Posted on 06/23/2020 8:21:51 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A nine-year project has been completed to restore the tomb of ancient Egypt's boy king, Tutankhamun, and address issues that threatened its survival.
Experts from the Getty Conservation Institute repaired scratches and abrasions on the wall paintings caused by visitors to the burial chamber.
The paintings were also affected by humidity, dust and carbon dioxide introduced by every person who entered.
A new ventilation system should reduce the need for future cleaning.
New barriers will restrict physical access to the paintings, while a new viewing platform, lighting and interpretive signage will also allow visitors to better see the tomb and understand its historical and cultural significance...
The experts also concluded that brown spots found on the wall paintings were growths left by microbes that were long dead and were no longer a risk.
The spots were not removed because it was found that they had penetrated the paint layer.
Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, in 1922 by the British archaeologists Howard Carter and George Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon.
It is the only tomb dating from the pharaonic New Kingdom (1550BC-1069BC) to have been found substantially intact, and its contents provided an insight into royal funerary practices, art and craftsmanship of the period.
Although most of the objects are now in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, visitors to the tomb can still see Tutankhamun's mummy, the outermost wooden coffin, and a quartzite sarcophagus, as well as the paintings depicting his life and death.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
One of the sons of Ramses II, Khaemwasset, restored the 5th Kingdom -Old Kingdom Pyramid of Unas in the period 1300 - 1200 BC ... because by his time [19th dynasty?] it was dilapidated. Unfortunately ... today it looks like mostly a pile of rubble, though there’s enough left to tell what the angles were and estimate its original height.
Interesting- I didn’t know about this one since Egypt’s never been my thing :
http://www.ancient-egypt.org/history/old-kingdom/5th-dynasty/unas/pyramid-complex-of-unas/pyramid-of-unas.html
It’s fascinating to think that after this guy died around 2100 BC, the religion changed, from Horus-based to Osiris-based, and at the same time people stopped building pyramids. They seem related.
The pyramid building seem to have been a joint religious-community activity.
Well there you go. Better fwd that info to Blm pronto lol
Maybe, one of these days, before I die...always been a dream.
I'd love to go, but only if I got to poke around.
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