanish-Egyptian team in the Draa Abul-Nagaa area on Luxor's west bank. The sarcophagus is considered to be rare, according to the MSA Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, because it is decorated with the feathers of birds, causing it to be dubbed a “feathered sarcophagus.” Inside the sarcophagus, the mummy of the deceased was found in a very good state of conservation. A collection of ushabti figurines was also found, along with two other burials that were empty. The sarcophagus has not yet been identified, but early studies have assigned it to a government official. MEMNON COLOSSI: Quartzite blocks once part of the northern statue of the Memnon colossi have been found in the ruins of Amenhotep III's funerary temple on Luxor's west bank. The blocks make up part of the Pharaoh's arm, belt and skirt, as well as part of the crown and foundation stone. MSA Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said the discovery was important because it would provide an opportunity to reconstruct the colossi that once decorated the entrance of Amenhotep III's funerary temple, which was destroyed in antiquity by an earthquake. The funerary temple collapsed except for the two colossi of Memnon which stand in its ruins. The discovery was made by a European-Egyptian archaeological mission working in the Kom Al-Hittan area on Luxor's west bank. INSURANCE FOR MUSEUMS: In order to safeguard museums across Egypt from threats of damage or destruction, the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) is studying the provision of comprehensive insurance certificates. MSA Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said that the initiative came within the framework of the ministry's efforts to protect the country's museums and their priceless collections. An archaeological, legal and administrative committee had been appointed to review the required procedures in order to ensure the security of Egypt's heritage, he added. MISSING GOLD COIN FOUND: A gold coin reported missing from the damaged Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Cairo has been found within the debris. The coin dates to the 77th year of the Hijra and was made during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Abdel-Malek Ibn Marawan.
