Tutankhamun coffin restoration process to last for 8 months

CAIRO - 4 August 2019: The large gilded coffin of King Tutankhamun was transported from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor to the restoration center of the Grand Egyptian Museum to be restored.

The coffin was placed inside a plastic incubator with state-of-the-art equipment to fumigate the coffin to start its restoration process.

“For the first time since it’s discovery inside the tomb in November 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter,Tutankhamun coffin is now under restoration in addition to two other coffins nested inside each other,” said Minister of Antiquities Khaled Anany.

Anany ellaborated that after the tomb discovery, both the innermost gold coffin and middle gilded wooden coffin were transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, while the large outer gilded coffin was left inside the tomb with the king’s outermost quartzite sarcophagus.

The head of restoration center in Grand Egyptian Museum told Egypt today that the gilded coffin restoration process will take 8 months.

During an inspection tour of King Tutankhamen’s coffin, Mostafa Waziri stated that the total number of antiquities belonging to King Tutankhamen is 5398.

Among the 5398 pieces belonging to the Golden King, 4500 pieces have been transferred so far, according to Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities,Waziri.

The transferred coffin of Tutankhamen is one of the three coffins of the young king and was discovered in his burial chamber in 1922.

The outer ark is made of gilded wood, representing the king in the form of the god Osiris. The hands are covered with gold foil and crossed across the chest, holding royal decals inlaid with blue and red glass beads.

The length of the coffin is 223.5 cm, 86.8 cm in width and 105.5 cm in height. The coffin’s arches have silver handles used to move the lid. The outer sarcophagus, made of wood and covered with gold plates, was found inside the ark which was clad in parts with multicolored glass beads.

The inner coffin was also found inside the middle coffin, which is of pure gold and weighs 110.4 kilograms in mummy shape.

It was wrapped in linen to cover the entire sarcophagus except for the face. When the coffin was opened the golden mask of the young king appeared around the head of the mummy.

After transferring the middle and inner coffins to be displayed in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, the outer golden coffin was left in its original location, until it was transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum on July 12, in order to restore and protect it from the damage it sustained in the tomb, and for displaying it with the other coffins in a coherent and harmonious scenario in the Grand Egyptian Museum when it opens.