The plaster blocking wall, described as unparalleled because it survived ancient looters, was displayed to the public for the first time at the Luxor Museum. Abdelghaffar Wagdy, director-general of Luxor Antiquities, said the wall has never been replicated in Egypt or anywhere else. He described it as a one-of-a-kind artifact and the only surviving artifact of Tutankhamun that the world had never seen before.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed the wall was used to secure the entrances of the burial chamber and bore official stamps reflecting funerary rituals and administrative authority, including seals of Tutankhamun and the necropolis guards. An Egyptian team recently reconstructed the wall. The exhibition coincided with the opening of two tombs belonging to Rabuya and his son Samut from the 18th Dynasty, who served as door keepers of the deity Amun.
Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the tombs were discovered by chance in 2015. They feature scenes of daily life and funerary rituals, including agriculture, harvest, crafts, bread, pottery, and wine production. Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
Today we are inaugurating two very important tombs that were discovered by chance in 2015.
It was hidden by debris and not extensively robbed, making it the only known near-intact royal burial from ancient Egypt. The tomb contained more than five thousand objects, many in a fragile state. Its discovery inspired a media frenzy and popularised ancient Egyptian designs, becoming a symbol of national pride.
Most of the tomb's contents went to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Tutankhamun ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom and died c. 1323 BC.
Separately, Egypt announced the discovery of three ancient tombs from the New Kingdom in the Draa Abul Naga area. One tomb belonged to Amum-em-Ipet, who worked in the estate of Amun; another to Baki, who supervised a grain silo; and the third to a man identified as 'S', a writer, mayor of the northern oases, and overseer of the Temple of Amun. Sherif Fathy, minister of tourism and antiquities, said the discovery will boost tourism.
The three tombs will undergo cleaning and study for academic publication.