22 Egyptian pharaohs Mummies moved to a new museum in Cairo in a spectacular ‘Golden Parade’ – World News , NewsGater

A procession of floats carried the mummified remains of 22 pharaohs, including Egypt’s most powerful ancient queen, through Cairo on Saturday night in a striking parade to a new resting place.

Under tight security, the mummies were driven in floats seven kilometers through the capital from the iconic Egyptian Museum to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.

Nicknamed the “Golden Parade of the Pharaohs,” the 18 kings and four queens traveled in order, oldest first, each aboard a separate vehicle decorated in ancient Egyptian style. Both pedestrians and vehicles were excluded from Tahrir Square, the site of the current museum, and other sections of the route.

Images from the elegant parade and an equally carefully choreographed opening ceremony were broadcast live on state television, to rousing music.

The mummies entered the new museum grounds with a 21-gun salute, after a slightly shorter-than-expected journey of around half an hour.

“This grandiose spectacle is further proof of the greatness … of a unique civilization that extends to the depths of history,” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said shortly before the procedure.

Seqenenre Tao II, “the Mighty One”, who reigned in southern Egypt about 1,600 years before Christ, was in the first chariot, while Ramses IX, who reigned in the 12th century BC, was the last.

Another great warrior, Ramses II, who ruled for 67 years, and Queen Hatshepsut, the most powerful pharaoh, were also on the short journey.

Emblazoned with the name of their assigned sovereign, the gold and black carriages were fitted with shock absorbers for the journey, to ensure that none of the precious cargo was accidentally disturbed by uneven surfaces.

‘Improved cases’

Discovered near Luxor beginning in 1881, fascinating new details of the life and death of the pharaohs are still emerging.

A high-tech study of Seqenenre Tao II, which included long-studied CT scans and 3D images of his hands and skull fractures, indicates that he likely died in an execution ceremony, after being captured in battle.

For their procession through the streets of Cairo, the mummies were placed in special containers filled with nitrogen, in conditions similar to their usual showcases. The new resting place, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in the Fustat district of Old Cairo, consists of elegant low-rise buildings topped with a pyramid amid vast grounds.

The mummies will undergo 15 days of laboratory restoration before being individually displayed in their new home, in an environment reminiscent of underground tombs. They will be accompanied by a short biography.

In their new home, they will occupy “slightly improved cases,” said Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo.

Temperature and humidity control will also be improved.

The “museum has what it takes to preserve (mummies), the best laboratories … it is one of the best museums we have,” Waleed el-Batoutti, an adviser to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, told state television.

‘Curse of the Pharaoh’

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization opened its doors to limited exhibits from 2017 and will be fully open on Sunday, before the mummies are on display to the general public two weeks later.

In the coming months, the country must inaugurate another new showcase, the Great Egyptian Museum, near the pyramids of Giza. It will also house pharaonic collections, including the famous treasure of Tutankhamun.

Discovered in 1922, the tomb of the young ruler, who briefly assumed the throne in the 14th century BC. C., it contained treasures that included gold and ivory.

The so-called “curse of the pharaoh” arose from the discovery of Tutankhamun in 1922-23.

A key funder of the excavation, Lord Carnarvon, died of blood poisoning months after the tomb was opened, while one of the first visitors also died abruptly in 1923.

With the parade coming just days after various disasters hit Egypt, some inevitably speculated on social media about a new curse sparked by the latest move.

Recent days have seen a deadly rail collision and the collapse of a building in Cairo, while global headlines were dominated by the fight to re-float the giant container ship MV Ever Given that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week.

The relocation of the mummies “marks the end of much work to improve their conservation and display,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, who was in Cairo for the parade.

“This generates emotions that go far beyond the mere relocation of a collection: we will see how the history of Egyptian civilization unfolds before our eyes.”