Ministry of Antiquities
Gilded Coffin of King Tutankhamun
Gilded Coffin of King Tutankhamun
The Large Gilded Coffin of King Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun, also known worldwide as the Golden Pharaoh, was an 18th Dynasty king of the New Kingdom. He is best known for his intact tomb and treasured funerary collection. The King's mysterious death at a very young age has continued through the years to fascinate millions throughout the years.
He was buried within his tomb (KV62) located at the Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of Luxor and was discovered in November 1922 by the British archaeologist Howard Carter. The discovery at that time received worldwide press coverage, capturing public imagination.
The king’s burial chamber is 6m x 4m wide and housed the king’s outermost rectangular-shaped quartzite sarcophagus. Its four corners are decorated with figures of the four deities of protection whose outspread wings safeguard the sarcophagus and the mummy of the king. It contains three anthropoid coffins nested within each other depicting the king in the Osirian position.
The Innermost Gold Coffin
This innermost coffin is mummy shaped and made of solid gold that weighs 110.4 kg. It was found wrapped in linen inside the middle coffin. Both are now on display at the Egyptian Museum Cairo. Inside it lay the king’s mummy whose head was covered with the iconic gold mask of the boy king.
The Middle Gilded Coffin
This coffin is made of gilded wood inlaid with multicolored glass. It was found inside the outer gilded coffin and is currently exhibited at the Egyptian Museum Cairo.
The Large Outer Gilded Coffin
The outer coffin is made of gilded wood portraying the king in the Osirian shape, with arms crossed upon his chest and holding the insignia, the flail and the crook ornamented with blue and red glass. The coffin has silver handles that are used to move the lid. The coffin's measurements are 223.5cm in length, 83.8cm at its widest point and 105.5cm at its highest point.
Soon after the discovery of the tomb in 1922, both the inner and middle coffins were transferred to the Egyptian Museum Cairo; while, the outer gilded coffin was left inside the tomb.
On 12 July 2019, the outer coffin was transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) for restoration and preservation and to be exhibited at the GEM upon its opening among the boy king’s treasured collection, including the two other coffins. The golden pharaoh’s three coffins will be displayed together for the first time since their discovery.
Preliminary examination carried out on the outer coffin inside the tomb revealed that it was suffering from general weakness and it had also developed cracks in its gilded layers of plaster especially those of the lid and base. An immediate intervention to restore the coffin inside a suitable environment is now required.
The coffin was transported to the GEM amid tight security in cooperation with the Tourism and Antiquities Police, after securing safe moving procedures through the use of anti-vibration units and the coffin was packed with acid-free materials that absorb humidity.
At the GEM, the coffin was isolated in a separate room on 14th July 2019 for seven days prior to the commencement of the fumigation process, which began on 22nd July 2019. Restoration of the coffin will continue using un-invasive equipment to carry out analysis and scientific investigations. According to the results, a mechanical an chemical cleaning are to be carried out and any layers of plaster that have broken away will be replaced in their original location. A complete consolidation of the coffin will be implemented. The restoration work is expected to last at least eight months.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Tomb of Tutankhamun
The tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty king Tutankhamun (c.1336–1327 BC) is world-famous because it is the only royal tomb from the Valley of the Kings that was discovered relatively intact. Its discovery in 1922 by Howard Carter made headlines worldwide, and continued to do so as the golden artifacts and other luxurious objects discovered in this tomb were being brought out. The tomb and its treasures are iconic of Egypt, and the discovery of the tomb is still considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries to date.
Despite the riches it contained, the tomb of Tutankhamun, number 62 in the Valley of the Kings, is in fact quite modest compared to the other tombs on this site, in both size and decoration. This is most likely due to Tutankhamun having come to the throne very young, and even then ruling for only around ten years in total. One can wonder at what riches the much larger tombs of the most powerful kings of the New Kingdom, such as Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, and Ramesses II once contained.
Only the walls of the burial chamber bear any decoration. Unlike most previous and later royal tombs, which are richly decorated with funerary texts like the Amduat or Book of Gates, which helped the deceased king reach the afterlife, only a single scene from the Amduat is represented in the tomb of Tutankhamun. The rest of decoration of the tomb depict either the funeral, or Tutankhamun in the company of various deities.
This small size of the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) has led to much speculation. When his successor, the high official Ay, died, he was buried in a tomb (KV23), which may have been originally intended for Tutankhamun, but which had not yet been completed at the time of the death of the young king. The same argument has been made in turn for the tomb of Ay’s successor, Horemheb (KV57). If so, it is unclear for whom the eventual tomb of Tutankhamun, KV62, was carved, but it has been argued that it existed already, either as a private tomb or as a storage area, that was subsequently enlarged to receive the king.
Whatever the reason, the small size of the tomb meant that the approximately 3,500 artefacts that were discovered inside were stacked very tightly. These reflect the lifestyle of the royal palace, and included objects that Tutankhamun would have used in his daily life, such as clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, incense, furniture, chairs, toys, vessels made of a variety of materials, chariots, and weapons.
It is one of history’s great ironies that Tutankhamun, a relatively minor king who was erased from history because he was related to the unpopular King Akhenaten, has come to surpass many of Egypt’s greatest rulers in fame.
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Commemorative gold coin of King Ptolemy III
The 3rd Guided Tour in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir
Today, from the Egyptian museum in Tahrir, we show you the amazing necklace of King Psusennes I (c.1039–991 BC). It was was discovered around the neck of the mummy of King Psusennes I, one of the kings of Egypt’s Twenty-first Dynasty. This collar is one of the three shebyu-collars of pharaoh Psusennes I. This intricate collar is made almost entirely of gold, and consists of fourteen gold chains each of which ends in a lotus flower bead. The top of the collar consists of five concentric rows made up of thousands of thin gold disks strung side-by-side. The central clasp bears two of Psusennes I’s names.
The golden necklace of King Psusennes I