The conservation centre at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM-CC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive international conservation centres in the world. GEM-CC, which was built on a 32,000 square meter area, is a regional institute in the field of artefact conservation and preservation, continuously evolving new treatments and methodologies to adapt to the rapidly changing conservation world. It was opened in 2010 during Phase II of the GEM Project. In addition to its role to conserve and prepare the artefacts selected for display at the GEM, GEM-CC is a research institute for the development of the conservation sciences and applications. It not only provides technical support in the field of conservation to the agencies and institutions in the same interests but also contributes to the capacity improvement of conservation professionals both in and outside Egypt. GEM-CC’s multi-disciplined staff is expertly trained in the treatment of paper, textiles, murals, wood, rare books, papyrus, mummies, human remains, pottery, glass, faience, and sculptures.

GEM-CC is located on the west side of the GEM and is connected to the main museum building through a 200-m-long tunnel. It comprises 19 specialised laboratories in addition to six highly equipped storerooms.

The labs in GEM-CC are divided into three categories (Conservation Labs, Preventive Conservation Labs, and Documentation Lab) to cover all the aspects of conservation, whether remedial, preventive, or conservation science.

GEM-CC comprises six conservation labs specialized in remedial conservation and divided according to the artefacts material into: organic lab, mummy and human remains lab, inorganic lab, wood lab, stone and mural paintings lab, and heavy artefacts area.

Conservation Labs are equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and apparatus to facilitate the conservation works, deal with all aspects of health and safety in the workplace, and provide good ventilation and lighting systems.

The spacious labs (a laboratory is approx. 580 m2) provide adequate space for conservation activities, and each lab is provided with a holding room for temporary storage of artefacts.

GEM-CC established four preventive conservation labs The purpose of these labs is to formulate and implement preventive conservation programmes at the GEM in order to ensure the short and long term preservation of the GEM collections in the storerooms, labs and galleries.

Preventive conservators undertake ongoing, comprehensive procedures for protecting the collections, whether on display, in storage or in a lab in order to prevent their deterioration and delay their natural ageing process. Preventive conservation labs are packing/unpacking and storage area, inert gases fumigation lab, anoxia lab, and environmental management unit.

These labs are also equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities, apparatus and equipment, facilitating the optimal implementation of preventive conservation programmes, such as humidifier/dehumidifiers, inert-gas tanks and cylinders, devices for monitoring and recording temperature, relative humidity, light and air pollution, dust, wind direction and velocity, and light control devices, a built-in chamber for anoxic treatments, airtight tents for low-oxygen treatments, and special devices and equipment to safely handle and store the artefacts.

A special policy has been established for the treatments executed in GEM-CC’s labs in compliance with international conservation codes of ethics and guidelines for practice, with a great respect to the specialty of the Egyptian artefacts. The policy is based on three principles: firstly, Minimum Intervention, which guarantees the stabilization of the artefact material(s) (state of preservation), and prevents further damage without excessive intervention with chemicals; secondly, Preventive Conservation by which the environment surrounding the artefacts is well-controlled in order to prevent or stop the deterioration causatives, and thirdly, Non-Destructive Analysis to reveal the necessary information on the artefact and the deterioration products to facilitate the conservation works.