Tutankhamun chariot, bed arrive at the Grand Museum Tuesday

CAIRO – 23 May 2017: The chariot and funerary bed of King Tutankhamun arrived on Tuesday at the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). The Grand Museum is located two kilometers from the Giza Pyramids and is expected to open in 2018.

This process is part of the joint Egyptian-Japanese project between the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JIKA).

The project aims at restoring, maintaining, packing and transferring 71 pieces from the current Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to its permanent display location at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Tutankhamun’s relics were exhibited in the Egyptian Museum since they were discovered in 1922 inside King Tutankhamun tomb at the Valley of the Kings, west of Luxor governorate.

The 71 pieces are comprised of 65 funerary furniture items belonging to the Golden Pharaoh, including three gilded wooden beds, five chariots and 57 pieces of fabric. In addition, the collection includes belongings of King Senefru, the founder of the Fourth Dynasty.

The general director of Conservation Technical Affairs of the GEM, Dr. Hussain Kamal, said in a previous statement that "modern materials and methods have been used in the packing and moving of the chariot and the bed.”

The Egyptian-Japanese team employed scientific techniques to lift and move the relics to packaging boxes. They used plastic air bags to prevent any damages that may affect the chariot and bed including the golden surface. Furthermore, the transfer process was carried out using Japanese steel stands designed to eliminate vibration.

The packing process of the bed took about nine hours. All the bed belongings were packed in two boxes lined with vibration absorbing materials. The wooden bed has the shape of an ancient Egyptian goddess, and is covered with gold. The gilded wooden chariot, studded with precious stones, was wrapped in the same manner.