Egypt: Royal Tomb Reopened 226 Years After Its Discovery

Pharaonic Tomb Reopened 226 Years After Its Discovery                                 

Egypt: Royal Tomb Reopened 226 Years After Its Discovery

The historic city of Luxor in Upper Egypt will witness the reopening of a royal tomb on Saturday, nearly 226 years after its discovery. The tomb will be inaugurated by Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy, in the presence of senior officials from Luxor Governorate and the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The tomb belongs to King Amenhotep III and is located in the Valley of the Kings, a region rich with dozens of tombs carved for the ancient Egyptian kings in the Theban Necropolis, west of Luxor. According to sources in the Luxor and Upper Egypt Antiquities Authority, the tomb, which was discovered in 1799, took 20 years to restore and prepare for visitors, with support from UNESCO and the Japanese government.

According to sources, the tomb was discovered by the Frenchmen Prosper Jolloh and Édouard de Villiers du Terragge, but there is evidence that the tomb was known before, and was mentioned in the records of the British traveler William George Brown.

 The tomb protection project included meticulous architectural restoration work, the installation of environmental control devices, and the collection and restoration of many of the archaeological artifacts found inside the tomb.