CAIRO, October 21. /TASS/. The tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (ruled in 1332-1323 B.C.), which is not far from the city of Luxor, is in good condition and not under the threat of collapse, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement.
"Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Dr. Mohamed Ismail confirms that the information, circulated by a number of foreign media outlets, about the risk of collapse of Tutankhamun’s tomb is untrue," the ministry said in a statement, posted on Facebook (banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in the country).
The ministry added that the Arab republic’s authorities "regularly check the condition" of the cultural object, together with the experts from the US-based Getty Conservation Institute, who took part in the tomb’s reconstruction. Recently, the US experts assessed Tutankhamun’s burial site and came to the conclusion that the cultural object was not under the threat of collapse, and its murals are not in danger.
The Daily Mail newspaper reported earlier on Tuesday, citing Sayed Hemada, author of the study and Professor of Preservation of Architectural Heritage at Cairo University, that the 3,300-year-old tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh may collapse due to the threat of flooding. According to the researchers, major cracks have appeared on the tomb due to raising humidity. This contributes to the growth of fungi that "are eating away at priceless murals."
Tutankhamun's tomb is part of the Valley of the Kings. Located west of Luxor, it is home to dozens of royal tombs, one of which is Tutankhamun's. The Valley of the Kings survived a flood in 1994, when most of the tombs ended up underwater. This led to serious damage to the murals and the formation of a network of fissures that undermined the tombs' integrity.