Cheops' funeral boat unearthed at the foot of the Great Pyramid
A joint team of archaeologists from Egypt and Japan removed from the earth the remains of the funeral boat of Pharaoh Cheops. The work to rescue the artifact took about 15 years, Ahram Online reports.
Researchers have unearthed a deep hole at the base of the Great Pyramid. Almost 1,700 wooden parts of a boat were found in its 13 cultural layers. They are planned to be restored and exhibited in the museum.
The restoration of the Cheops (Khufu) solar boat is one of the largest restoration projects in Egypt. This is the second such structure in the tomb of the pharaoh; the first boat was removed several decades ago.
These artifacts became known back in 1954. Engineer Kamal el-Malakh discovered traces of two closed underground chambers at the southern side of the Cheops pyramid. Studies have shown that they were hidden “solar rooks”. Pharaoh used them during his lifetime, and after death, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, they could transport him across the sky along with the god Ra.
Together with the restorer Ahmed Yousef, the engineer worked for a long time on the restoration of the first boat, which had lain in a sealed compartment under the ground for five thousand years. It is now on display in a museum that opened in 1982.
Now the specialists have managed to extract the second ship. 1,300 of its parts have already been handed over to museum specialists.
Earlier it was reported that the oldest cemetery was found in Egypt. It is over 13 thousand years old.
