Grand Museum receives restored wooden beams of Khufu's second ship

The Grand Egyptian Museum received 27 wooden beams of the main compartment of the second Khufu (King Cheops) Ship, which dates back to the Old Kingdom of Egypt, after their renovation.

An Egyptian-Japanese team had dismantled 586 wooden beams and a number of oars from the ship and completed the renovation of 500 pieces, head of renovation at the museum Eissa Zidan said.

The second boat was found along with the first one in 1954 by late Egyptian archaeologist Kamal el Malak.

The second boat remained largely buried in sand until 1992 until a Japanese archaeological team from Waseda University offered a $10 million grant to unearth, restore and display it to the public.

The first phase of the restoration project, started in 2009, assessed the area surrounding the second boat pit with the use of topographical radar surveys. A laser scanning survey documented the area, particularly the wall between the Great Pyramid and the boat pit.

The first phase had also included the raising of 41 stone blocks that had covered the pit containing Khufu's second solar boat.