Egypt transfers pharaonic solar boat to Grand Museum

Egypt’s tourism ministry moved Saturday the pharaonic solar boat of ancient King Khufu to the Grand Egyptian Museum, as part of efforts to preserve the iconic historical piece for future generations.

The boat, dating back to some 4,500 years and discovered in 1954 at the southern corner of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, was exhibited at a museum at the Giza Plateau.

The museum has been, according to the ministry, closed since August to prepare the boat transportation.
The boat, which is 42-meters (137.8 ft) long and weighs 20 tons, was transferred on a smart vehicle. The trip, began late Friday, lasted 10 hours, according to a report by the state-run MENA news agency.

 

The transportation, the ministry said, aimed to “protect and preserve the biggest and oldest organic artifact made of wood in the history of humanity for future generations.”

 

The vessel will be in display at the Grand Egyptian Museum alongside tens of thousands of artifacts, including the famed mask of Tutankhamen, and other treasures, currently housed in the century-old building in Cairo’s congested Tahrir Square.

 

In April, the mummified remains of 22 pharaohs were moved from Cairo’s iconic Egyptian Museum in a grandiose ceremony to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in the city.