Egypt Reopens Tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III After 20 Years of Restoration

People participate the tomb of Amenhotep III aft its authoritative reopening. Credit: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and AntiquitiesCredit: Mummy Research X profile

Egypt has officially reopened the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III successful the Valley of the Kings successful Luxor, pursuing an extended restoration task that spanned much than 2 decades.

The ceremony, held connected Saturday successful the occidental portion of Luxor, was led by Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sharif Fathi, alongside elder Egyptian and planetary officials, including representatives from UNESCO and Japan, a state that played a important relation successful this restoration.

How the restoration unfolded

The restoration was carried retired nether the “Preserving the Murals of the Tomb of King Amenhotep III” project, implemented successful practice with the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, Waseda and Higashi Nippon Universities of Japan, and supported by the UNESCO–Japan Trust Fund. The work’s main absorption was to safeguard and sphere the tomb’s intricate murals, sculptures and architectural elements, galore of which had suffered terrible deterioration implicit the centuries.

In his address, Minister Fathy expressed gratitude to UNESCO and the Japanese authorities for their long-standing concern successful safeguarding Egypt’s heritage. He described the tomb’s reopening arsenic a “remarkable illustration of Egyptian–Japanese cooperation” and commended the efforts of the restoration teams who dedicated implicit 20 years to the project.

Egyptian restorer Mohamed Mahmoud, who has worked connected the tract since its aboriginal stages, was invited to articulation the celebration. Visibly moved, helium said, witnessing the reopening was “a imagination travel true” aft devoting overmuch of his nonrecreational beingness to the project.

Papyraform columns with the names of Amenhotep III. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

The task was completed successful 3 phases: betwixt 2001–2004, 2010–2012, and 2023–2024. It progressive Egyptian, Japanese and Italian specialists successful mural conservation, chromatic restoration, 3D scanning, and structural engineering. More than 200 fragments of the pharaoh’s reddish granite sarcophagus lid were reassembled, portion the murals connected the walls and ceilings were cleaned and stabilised.

New accusation panels and lighting person been installed to assistance visitors recognize the tomb’s past and layout. The chamber’s vivid decorations, depicting the king’s travel to the afterlife beneath a star-studded bluish ceiling, person been restored to their erstwhile brilliance.

What is the tomb of Amenhotep III

The tomb was discovered by French Egyptologist Victor Loret successful 1898. Pharaoh Amenhotep III was of Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty. The tomb is located successful the occidental limb of the Valley of the Kings. and contains 2 subsidiary chambers for the king’s woman Tiye and daughter-wife Sitamen.

Since 1989, Waseda University successful Japan has led ongoing conservation efforts nether Sakuji Yoshimura and Jiro Kondo. The tomb, decorated with exquisite scenes from the Amduat, resembles those of Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV but with finer craftsmanship.