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Previously unseen King Tut artifacts on display in Cairo

November 16, 2017
A visitor looks at artefacts inside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. — Reuters
A visitor looks at artefacts inside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. — Reuters

EGYPT opened an exhibition this week to display previously unseen treasures from King Tutankhamun's famed tomb.

At least 55 pieces of fabric decorated with gold that were found in the tomb of the pharaoh, better known as King Tut, will be exhibited in public for the first time since its discovery in 1922, said German conservator Christian Eckmann.

He said the pieces had been kept in storage at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for some 95 years, without being restored or scientifically examined.

He said the artifacts attest to the network of social and cultural connections which have characterized the eastern Mediterranean going back to antiquity.

"Those pieces are connected to the chariots of Tutankhamun," he said. "They were unfortunately in a very bad state of condition."

Some depict traditional Egyptian motifs, while others feature designs that were widespread throughout the eastern Mediterranean in the second millennium B.C., he said.

Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Anani inaugurated the exhibition to mark the 115th anniversary of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's near-intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The king's mummified body was in a golden coffin surrounded by precious goods.

Tutankhamun ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. The discovery of the tomb made him Egypt's most famous pharaoh, and inspired a wave of interest in the country's ancient civilization.

Meanwhile, a Russian archeological team has discovered a well-preserved mummy from the Greco-Roman period in a wooden coffin south of Cairo, Egypt's antiquities ministry said.

The discovery was made near New Fayoum city, about 80 km south of the Egyptian capital, the ministry said in a statement.

The team "found inside the coffin a well-preserved mummy, wrapped in linen, with its face covered by a human mask with drawings in blue and gold," it said.

While mummification is mostly associated with ancient Egypt, the practice continued into the Greco-Roman era.

The Russian team made its discovery near a monastery in the village of Qalamshah.

"The expedition carried out an initial restoration of the coffin and the mummy, as the coffin was found in a bad condition," the ministry said, citing the minister's assistant Mohamed Abdel Lateef.

The statement did not say when the discovery was made.

"The cover is broken and the base has several cracks, and it doesn't have an inscription on it," it added, citing Abdel Lateef.

The Russian mission has been operating for seven years in the area, which has Islamic and Coptic monuments as well as others from the Greco-Roman period (330 BC-670 AD). — Agencies


November 16, 2017
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