In the southern city of Luxor, Egypt opened a historic pharaoh’s tomb to visitors this Saturday after more than twenty years of careful restoration. The site, the burial chamber of Amenhotep III, was polished up and made accessible as the country prepares for the Grand Egyptian Museum’s grand opening in Cairo.
Amenhotep III ruled during the New Kingdom period, around 1390‑1350 B.C., and is widely regarded as one of Egypt’s most influential kings. His tomb sits on the western side of the famous Valley of the Kings, a cluster of royal tombs carved into rock.
The tomb was first discovered in 1799, but looters removed its sarcophagus and many treasures. Since then, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, with a Japanese‑led three‑phase restoration project, has spent two decades working on the interior walls, stone carvings, and painted scenes of the king and his queens, Tiye and Sitamun.
Visitors can walk down a roughly 118‑foot‑long, 45‑foot‑deep passageway that leads to the main burial chamber. The walls still display beautiful paintings of Amenhotep III with ancient Egyptian gods, and the chamber’s inscriptions reference the Book of the Dead, a set of spells meant to guide the dead through the underworld.
While the tomb itself isn’t fully decorated, the restoration team has also highlighted the priceless structure of the missing sarcophagus—its frame remains intact, with the lid still in place.
The reopening comes just weeks before the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids is scheduled to open on November 1. Egypt’s tourism sector has been working hard to rebuild after years of decline caused by political upheaval and security concerns following the 2011 revolution. By renovating these iconic sites and offering new experiences for overseas travelers, the country hopes to bring fresh interest and foreign currency back into the economy.
Amenhotep III, often called “Amenhotep the Great,” ascended to the throne as a teenager and ruled for up to 38 years, leaving a lasting legacy that Egypt now showcases to the world.
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