CAIRO, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that the 17-ton Column of King Meneptah has been transported from the Salaheddin Citadel, where it had been conserved and stored, to the atrium of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza. King Meneptah, a son of Ramesses II, ruled from 1213 to 1203 B.C. His red-granite column, which stands more than 18 feet tall, was discovered in 1970 in the remains of the Meneptah Temple in a waterlogged residential neighborhood in Cairo. Engravings on the column include a list of the king’s titles, scenes depicting his victories over Libyan tribes, and his cartouche. Osama Abulkheir, director general of the GEM’s restoration department, said work on the column will be completed at the new museum, where it will share the atrium of the museum's main entrance with the colossus of Ramesses II. For more, go to “Dawn of Egyptian Writing.”
