A scientific committee rejected on Thursday the project to cover Pyramid of Menkaure with granite cladding and decided to keep the 4,500-year-old structure unchangeable.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed Issa received today the report of the committee that was tasked with examining the renovation project.
The six-expert committee was chaired by archaeologist and former Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawas.
All members of the committee did not agree to reinstall hundreds of granite blocks to form the outer casing of the Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three main pyramids of Giza.
The structure was originally covered in 16 courses of granite blocks but only seven remain today.
The committee said it is impossible to know for sure the exact place of these granite blocks to reinstall them around the pyramid.
The pyramid was constructed as a monumental tomb of the fourth dynasty Pharaoh Menkaure around 2510 BC, to an original height of 65.5 meters (215 feet). It now stands at 61 m (200 feet) tall.
Experts believe the unfinished nature of the granite cladding indicates that King Menkaure died before the structure was finished and his son completed the stonework.
Digging in the site, however, will continue with the aim of unearthing more layers of the bedrock beneath the pyramid, the committee said.
