CAIRO: The tomb of legendary boy pharaoh Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings was reopened for the public Sunday after its 5-week renovation work was completed, Director General of Luxor Antiquities Sector Mostafa Waziri said.
The tomb was closed Oct. 1 for renovation work aimed at giving the tomb a new floor and cleaning and restoring the lavish wall paintings in the underground chambers. The reopen of the tomb coincides with the 93rd anniversary of its discovery by Howard Carter on Nov. 4, 1922.
The renovation was carried out in collaboration with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Los Angeles-based Getty Conservation Institute, which restored the tomb in 2009.
During the renovation work, “The Pharaoh’s mummy was carefully preserved in a temporary glass display case to be placed in a secondary tomb chamber in order not to be damaged,” said Waziri.
“While closed, the outer area facing the tomb entrance will be provided with a screen to show the tomb inside so that visitors to the Valley of the Kings can view the tomb,” Director of Upper Egypt Antiquities Department Sultan Eid told Youm7 in September.
An exact replica of Tutankhamen’s tomb was inaugurated April 30 in the west bank of Luxor to protect the original tomb from further deterioration. The creation of the tomb’s replica was initiated in 2009 and was led and funded by the Spanish firm Factum Art. The replica tomb was installed next to Carter’s house.