Visitors to the Grand Egyptian Museum are now witnessing the meticulous reassembly of a 4,500-year-old cedarwood boat, belonging to King Khufu.
The ancient vessel, one of two discovered from the pharaoh’s reign, began its public reconstruction on Tuesday within the museum’s exhibition hall.
This ambitious project, expected to span four years, involves piecing together 1,650 wooden components to form the 42-meter (137-foot) long craft.
Issa Zeidan, head of restoration, confirmed it will eventually sit beside its already-assembled twin. King Khufu, who ruled ancient Egypt over four millennia ago, is renowned for building the Great Pyramid of Giza.
“You’re witnessing today one of the most important restoration projects in the 21st century,” said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy, who attended the event.
The $1 billion museum, also known as GEM, was touted as the world’s largest when it was lavishly inaugurated last month. It’s home to nearly 50,000 artifacts, including the collection of treasures from the tomb of the famed King Tutankhamun, which was discovered in 1922. The museum, located near the pyramids at the edge of Cairo, is expected to boost Egypt’s tourism revenues and help bolster its ailing economy.
The boat was one of two discovered in 1954, opposite the southern side of the Great Pyramid. The excavation of its wooden parts began in 2014, according to the museum’s website.
The exact purpose of the boats remains unclear, but experts believe they were either used to transport King Khufu’s body during his funeral or were meant to be used for his afterlife journey with the sun god Ra, according to the museum.