By Tom Westcott and Reem Tombokti.
Tripoli, 1 May 2013:
Tripoli Museum, which houses many treasures, from prehistoric remains to Roman and Islamic . . .[restrict]artefacts, could be opened in a just a few weeks’ time.
The chairman of the Department of Antiquities, Saleh Agab, said yesterday that there were plans to reopen the museum on 18 May – International Museum Day.
Many local people and visitors have never been inside the museum, which overlooks Martyrs’ Square. With over 40 galleries on four floors, the museum houses artefacts from six thousand years of human life in Libya.
It has some well-preserved examples of ancient pottery and rock paintings – both representations and actual fragments – along with some superb Greek and Roman sculptures. It also houses ‘the oldest African’ – the mummified remains of a three-year old child, which are believed to be over 5,700 years old.
“We opened the museum before,” Agab said, “but we had to close it again for maintenance and security reasons.” If these issues are dealt with in the next few weeks, he said, the museum will be opened to the general public on 18 May. [/restrict]
