The Mallawi Museum: Treasures of Middle Egypt between History and Rebirth
The Mallawi Museum is one of the most significant regional museums of Egypt, a small but precious cultural institution that houses artefacts coming from the very rich archaeological sites of Middle Egypt, in particular from ancient Hermopolis Magna and from the necropolis of Tuna el-Gebel. Located in the town of Mallawi, in the governorate of Minya, about 300 kilometres south of Cairo, the museum tells a fascinating story that spans millennia of civilisation and which, in recent years, has known dramatic chapters of destruction and rebirth.
Founded in 1963, the Mallawi Museum was conceived to collect and protect the artefacts coming from the archaeological excavations conducted in the surrounding region, one of the richest areas of Egypt from the point of view of cultural heritage. Its collections comprise over a thousand objects ranging from the Old Kingdom to the Roman period, offering a complete cross-section of the civilisation that flourished in this portion of the Nile Valley.
The Collections of the Museum
The Artefacts of Hermopolis Magna
Hermopolis Magna, the modern el-Ashmunein, was one of the most important cities of ancient Egypt, centre of the cult of the god Thoth, deity of wisdom, of writing and of the moon. The museum houses numerous artefacts coming from this site, including votive stelae, statues, architectural fragments and ritual objects that testify to the richness and importance of the Thothian cult.
Among the most notable pieces are statues in limestone and granite of Thoth in his form of ibis and in that of baboon, the two animal incarnations of the god. These artefacts illustrate the iconographic variety with which the deity was represented and venerated. Fragments of columns and capitals coming from the temples of Hermopolis document the different construction phases of the city, from the Ramesside era to the Ptolemaic period.
The museum also preserves important Greek papyri found in the area of Hermopolis. These documents, drafted in Greek and in Demotic, comprise contracts, letters, administrative texts and literary fragments that shed light on the daily life of the multi-ethnic population that inhabited the city in the Ptolemaic and Roman period.
The Mummies of Sacred Animals of Tuna el-Gebel
The most famous and spectacular collection of the museum is without doubt that of the mummies of sacred animals coming from the catacombs of Tuna el-Gebel, the necropolis of Hermopolis. The underground galleries of Tuna el-Gebel contained tens of thousands of mummies of ibises and baboons, animals sacred to the god Thoth, deposited as votive offerings by the faithful over the course of several centuries.
The museum exhibits specimens of carefully prepared baboon mummies, wrapped in linen bandages and laid in limestone sarcophagi. These mummies were produced in mass by the priests of the temple of Thoth: the faithful purchased a mummy, inscribed on it a prayer or a wish and deposited it in the catacombs as an offering to the god. The phenomenon of the embalming of sacred animals reached industrial proportions in the late and Ptolemaic period, and the catacombs of Tuna el-Gebel are among the most vast ever discovered.
Next to the baboon mummies, the museum exhibits ibis mummies — birds with a long curved beak, also sacred to Thoth — preserved in terracotta jars or wrapped in elaborate bandaging. Recent studies conducted with imaging techniques have revealed that not all the mummies contain complete animal remains: some contain only fragments of bones or feathers, testifying to the mass production of these votive offerings to satisfy the demand of the pilgrims.
The Greco-Roman Funerary Portraits
Another section of great interest of the museum is dedicated to the funerary portraits of the Greco-Roman period, similar to the famous Fayum portraits. These paintings on wooden panel, made with the encaustic technique (pigments mixed with melted wax), were placed on the face of the mummies and represent the deceased with a surprising realism that makes them among the most ancient individual portraits in the history of art.
The portraits exhibited at Mallawi show men and women of the middle and upper class of Roman Egypt, with hairstyles, jewellery and clothing that reflect the fashions of the 1st-3rd century AD. The faces are rendered with a remarkable expressive intensity, with large dark eyes and features that blend Egyptian and Greco-Roman traits, testifying to the multicultural society of imperial Egypt.
Statuary and Ritual Objects
The museum also houses a variety of statues, amulets, ushabti (funerary figurines), canopic jars and objects of daily use coming from the necropolises of the region. Particularly interesting are the ushabti in blue and green faience, small figures destined to work in place of the deceased in the afterlife, which show a remarkable variety of styles and quality levels.
The funerary stelae, both Egyptian and Greco-Roman, constitute another important nucleus of the collection. These slabs of stone, carved and sometimes painted, represent the deceased in the presence of the deities and bear inscriptions that provide precious information on local prosopography and on the funerary beliefs of the different eras.
The Looting of 2013 and the Rebirth
The Tragedy
On 14 August 2013, in the context of the violent political agitations that shook Egypt after the deposition of president Morsi, the Mallawi Museum was assaulted and looted by a crowd. In a few hours, hundreds of artefacts were stolen, display cases shattered, halls devastated. It is estimated that about 1,050 objects were stolen, including some of the most precious mummies of sacred animals and funerary portraits. The fire set to the structure caused further damage to the remaining artefacts.
The news of the looting aroused indignation and grief in the international community of Egyptologists and lovers of cultural heritage. The Mallawi Museum became a symbol of the vulnerability of Egyptian archaeological heritage in times of political instability.
The Recovery and the Restoration
In the months and years following the looting, the Egyptian authorities and the local community engaged in a work of recovery that has given surprising results. Thanks to police operations, to the collaboration of the citizens and to the work of the customs, about 950 of the 1,050 stolen objects were recovered. Many artefacts were returned voluntarily by the inhabitants of the area themselves, demonstrating a deep attachment of the local population to their cultural heritage.
The museum was subjected to an ambitious restoration project, financed by the Egyptian government with the support of international organisations. The works comprised the complete redoing of the exhibition halls, the installation of new security display cases, the updating of the lighting and air-conditioning system and the design of a modern museum route with bilingual information panels in Arabic and English.
The museum reopened its doors to the public in 2015, completely renewed and with a layout that enhances the collections more effectively than in the past. The rebirth of the Mallawi Museum has been celebrated as an example of cultural resilience and of collective commitment in the protection of heritage.
The Archaeological Context: Hermopolis and Tuna el-Gebel
To fully understand the importance of the Mallawi Museum, it is essential to know the sites from which its artefacts come. Hermopolis Magna was for millennia one of the most important religious and intellectual centres of Egypt. According to the Hermopolitan cosmogony, it was right here that eight primordial deities — the Ogdoad — emerged from the primeval chaos to give beginning to the creation. This theological tradition had a profound influence on Egyptian religion and on the Greek philosophy that derived from it.
Tuna el-Gebel, the necropolis of Hermopolis, is one of the most fascinating funerary sites of Egypt. In addition to the catacombs of sacred animals, the site comprises a Greco-Roman necropolis with monumental tombs decorated with frescoes that blend Egyptian and Greco-Roman iconography, including the famous tomb of Petosiris, high priest of Thoth in the 4th century BC.
Tips for the Visit
How to Get There
Mallawi is located along the main Cairo-Luxor railway line and can be reached by train from both cities. The train journey from Minya, the nearest provincial capital, takes about an hour. Alternatively, it is possible to reach Mallawi by taxi or minibus from Minya. The museum is located in the centre of the town and is easily reachable on foot from the railway station.
Tickets and Hours
The museum is open from 9:00 to 16:00 every day except Friday. The cost of the ticket is very contained. The visit of the museum can be combined with excursions to Hermopolis (el-Ashmunein), Tuna el-Gebel and Beni Hassan, creating a rich itinerary of one or two days in Middle Egypt.
What to Bring
For the visit to the museum no particular equipment is necessary. If you plan to visit also the surrounding archaeological sites, bring comfortable shoes, water, sun protection and a torch to explore the catacombs of Tuna el-Gebel. The museum has a small bookshop where it is possible to purchase publications on the sites of the region.
Photographic Tips
Photography is generally permitted inside the museum without the use of flash. The funerary portraits and the mummies of sacred animals are the most photogenic subjects. To obtain the best results, use a bright lens and exploit the light of the display cases to avoid unwanted reflections on the glass.
The Mallawi Museum represents much more than a simple collection of artefacts: it is the symbol of the tenacity of a community that has known how to protect and recover its own cultural heritage even in the most difficult circumstances. Visiting it means paying homage to this resilience and discovering a little-known but extraordinarily rich page of Egyptian civilisation.
