Tutankhamun Gets a New Tomb

This one passed me by and according to the search engine I'm not alone.
Earlier this year a copy of the tomb of Tutankhamun opened to visitors in the hope that the original tomb can be closed and visitors would visit it instead. The move comes as concerns grow over the damage that has been caused to the walls of the tomb by the sheer number of tourists the site has received over the years.

The recreation looks really good and those in the know say it looks authentic but I'm really torn on this , I see why we should protect these monuments but should we be closing them of to the public just because they're suffering damage ?

No matter how good the facsimile is it cant give you the connection with the ancient who did the painting or created the piece you're looking at because in the back of your mind you know it's a copy but I would assume if the new tomb of the boy king is a success more ancient wonders will become off limits replaced by carbon copies.

Good thing or bad thing ? , I'm on the fence but am leaning to bad thing.

a reply to: gortex

Gasp!! This is proof dammit that they have something to hide!!! The Illuminati will be in there as we speak dancing and canoodling in the darkness and plotting stuff. Oh verily will thine stuff be Stygian and foul thereof!

Otherwise, it seems like a fair idea to allow the public to engage with the history without destroying it one breath at a time.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Whilst I agree with your Illuminati theory and a plan to do the same with the Great Pyramid would surely confirm that I wonder whether it's best to have loved and lost than to never of loved at all .... by which I mean enjoy them while we have them and recreate them when they're gone , or perhaps new conservation techniques may be found before all is lost.

The way part of me sees it is nothing is eternal and by wrapping these things in cotton wool we have already lost them , what next ... a carbon fiber Stonehenge.

a reply to: gortex

I see why we should protect these monuments but should we be closing them of to the public just because they're suffering damage ?

One problem with letting people inside these sites is that over time, even their breath causes damage in the form of moisture that builds up on the walls, eroding the paints and stone.

The tomb survived thousands of years because its in the desert and remained sealed. Dry conditions preserved them all that time. People are sweating, humid, toxin factories (comparatively speaking).

i kinda like the real deal in everything i do,own, or visit. no copies, replicas, i kinda understand wanting to preserve something for long as possible,but not to the extreme that many in some of the fields want and do now.

it seems to me that, with the technology we have to day. there could be built a air tight system that protects the original and yet allows viewing of it, without disturbing any of the walls floors or ceiling of the tomb.

a reply to: gortex

I see your point. Then again, these legacy sites have been here for centuries and more. Shouldn't they last longer and have more importance than our short lives? I'm thinking of the traumas they had at Chauvet Caves with the ventilation. The art there is just phenomenal and would be gone by now without their taking preventative measures.

Imagine 40000 years old beautiful artwork vanishing in less than a century for benefit of curiosity?

It's like an ideal versus a reality. We should be able to enjoy the fruits of humanity, but we have a duty to protect the legacy too.

Does the replica tomb have the same orientation?




Being one of only two tombs in the entire Valley of the Kings with a North/South & East/West orientation, it stands almost unique in that aspect.



Or are visitors not supposed to care which wall the paintings are on.


Mike Grouchy

If I decide to go all the way to Egypt and visit some of the ancient tombs, I want them to be the real thing. If I was told i would only be seeing replicas, I wouldn't go.
I can understand why they want to do it to save the originals from being destroyed, but It has to be real for me, sorry.

How much did this cost?

a reply to: rhynouk

How much did this cost?

£420,000 , quite cheap really.

If its a success the team behind it have plans to expand the project.

"I hope this is the beginning," says Lowe. "This could be a watershed moment where for the first time visitors can really start to talk about sustainable tourism, about how you can preserve the Valley of the Kings itself. It's my dream that it can actually be there in 3,000 years time."
www.theguardian.com...

Those two crackpot German "students" who defaced the relieving chamber in Khufu's pyramid are just one more reason why irreplaceable ancient sites have to be restricted to the public. IMO this was a long time coming.