# Radar reveals two new rooms in Tutankhamun tomb **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167 "2015-10-01T18:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/21 "2015-10-01T21:51:52Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Is it possible to slice through the wall along the margins of the panels? This might allow a panel to be moved without altering it. > [@Merneith](#): > > I’m sure if they can, they’ll remove the panel intact. In truth, I’m a little surprised they didn’t do that years ago. I’m also kind of surprised that no one’s used radar in there, before, either. I wonder if Zahi Hawass was saving this for his big final project. > > … > > But taking out the panels and getting them into climate controlled environments would be the best way to go, if possible. What “panels”? The walls are covered with murals from side to side and nearly top to bottom. [This is the mural on the north wall](http://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/field_projects/tut/images/tut_photo9_2.jpg), apparently the one the main chamber is behind. Cutting this up into pieces small enough to get through the doors without effectively destroying it would be impossible. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/22 "2015-10-01T21:55:47Z")
They are going to need a lot more guards. Looters gets in there and they could tear through that partition wall in a night. The loss of the wall and paintings might be worse than any dusty objects in the rooms. Biggest concern seems like someone bribing the guards. They’ve had security issues since the revolt a couple years ago. [Looters got in the museum in 2013.](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/pictures/130823-museum-mallawi-egypt-looting-artifacts-archaeology-science-antiquities/) ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/23 "2015-10-01T22:18:31Z")
If they do figure out how to get in I am sensing a Geraldo comeback special. “Shit, empty again!” ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/24 "2015-10-01T22:50:47Z")
n/m ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/25 "2015-10-01T22:57:40Z")
Maybe there’s a train in there! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/26 "2015-10-01T22:59:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Maybe there’s a train in there! 😃 Fulla Nazi gold? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/27 "2015-10-01T23:12:45Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > Fulla Nazi gold? Nah. Polish jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/28 "2015-10-01T23:30:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > What “panels”? The walls are covered with murals from side to side and nearly top to bottom. [This is the mural on the north wall](http://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/field_projects/tut/images/tut_photo9_2.jpg), apparently the one the main chamber is behind. Cutting this up into pieces small enough to get through the doors without effectively destroying it would be impossible. The murals are on plaster over stone. Theoretically, one can separate the plaster from the stone and remove the mural in a large enough chunk that it could be repaired. I am not a specialist art restorer, so I can’t get more specific than that, but it’s a done thing. Looking at that image you posted, one can see how, theoretically, the line could be drawn without bisecting the figures or the writing. By “panels”, I was thinking about the sections of the mural, once they were ready for removal. Sorry for my lack of clarity. I was envisioning a door- or figure-sized slab of plaster It’s not easy, obviously, and it would cost a bajillion dollars. And there may well be technical reasons why this won’t work, with which I’m not aware. But murals have been removed and sold to museums or collectors at other times. (And not just Egyptian murals - plaster murals of all sorts can be moved, with care). Getting an actual conservation team in to remove the murals carefully is the best way to proceed if there’s going to be more work done in the tomb. They’ve actually been building a replica tomb a short distance away. The plan was to close the actual tomb and send visitors to the replica because human respiration can damage the tomb. Then they were going to get conservationists in to help protect the tomb’s art. IMO, getting everything out of the original tomb, including Tutankhamun’s body, is a top priority. That will free the area up for exploring the new rooms. As far as I’m concerned, maintaining the integrity of the original space is less important than conserving the artifacts and unearthing the new areas. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/29 "2015-10-01T23:42:47Z")
Incidentally, the Getty site you linked to, Colibri, mention their involvement in stabilizing the plaster paintings in a variety of tombs. That’s all being done with an eye toward preserving the paintings in situ. (And indeed, I might be alone in just wanting to see the painting removed to a safer setting). But the idea behind stabilizing plaster murals is the first step in what happens before a mural can be moved. > **[Conservation of Wall Paintings & Site Elements](https://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/field_projects/valley_queens/conservation.html)** > > Conservation of wall paintings and site elements for Valley of the Queens. If the paintings can be stabilized, then slicing through the plaster in a slab is not difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/30 "2015-10-02T00:05:08Z")
Interesting. Are we expecting that Nefertiti died before Tut and they moved her and all her stuff to a back room? Or would she have been put in there later? I think I known how to get in there: look for a candle stick next to the hidden door. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/31 "2015-10-02T00:25:21Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > I think I known how to get in there: look for a candle stick next to the hidden door. Put. the. candle. back. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/32 "2015-10-02T01:11:36Z")
Pretty sure one is the khamun room. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/33 "2015-10-02T01:17:51Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > The murals are on plaster over stone. Theoretically, one can separate the plaster from the stone and remove the mural in a large enough chunk that it could be repaired. I am not a specialist art restorer, so I can’t get more specific than that, but it’s a done thing. Looking at that image you posted, one can see how, theoretically, the line could be drawn without bisecting the figures or the writing. I only see one spot where you could make a straight vertical cut through the mural without cutting through figures or objects. And remember, the door is pretty small. You would have to cut the mural into at least four or five pieces to get it out. I can’t see that as being acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/34 "2015-10-02T01:18:30Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Pretty sure one is the khamun room. Tutt tutt, what a horrible pun. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/35 "2015-10-02T01:52:55Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > That’s pretty cool! I think they should just leave it be, let there be something in this world that we don’t drill a hole into. The mystery is better than reality anyway, just like Al Capone’s vault! There was nothing in Al Capone’s vault And it wasn’t Geraldo’s fault… Damnit! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/36 "2015-10-02T02:20:38Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Put. the. candle. back. Now listen to me very carefully: Don’t. Move. The. Candle. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/37 "2015-10-02T03:06:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I only see one spot where you could make a straight vertical cut through the mural without cutting through figures or objects. And remember, the door is pretty small. You would have to cut the mural into at least four or five pieces to get it out. I can’t see that as being acceptable. The best option would be to tunnel under the tomb and enter through the floor, since floors are not decorated (as far as I know) nothing would be damaged in the process. So, perhaps, first a small hole on the wall to insert a camera, check for wonders and then see about getting in there. As an aside, I read that the discovery came about because of work being done to create a replica to protect the original from environmental damage caused by hordes of sweaty tourists going into the tomb. It made me think that a sealed glass tunnel could be a better solution and it can’t be any more expensive or complicated than building a replica that wouldn’t have the same attraction to tourists anyway. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/38 "2015-10-02T03:34:15Z")
He was born in Arizona, got a condo made of stone-uh. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/39 "2015-10-02T03:52:38Z")
They could drill a small hole in an out-of-the-way spot and run a fiber optic camera through it. Or leave it alone, the damn thing is cursed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167/40 "2015-10-02T04:06:09Z")
I’m curious just how much detail can be gotten via non-destructive imaging methods. They’ve used radar now, but what about sound waves, muons, MRI? I wouldn’t be surprised if a combination of methods plus some clever software might not even be able to make out features of statues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radar-reveals-two-new-rooms-in-tutankhamun-tomb/733167.md?page=3)