King Khufu boat successfully arrived at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in the wee hours of Saturday 07/08/2021.

The transportation process took 10 hours to move the ship from its display in a special museum located at the southern side of the Great Pyramid of Khufu on the Giza Plateau to its new permanent location at the GEM.

Khufu's first boat, known in the media as the solar boat, was discovered in May 1954, during an expedition to remove sand from the southern side of the Great Pyramid of King Khufu.

General Supervisor of the GEM Project Atef Moftah said in remarks that the transfer of the boat is an important engineering, archaeological, complex and unique project.

The accurate transportation was not carried out by chance but it is the outcome of efforts, studies and serious plans of action over almost a year, he added.

In turn, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Moustafa Waziry confirmed that the decision to transfer the ship was taken after the approval of the Permanent Committee of Egyptian Antiquities.

After its restoration and reconstruction, the boat was then put on display in a museum bearing its name on the Giza Plateau which, unfortunately, marred the beauty of the pyramid, the only surviving wonder of the ancient world.

In addition, the museum was not equipped to house this magnificent wooden artifact, one of the most important in the world, whose organic structure soon began to decay. The transportation of the boat to a new venue was imperative.

Many ideas to move the boat were studied. All of them involved dismantling the boat and reconstructing it at the GEM. Such ideas proved risky, however, because this could be more dangerous than keeping the boat in its location.

Moving the 42 meter long and 20 ton boat in one piece was the only suitable solution, like the transportation of the Ramses II colossus from Ramses Square to the GEM.

MENA