Under maximum security and with the supervision of specialized Egyptologists and conservationists, the Ministry of Antiquities has transferred the outermost coffin of King Tutankamun from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV62) to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, which is planned to be open during the last quarter of 2020.
The process started when the Permanent Committee of the Supreme Council of Antiquities approved the coffin transfer in June 2019 as a part of the preparations for the grand opening of the Grand Museum. All the treasures found in the Golden Boy-King’s tomb will be on display as a single collection at the GEM for the first time since the discovery of the tomb by Howard Carter in 1922.Â
Dr. El Tayeb Abbas (the General Manager of Antiquities at the GEM) said that the coffin will be put on display along with Tutankamun’s other coffins, which are currently on display at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, but will be transferred to the GEM prior to its opening.
Dr. Eissa Zidan (the Director of Preliminary Restoration at the GEM) said that the restoration and preservation of the gilded coffin will take about 8 months, as the coffin suffers from cracks in the gilded layers and general damages in the gold layers. According to Dr. Zidan, the exact condition of the coffin, along with all previous damages, were documented in its official case report prior to its transfer to the GEM.
The coffin of King Tutankamun will be shown to the media in its new home in the next couple of weeks after preliminary restoration is completed to stabilize its condition.
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