King Tut stays put in tomb

2004-11-23 13:09

Cairo - The mummy of the ancient King Tutankhamum will not be removed from its tomb in the southern city of Luxor for examination and restoration due to local opposition, Egypt's chief archaeologist has told parliament.

Zahi Hawass, the head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, told the parliamentary committee of culture and tourism that he decided against the move "out of respect for the sentiments of the people of Luxor", Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported.

Hawass could not be immediately reached for comment.

Antiquities officials plan to X-ray the 3 300-year-old mummy to assess the need for restoration and also to attempt to discover the cause of the early death of Tutankhamum, who ruled for nine years before dying at the age of 17.

Hawass, who first floated the idea of examining and restoring the mummy, initially suggested it would have to be transferred to Cairo.

He later said the mummy, which consists of scattered bones, would be examined before a decision was made about moving it.

But the plan immediately raised angry opposition in Luxor, site of numerous pharaohs' tombs and massive temple complexes.

Violation of religious rites

Opponents said the removal would be a blow to local tourism and was also a violation of religious rites forbidding the removal of bodies from their tombs.

Luxor lawmaker Baha Abu al-Hamad Othman said that he had filed an urgent appeal to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to stop the transfer of the mummy to Cairo.

The parliamentary committee - made up of Hawass and officials from the culture and interior ministries - convened on Monday to discuss his appeal.

Hawass told the committee a team of 60 Egyptian archeologists would perform the examination and carry out the restoration work. No foreign experts would be on the team, he was quoted as saying.

Othman said he doubted the real intentions behind wanting to further examine the mummy.

"There are other aims," he said. "There are fears that Jews want to question our civilisation."

Othman said foreign archeologists have before questioned the history of ancient Egypt, with some saying that Jews, instead of Egyptians, built the pyramids. "This has to be done under Egyptian supervision."

Tutankhamum's remains have not left the tomb since it was excavated by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922. The day it was discovered, November 4, became Luxor's national day.

There are speculations that the king might have been killed, because of a 1968 X-ray that found bone fragments in his skull.

Othman's said that by taking the mummy out of Luxor, the city would lose much revenue from visitors to the tomb.

"If it was moved, it may never return," he said.

Othman said visitors pay R70 to enter the tomb. A daily average of 300 visitors visit the tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

- SAPA