One of many largest tombs in Egypt‘s Valley of the Kings reopened to guests after greater than 20 years of renovation.
The massive tomb of Amenhotep III, who dominated historical Egypt between 1390 B.C. and 1350 B.C., is carved into the hillside on the west financial institution of the Nile River close to the southern Egyptian metropolis of Luxor. It was found in 1799 by two folks, and its contents had been looted, together with the sarcophagus, Egyptian antiquities authorities mentioned.
It has been beneath a Japanese-led, three-phased restoration venture for the previous twenty years, together with renovating work of the pharaoh and his spouse on the tomb partitions, mentioned Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
A vacationer visits the tomb of King Amenhotep III within the Valley of the Kings after it was formally opened to the general public after almost twenty years of restoration and upkeep work. / Credit score: -/AFP through Getty Photographs
“It is a very fascinating tomb,” he instructed The Related Press on the scene, including that it features a body of the stolen sarcophagus field, with the lid in place the place it might have been.
The tomb begins with a 118-foot-long, 45-foot-deep, downward-sloping passageway beneath the Valley of the Kings. It features a most important burial chamber for the king, and two different chambers for his wives, Queens Tiye and Sitamun.
Not like different historical tombs within the valley, the tomb isn’t totally adorned, Ismail mentioned. Its work present Amenhotep III with a gaggle of historical Egyptian gods, and the burial chamber comprises inscriptions of scenes from the E book of Useless, which is a set of spells geared toward directing the useless by the underworld in historical Egypt.
Guests view the tomb of Amenhotep III, who dominated historical Egypt between 1390 B.C. and 1350 B.C., within the Valley of Kings within the southern metropolis of Luxor, Egypt. / Credit score: Amr Nabil / AP
The mother of Amenhotep III was moved by historical monks to the tomb of his grandfather, Amenhotep II, additionally within the Valley of the Kings, based on the Nationwide Museum of Egyptian Civilization. The severely broken mummy is showcased on the museum together with 16 different mummies of 17 kings and queens of historical Egypt.
Amenhotep III was probably the most distinguished pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty of historical Egypt, which dominated between 1550 B.C. and 1292 B.C. Referred to as Amenhotep the Nice, he ascended the throne as a teen and dominated for as much as 38 years, based on the Nationwide Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
A vacationer visits the tomb of King Amenhotep III within the Valley of the Kings close to town of Luxor on October 4, 2025. / Credit score: -/AFP through Getty Photographs
The tomb’s reopening got here lower than a month earlier than the official inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum close to the Giza Pyramids. The museum is scheduled to open on Nov. 1.
The reopenings are a part of Egypt’s efforts to draw extra overseas guests to revive the tourism sector, a significant supply of overseas foreign money. Tourism, which relies upon closely on Egypt’s wealthy pharaonic artifacts, suffered an extended downturn after the political turmoil and violence that adopted a 2011 rebellion.
Arrested former Des Moines superintendent’s resume seems to have been vastly exaggerated
