Buried for 4,500 years, King Khufu’s second solar boat, designed to ferry him to the afterlife, has recently been uncovered at the Giza Pyramids.
After the completion of a comprehensive study, limestone blocks, consisting of 41 panels that have covered the boat pit for 4,500 years, were removed and the boat’s wooden beams extracted one by one to a special warehouse in order to be reassembled as it would have looked in ancient times. Whilst cleaning the blocks, the Egyptian and Japanese teams revealed a cartouche for King Khufu and beside it was the name of the crown prince Djedefre, without cartouche. It is the second cartouche of King Khufu to be found in the Pyramid complex (the first was inside the Great Pyramid) and proves that the boat was constructed during the time of Khufu. Upon completion of the restoration, the boat will be placed near the entrance gate to the Pyramids Plateau.
