Last chariot of the boy king Tutankhamun arrives safely to GEM

Nevine El-Aref , Saturday 5 May 2018

The sixth and last chariot of King Tutankhamun is one of the prized artefacts from the Tutankhamun collection now housed at the GEM

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El-Enany receive the chariot at the GEM

Completing a collection of 5,200 Tutankhamun artefacts, the Egyptian Ministry of Defence has offered the Ministry of Antiquities the sixth and last chariot of the boy king.

In a gala ceremony, Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany received the sixth and last chariot of Tutankhamun at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). The others were previously transferred to the GEM’s laboratory centre.

El-Enany said that the chariot was discovered in 1922 in Tutankhamun's tomb. He described the GEM as “a gift” from Egypt to the world. He also thanked the Ministry of Defence for offering the chariot to the GEM and its transport from the Military Museum at Salah Al-Din Citadel to the GEM.

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Military leave of the chariot at the citadel of Salah Eddin

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zidan during the packing of the chariot

"It is the first time to display the six chariots together since their discovery in 1922," Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online, adding that it took nine years to assemble and restore the chariots upon their discovery.

This particular chariot was sent to the Military Museum in 1987.

Eissa Zidan, head of restoration at the GEM, said the chariot was padded with special materials to absorb any vibrations during transportation. State-of-the-art technology and modern scientific techniques were used in order to guarantee the safe lifting and moving of the chariot from its display at the Military Museum. 

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official receiving

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the transportation box of the chariot

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