Egyptian workers open a box containing the funerary bed of ancient King Tutankhamun at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Pyramids Plateau in Giza, Egypt on May 23, 2017. The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities moved on Tuesday the 3,000-year-old funerary bed and chariot of ancient King Tutankhamun from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir downtown Cairo to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Pyramids Plateau in Giza. Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anany told reporters that they moved so far about 3,900 pieces of King Tut's artifact to the GEM that will be opened in the first half of 2018. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities moved on Tuesday the 3,000-year-old funerary bed and chariot of ancient King Tutankhamun from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir downtown Cairo to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Pyramids Plateau in Giza.
Amid massive media coverage, the two large pieces have been packed in two boxes and covered the distance from the Tahrir museum to the GEM on two secured trucks until they have been carefully unloaded to be admitted to the restoration laboratory for pre-display maintenance.
Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anany told reporters that they moved so far about 3,900 pieces of King Tut's artifact to the GEM that will be opened in the first half of 2018.
"After the pieces are moved to the GEM, they will get into the restoration laboratory for necessary maintenance to be prepared for display at the GEM, which will be one of the best museums in the world," the minister said, noting that the loading, transportation and unloading processes have been done professionally.
"There have been sensors and devices to measure the humidity, temperature and movement inside the boxes during their transportation," he added.
Located some two kilometers north of the Great Pyramid of Giza, on an area of 491,000 square meters, the GEM project started in 2010 and the museum is expected to be the top and largest in the Middle East region.
King Tut will be "the GEM star" for all his discovered heritage, as more than 5,000 pieces will be displayed in the GEM soft opening in 2018, while only one-third of them used to be showcased in Tahrir museum since their discovery in 1922.
