For more than a thousand years, Egypt's greatest rulers were buried beneath enormous pyramids.
Then something changed.
The pharaohs of the New Kingdom stopped building giant royal pyramids and began hiding their tombs deep inside the mountains of western Thebes.
Why?
The answer reveals one of the most fascinating changes in ancient Egyptian history.
For thousands of years, Egypt’s pharaohs lay hidden in tombs and secret caches. Then, on one remarkable night in Cairo, 22 royal mummies began a journey unlike anything their ancient makers could have imagined.
The world watched as Egypt’s ancient kings and queens traveled from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to their new home at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
But who were these rulers—and why did Egypt move them?
Imagine a procession unlike anything seen in modern Egypt: twenty-two ancient royal mummies leaving one of Cairo’s most famous museums and beginning a carefully planned journey to their new home.
On April 3, 2021, Egypt’s ancient rulers made headlines around the world during the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade.
But why were these royal mummies moved—and who were the kings and queens inside the coffins?
For thousands of years, the tombs of Egypt’s pharaohs were meant to protect their bodies and treasures for eternity. Yet many royal mummies were eventually removed from their original tombs and hidden in secret places.
The discovery of the lost tomb of Thutmose II raised an intriguing question: if archaeologists found his original tomb, where was the pharaoh’s mummy?
For centuries, the tomb of King Thutmose II was one of the missing pieces of Egypt’s royal history. That changed when an Egyptian-British archaeological mission identified his long-lost tomb in the Theban mountains west of Luxor.
Few objects from ancient Egypt are as instantly recognizable as the golden burial mask of King Tutankhamun. More than three thousand years after the young pharaoh was buried in the Valley of the Kings, his golden face continues to capture the imagination of visitors from around the world.
When we think of ancient Egypt, one of the first images that comes to mind is the mummy. But why did the
Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, was one of the most famous rulers of ancient Egypt.
Menkaure was the king who built the smallest of the three great pyramids at Giza.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities dates his reign to approximately 2532–2503 BC and identifies him as the most likely son of Khafre and grandson of Khufu. )
Khafre was a king of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty and the builder of the second great pyramid at Giza.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities dates his reign to approximately 2558–2532 BC and identifies him as the son of King Khufu.
Khufu was the king who commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest pyramid in Egypt and the only surviving monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Hatshepsut was one of the most remarkable rulers of ancient Egypt. A member of the royal family of the Eighteenth Dynasty, she began her political life as queen and later assumed the full authority of kingship. Her reign is generally dated to approximately 1473–1458 BC.
Standing on the Giza Plateau for more than four thousand years, the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure form one of the most extraordinary archaeological landscapes in the world.
Hatshepsut was one of the most remarkable rulers of ancient Egypt. Born into the royal family of the Eighteenth Dynasty, she began her life as a queen and later assumed the title and authority of king, ruling alongside her young stepson and nephew, Thutmose III. Her reign is generally dated to around 1473–1458 BCE.
Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and the principal wife of Thutmose II, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. After Thutmose II died, his
Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari is one of the most distinctive monuments of ancient Egypt. Built on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, the temple combines monumental architecture, religious symbolism, royal history, and some of the most informative reliefs from ancient Egypt.
The Pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three great pyramids on the Giza Plateau, yet its architecture and unusual use of granite make it one of the most fascinating monuments of ancient Egypt.
Menkaure, known to the ancient Greeks as Mykerinos, was a king of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty and is generally identified as the builder of the Third Pyramid at Giza. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities dates his reign to approximately 2532–2503 BC and describes him as most likely the son of Khafre and grandson of Khufu.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or Pyramid of Cheops, is the largest and oldest of the three great pyramids on the Giza Plateau in Egypt.
Built during the reign of King Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty, the pyramid is generally dated to around 2589–2566 BC. With an original height of approximately 146.5 meters (481 feet), it remained the tallest human-made structure in the world for about 3,800 years. It is also the only surviving monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Near the famous Pyramids of Giza stands one of Egypt's most remarkable modern cultural landmarks: the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).