The gold-covered sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun is encased in a tent for restoration procedures at the conservation center of the the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019. Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany told reporters Sunday that work on the outermost coffin, made of wood and gilded with gold, will take at least eight months. He said thatâs because âit was never restoredâ since 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the 3,000-year-old tomb and the treasures it held. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The Associated Press
CAIRO (AP) - Egypt started the first-ever restoration work on a gold-covered sarcophagus of the famed boy pharaoh Tutankhamun, ahead of the country's new museum opening next year, the antiquities minister said Sunday.
Khaled el-Anany told reporters that work on the outermost coffin, which is made of wood and gilded with gold, is expected to take at least eight months.
He said that's because "the state of conservation is very fragile, as it was never restored" since 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the intact 3,000-year-old tomb and the treasures it held.
The coffin remained in the tomb until July, when it was moved to the new Grand Egyptian Museum, being built near the famed pyramids of Giza outside Cairo.
Tutankhamun ascended the throne at age nine, ruling until his death at age 18 or 19.
Construction workers and journalists gather at the Grand Egyptian Museum under construction in Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019. Egypt says it has started the 1st-ever restoration on the gold-covered sarcophagus of famed boy pharaoh Tutankhamun, ahead of the countryâs new museum opening next year. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The Associated Press
A worker restores an artifact at the conservation center of the the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019. Egypt says it has started the 1st-ever restoration on the gold-covered sarcophagus of famed boy pharaoh Tutankhamun, ahead of the countryâs new museum opening next year. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The Associated Press
One of King Tutankhamun's coffins is encased in a tent for restoration procedures at the conservation center of the the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019. Egypt's antiquities minister says they have started renovation of one of three coffins of King Tutankhamun. The work will take at least eight months as "the state of conservation is very fragile as it was never restored" since the tomb discovery in 1922. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The Associated Press
The gold-covered sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun is encased in a tent for restoration procedures at the conservation center of the the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019. Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany told reporters Sunday that work on the outermost coffin, made of wood and gilded with gold, will take at least eight months. He said thatâs because âit was never restoredâ since 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the 3,000-year-old tomb and the treasures it held. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The Associated Press