Medinet Madi – Egyptian Monuments

Medinet Madi

Medinet Madi

This project is the result of a successful Egyptian-Italian collaboration aimed at protecting and restoring this important archaeological site. The University of Pisa, which has been working on the site since 1978, is responsible for the technical and scientific supervision of this project. It began in 2005 and has been generously funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Italy with a grant of €3,500,000. The project’s other partner groups are the United Nations Development Program, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, the Ministry of Tourism, and, of course, the Fayoum Governorate and the Ministry of State for Antiquities.

Medinet Madi History

Medinet Madi was founded during the reigns of Amenemhat III (c. 1859-1813 BC) and Amenemhat IV (c. 1814-1805 BC) of the 12th Dynasty (c. 1981-1802 BC) as an agricultural village called Dja. During the Ptolemaic period, it became known as Narmouthis, a Greek name meaning “the city of Renenutet-Hermouthis.” This was because its temple, the only known example from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2030-1802 BC), was dedicated to the cobra-headed goddess, Renenutet, and the crocodile-headed god, Sobek of Scedet, patron god of the region and its capitol, Scedet.

During its exploration work, the University of Pisa has also uncovered ten Coptic churches dating to the 5th-7th centuries AD, a Ptolemaic temple (332-30 BC) dedicated to two crocodiles, which incorporated a unique barrel-vaulted structure used for the incubation of crocodile eggs, and a Roman period fortified camp dating to the reign of Diocletian (284-305 AD). In 2004, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Italy, the University restored blocks bearing four hymns to the goddess, Isis, written in ancient Greek.

Medinet Mad

Medinet Madi Present

As part of the new collaboration project, Egypt’s first archaeological garden was created, fully equipped with tourist facilities, and connected to the sites of Medinet Madi, Wadi el-Rayan and Wadi el-Hitan with 28 km of unpaved, naturally surfaced roads. Comprehensive archaeological survey, and topographic mapping of the site and all of its archaeological remains have also been undertaken. The site’s temples were in a very bad state of repair, and in a great joint effort between the Egyptian and Italian teams were strengthened and restored. The sand that had naturally built up around the temple over time was removed, and the other monuments that were found as a result of this clearance work were also restored. A buffer zone was created around Medinet Madi to better protect it in the future and to limit agricultural encroachment on the site.

Medinet Madi Strategy

The route to enter the site has been carefully planned, so that the visitor approaches from the South Altar along what was the processional route in ancient times for the cult statues of the site’s temples. Tourists then pass through approximately 280 m of the site until the reaching its north side where a large Roman period town square is located. Along with the archaeological garden, the visitor center, carefully situated to have minimal impact on the archaeological remains, can be seen. This center provides a complete view of the history of the site and that of the whole Fayoum area through replica statues, information panels and photographs. It has a café, library and conference area. An eco-lodge also provides visitors with a place for rest and recreation, and the opportunity to stay the night in the presence of the monuments.

Medinet Madi Cairo Egypt

The area of Wadi el-Hetan is Egypt’s only natural World Heritage Site. At the end of the event a press conference was held and I announced my intention to apply to have this designation extended to include Medinet Madi and to have the designation changed to be a natural and cultural site, as with the area of St Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai. I also announced that I am planning to build a museum dedicated to the Fayoum Portraits, unique to this area and as impressive in their artistic value as the objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb.

I believe that el-Fayoum city is one of the most beautiful cities in Egypt. I am pleased that the local government and I will be focusing in the next few days on ways to encourage more visitors to this area and to give it the attention it deserves. The whole area has the potential to be considered as an open-air museum on the scale of Luxor and ought to be a must-see destination. I will be working with the Fayoum Governor to improve the road between the city and Wadi el-Rayan to better facilitate trips to the sites as part of this goal. Tickets to visit Medinet Madi are being printed now and will be available next week.

I also announced at the press conference that the Minister of Culture in Peru recently approached me to host the second conference on International Cooperation for the Protection and Repatriation of Cultural Heritage in July after I helped them to repatriate some artifacts from the United States. It will involve 100 countries as well as UNESCO representatives. The next stage in the long battle over the repatriation of the Ka-Nefer-Nefer mask is that Saint Louis Art Museum, where it is currently displayed, has taken the US Department of Homeland Security Investigations to court. Homeland Security Investigations is in possession of all of the evidence that the Ministry has gathered to prove that the mask was taken out of Egypt illegally and is fighting for its return on our behalf. I expect that the mask will come home soon along with some stolen coffins with the help of Homeland Security as well. this is Medinet Madi Cairo Egypt.