As part of following up on the final preparations to host the "Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs" exhibition at its seventh stop in the British capital London, Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, made an inspection visit to the Neon Battersea Power Station hall in London to check the hall's readiness to receive the exhibition, which is scheduled to open next February 28 and run until August 30, 2026, following the end of its run in the Japanese capital Tokyo.
The inspection visit included reviewing the readiness of the exhibition halls in terms of display cases, lighting, security and protection systems and other technical equipment, to ensure that all the requirements for the exhibition's opening are met and that the highest levels of protection and security are provided for the artifacts, in addition to applying the approved security and precautionary procedures, ensuring the exhibition is presented in a manner befitting its status as one of the most prominent ambassadors of Egyptian civilization abroad.
The route for bringing the artifacts into the hall and the secured rooms designated for storing the pieces during the exhibition preparation phase were also inspected, in addition to reviewing the various security systems, including surveillance cameras, motion detectors, and fire-fighting and automatic extinguishing systems.
The Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities held a number of meetings with the exhibition organizers to discuss the various procedures and ideas related to the official opening ceremony, to ensure the event is organized at the highest level, befitting the importance of the exhibition and the greatness of Egyptian civilization.
Ismail stressed that archaeological exhibitions abroad are an important window for introducing the ancient Egyptian civilization to the peoples of the world and highlighting the genius and skill of the ancient Egyptians in science, engineering, art and other fields, helping to strengthen cultural rapprochement between peoples, as well as being an effective tool for promoting tourism to Egypt and its cultural and archaeological assets worldwide.
It is worth noting that the "Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs" exhibition includes 180 artifacts from the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir dating back to the era of King Ramses II, in addition to the coffin of King Ramses II from the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and a number of artifacts discovered by the Egyptian mission in the Bubasteion area in Saqqara, as well as selections from the collections of other Egyptian museums. The collection highlights the distinctive features of ancient Egyptian civilization from the Middle Kingdom to the Late Period through statues, jewelry, cosmetic tools, stelae and stone blocks decorated with inscriptions, as well as a number of painted wooden coffins.
The exhibition began its world tour in 2021 with its first stop in Houston in the United States, followed by San Francisco and the French capital Paris, before moving to the Sydney museum in Australia, then the German city of Cologne, and on to the Japanese capital Tokyo.
