A mishmash of archaeology stories dominates news on Egypt in the international press this morning, including continued interest in the idea that a newly discovered ramp helps explain how the Pyramids of Giza were built. Other examples:

• The British Museum should return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt and replace it with a virtual reality replica, General Egyptian Museum (GEM) supervisor Tarek Tawfik said, according to The Telegraph
• Archaeologists working at a site near Matariya found fragments of stone slabs dating back to over 4,000 years, the Associated Press reports.
• Budget challenges are hindering Islamic Cairo’s restoration plans, according to AFP.

Much more interesting: The potential of Islamic finance remains untapped in Egypt. “Hesitant policies” in Egypt are keeping the country from fully tapping the potential of Islamic finance, Arno Maierbrugger writes for the Gulf Times. Regulations for the industry have been slow in materializing, while Finance Ministry officials have been “indecisive” on whether or not to begin relying on sukuk for financing despite their benefits and the industry’s overall potential. “To put the potential into perspective: As per end-2017, Islamic finance assets in Egypt added up to about USD 12.8 bn, which is a market share of less than 6% of all banking assets in the country, according to the Egyptian Islamic Finance Association, which forecasts growth to slightly over USD 14 bn in Shariah-compliant assets this year.” Islamic banks have significant potential to serve SMEs and corporate clients and could play an important role in raising Egypt’s banking penetration by convincing “the unbanked to use professional Islamic banking services through low-income banking products or Islamic microfinance,” Maierbrugger says.