General Supervisor of the Grand Egyptian: The transfer of the shrine was carried out amid security measures by the Tourism and Antiquities Police

 

 

 

CAIRO - 20 April 2021: A month after receiving and placing  the fourth shrine of King Tutankhamun in its display case in the hall dedicated the Boy King’s treasures in the Grand Egyptian Museum, the museum received the third shrine of Toutankhamun.

 

 

The Shrine arrived from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, in preparation for displaying it within the museum display scenario in the halls of Toutankhamun.

 

Major General Atef Miftah, General Supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the surrounding area, explained that the transfer was carried out amid security measures by the Tourism and Antiquities Police, under the supervision of the restorer and museum curators.

 

Dr. Al-Tayeb Abbas, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Archaeological Affairs at the Grand Egyptian Museum, said that this shrine will undergo restoration work inside the museum.

 

 

He added that It is made of gilded wood, and was discovered among the treasures of the king in his tomb in Luxor’s West Bank in November 1922.

 

 

He explained that it was transferred with the rest of the artifacts to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, where they were displayed.

 

Dr. Tayeb Abbas added that the remaining shrines will be transferred successively, to be displayed according to the set display scenario in the halls dedicated to the king's treasure.

 

 

He said that the halls have an area of ​​about 7200 square meters and are equipped with the state of the art museum display, with environmental control of temperature, humidity, and lighting, in addition to labels with graphics and cards for each piece.

 

 

Professor Moamen Othman, head of the museums sector, confirmed that the transfer of the cabin was carried out according to the principles and accurate scientific standards.

 

He added that  the shrine was dismantled into 10 parts with the same manufacturing technique that the ancient Egyptian used, then each part was individually wrapped inside an inner box and another external using acidic free materials.

 

He pointed out that the team from the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Tahrir Museum will assemble the shrine again within the next few days inside the vanity allocated for it inside the halls of the young king's treasures.

 

For his part, Dr. Issa Zidan, Director General of Executive Affairs for Restoration and Transfer of Antiquities at the Grand Egyptian Museum, said that before the transfer, the shrine was examined and a detailed report was made to document its preservation status in an accurate manner, and the restorers team carried out scientific and archaeological documentation of it using the latest types of photographic and video cameras. IR imaging, as well as XRF scanning and X Ray Radiography were done to identify the locations of the metal and wood tongues and the docks of the shrine.

 

 

He said that  this helps the working team to accurately develop a plan to dismantle the shrine safely and scientifically.

 

Ms. Sabah Abdel Razek, Director General of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, explained that the length of the third shrine is 3.40 m, the width is 1.92 m, and the height is 2.15 m and it weighs about 1142 kg.

 

The walls end at the top with a frieze. It has a double door closed with a royal seal.

 

 

 

The shrine consists of a ceiling decorated with a winged sun disk and eight birds with the titles of the king placed under it, and on the inside there are inscriptions on the ceiling.

 

 

In addition to that the shrine contains a gate with inscriptions and texts from the Book of the Dead and decorated on the inside.

 

 

And at the top of the door is a winged sun disk surrounded on the right and left side by a group of signs.

 

 

The shrine also includes sides decorated with inscriptions from the Book of the Emmy Duat, and the back contains engraved scenes from the Book of the Dead.