CAIRO, Aug 7 (Reuters) – King Khufu’s Boat, an historic vessel that’s the oldest and largest picket boat found in Egypt, has been painstakingly moved from its longstanding residence subsequent to the Giza pyramids to a close-by large museum, officers stated on Saturday.
The 4,600-year-old vessel, also called the Photo voltaic Boat, was moved to the close by Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), attributable to be inaugurated later this yr.
“The purpose of the transportation undertaking is to guard and protect the most important and oldest natural artifact made from wooden within the historical past of humanity for the long run generations,” the tourism and antiquities ministry stated in an announcement.
King Khufu’s photo voltaic boat is displayed at a museum on the northern aspect of Khufu’s Nice Pyramid, in Giza, Egypt, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Picture
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It took 48 hours to move the cedarwood boat, which is 42 metres (138 ft) lengthy and weighs 20 tons, to its new residence. It arrived on the GEM within the early hours of Saturday, the ministry stated.
The boat was transported as a single piece inside a metallic cage carried on a remote-controlled automobile imported particularly for the operation, stated Atef Moftah, supervisor basic of the GEM undertaking.
The vessel, found in 1954 on the southern nook of the Nice Pyramid, has been exhibited for many years at a museum bearing its title at Giza Plateau.
Egypt says the Grand Egyptian Museum, which has been beneath building intermittently for 17 years, will comprise greater than 100,000 artifacts when it opens.
Reporting by Sameh El-Khatib
Writing by Mahmoud Mourad
Modifying by Frances Kerry
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