Tutankhamun’s golden coffin is taken out of its sterilization tent after leaving the pharaoh’s tomb for the first time in 97 years as it undergoes a painstaking eight-month restoration project
- Tutankhamun, known as the ‘Golden Pharaoh’, was an 18th dynasty king who ruled from the age of eight to 19
- The sarcophagus of the Pharaoh now lies in the restoration lab of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt
- Outer coffin has been removed from the sterilization tent and first time removed since discovery in 1922
- Restoration process will take eight months in order to repair cracks to the golden layers and weakened areas
Advertisement
The golden outer coffin of Tutankhamun has been removed from its sterilization tent before it undergoes a painstaking eight-month restoration process.
The gilded sarcophagus of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh now lies in the restoration laboratory of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which lies on the outskirts Cairo, Egypt.
Inside the box-like structure of the sarcophagus are three coffins to house the body of the king.
The innermost coffin is made of solid gold, while the middle coffin is made with gilded wood, inlaid with multi-coloured glass.
The outer coffin is made from wood with a gold covering and stretches to 7.3 feet long.
This is the first time the outer coffin of ‘King Tut’ has been removed from the 3,300-year-old tomb since it was discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
The golden sarcophagus of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The Pharaoh reigned between 1342-1325 BC. The picture shows the outer golden coffin as it lies for restoration in the Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza, on the outskirts of the capital Cairo
Tutankhamun, known as the ‘Golden Pharaoh’, was an 18th dynasty king who ruled from the age of eight to 19. He died in 1324BC and is best known for being the first royal tomb to be discovered almost entirely intact.
He was buried in the Valley of the Kings and discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922. His tomb was filled with royal treasures, including a dagger made from meteorite.
His tomb contained three coffins nestled within one another. Shortly after it was discovered both the inner and middle caskets were transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, while the outer gilded coffin was left behind.
It is the first time the coffin of ‘King Tut’ has been removed from the 3,300-year-old tomb since it was discovered in 1922. The crook and flail (pictured) were symbols of the king’s right to rule
In July, the casket was removed in a tight security operation, and fumigated for seven days.
Restoration will now continue using non-invasive equipment to repair cracks to the golden layers and fix weakened areas
After mechanical and chemical engineering has taken place, any layers of plaster that have broken away will be replaced in their original location.
Once the work has been completed, the coffin will be on display in the Grand Egyptian Museum – the first time the three caskets have been displayed together since their discovery.
The sarcophagus, a box-like stone container, held three coffins for the body of the king. The outer coffins (pictured) were crafted in wood and covered in gold with the innermost coffin made of solid gold
A closer look at the reliefs on the foot of the golden sarcophagus of the ancient Pharoah. Tutankhamun was buried in the Valley of the Kings and discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922
The restoration process of the tomb will last eight months as Egyptian archaeologists inspect the base of the coffin. Tutankhamun, known as the ‘Golden Pharaoh’, ruled from the age of eight to 19 and was known as the boy pharaoh
Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany (crouching) admires the gilded coffin. After the extensive restoration process, the golden coffin will be displayed among the treasured collection at the Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo, which is due to open next year
Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany (left) looks underneath the gilded coffin. The coffin has suffered damage to the golden layers of plaster with a weakening of the golden layers. An Egyptian archaeologist (right) works on samples with the coffin behind. The tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered completely intact in 1922
The outer gilded coffin in the sterilization tent before it was opened to begin the extensive restoration process in the restoration laboratory of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza
WHO WAS KING TUTANKHAMUN AND HOW WAS HIS TOMB DISCOVERED?
The face of Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC. Right, his famous gold funeral mask
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC.
He was the son of Akhenaten and took to the throne at the age of nine or ten.
When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten.
He died at around the age of 18 and his cause of death is unknown.
In 1907, Lord Carnarvon George Herbert asked English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings.
On 4 November 1922, Carter’s group found steps that led to Tutankhamun’s tomb.
He spent several months cataloguing the antechamber before opening the burial chamber and discovering the sarcophagus in February 1923.
When the tomb was discovered in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter, under the patronage of Lord Carnarvon, the media frenzy that followed was unprecedented.
Carter and his team took 10 years to clear the tomb of its treasure because of the multitude of objects found within it.
For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt’s glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty from 1569 to 1315 BC.
Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass (3rd L) supervises the removal of the lid of the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in 2007.