Egypt to close Tutankhamun’s tomb for restorations

[Brian Yare]

Egypt to close Tutankhamun’s tomb for restorations

Al Arabiya

The tomb of legendary boy pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley of the Kings will close from October for restorations, the antiquities ministry said Sunday. The pharaoh, who died aged 19 in 1324 BC after a reign of nine years, is best known for the treasures found in his burial chamber, which include an 11-kilogram solid gold funerary mask incrusted with lapis lazuli and semi-precious stones.

The authorities have decided to restore the tomb, discovered near the southern city of Luxor in 1922 by British archeologist Howard Carter, to "preserve it and protect it" as it is "one of Egypt's most important archeological sites", Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damati said in a statement. "King Tutankhamun's mummy will be transferred to a secondary tomb chamber to protect it," ministry official Mohamed Afifi said.

It was not clear how long the restoration works, which include giving the tomb a new floor, would last. In January, Tutankhamun's golden mask made headlines after a "botched" repair that left a crust of dried glue on the priceless relic at Cairo's Egyptian Museum. Workers at the museum had fixed the mask's beard in place after it had fallen off.

Luxor, a city of half a million on the banks of the river Nile, is an open-air museum abounding with temples and tombs from ancient Egypt.

http://www.egyptdailynews.com/news%20ed ... %20Tut.htm

[A-Four]

Apparently, it is to close for between one and three months. 'officially'.

[Bullet Magnet]

That mask has not exactly been treated with the respect it is owed and has been damaged more than once..
I hope no more body parts are going to go missing either, as did the penis and breast plate.
Howard Carter could have had nothing to do with that, because he photographed the mummy just before he entombed the mummy again.. The Camera never lies...

It's like one of those magicians tricks, of course, they say Tut's tomb has been guarded ever since its discovery, but there was a Second world war between 1922 and 1968 when said losses were noted...

[A-Four]

I hear that Germany has offered €50,000 to restore the death mask of Tut,.......the way things are moving in that country they may need to hold on to every € that the Bundasbank can print. .

[Dusak]

They have the copy so no one will notice, especially the mostly thick Who2's package visitors from the UK.

[BBLUX]

The closure has nothing to do with the Nicholas Reeves investigation into the burial place of Nefertiti then?

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015 ... idden-tomb

They will be carrying out ground penetrating radar surveys etc with the full authority of the MSA.
Nicholas Reeves arrives in Luxor tomorrow.

[newcastle]

No - it was indicated some months ago at the time the replica tomb was opened.

The timing is nevertheless fortuitous, avoiding any embarrassment should Nicholas turn out to be on a wild goose chase.

Hopefully any restoration will be carried out more thoughtfully than previous efforts. The main problem of damage by moisture is probably insurmountable. There has been talk of involving the Getty Conservation Institute but that would mean a long closure and ultimately access being severely restricted as with the tomb of Nefertari.

For such a small tomb, with relatively little decoration, I doubt it would be considered worthwhile.

[A-Four]

The latest news I have on this subject is that they want to move the sarcophagus temporarily into another chamber within the tomb, they also want to do some tests of the East wall, that is the one on the right as you look at the sarcophagus. This was quite seriously damaged up until they realised that the then cafe run by The Winter Palace there might have been the problem.

It has been a couple of years now since I was in this tomb, but to me it seemed in better condition then than in previous years. Yes the small 'speck' water marks remain, but few people notice these. I certainly hope they don't let the Getty people in there, but then again money talks, and something for nothing,..............goes a long way.