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Ten inscriptions to read at the Grand Egyptian Museum
14 October 2026
The Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza fully opened in November 2025, and its best reading is Tutankhamun's burial treasure, shown together for the first time since his tomb was found in 1922. Two cartouches let you read most of it: his throne name Nebkheperure and his birth name Tutankhamun. Add two monuments of Ramesses II, the raised obelisk at the entrance and the colossus in the atrium, and you have ten inscriptions for one visit.
The galleries are new, and objects can leave their cases for conservation or loans. Check the museum's own map on the day for where each piece stands.
Ramesses II greets you at the door
The first inscription is outside. An obelisk of Ramesses II stands lifted on four pillars in front of the entrance, so you can walk underneath and look up at his cartouche carved on its base, a face hidden while it stood on the ground.
The second meets you in the atrium: the red granite colossus of Ramesses II, about 11 metres tall, which stood in Ramesses Square in central Cairo from 1955 until 2006.
Look for his two cartouches. The throne name Usermaatre is the sun disc, the head of a canine (F12) for wsr, "strong", and the goddess Maat. It is often followed by Setepenre, "chosen of Ra". The birth name Ramesses is the sun disc, three fox skins (F31) for ms, "born", the folded cloth and the sedge, often followed by Meryamun, "beloved of Amun".
The mask and coffins carry spells
The mask is the third. Its face carries no text, but turn to the back and shoulders: lines of a protective spell from the Book of the Dead (spell 151) name a god for each part of the head, so that the whole face is guarded.
The coffins are the fourth. Lines of text run down their lids and round their sides. They name the king and call on the gods to protect him. Look for Nebkheperure in a cartouche. Its scarab (L1) and basket (V30) are easy to spot even in gold.
The throne shows both of his names
The golden throne is the fifth, and the most interesting one to read. Its back shows the queen touching the king's shoulder under the rays of the sun disc. It carries the king's name in both forms, Tutankhaten from his early years and Tutankhamun after the return to the god Amun. The game board (Y5) of Amun is the sign to compare.
The four gilded shrines that nested round the coffins are the sixth: their walls are covered in religious texts, among them books about the afterlife. On the second shrine, part of a netherworld text is written in cryptic signs that specialists still debate.
The seventh is the canopic chest of calcite, which held the king's embalmed organs. Isis, Nephthys, Neith and Selket spread their arms round its corners, and the panels between them carry the words each goddess speaks.
His jewels spell his throne name
The eighth is a pair of life-size statues of the king, black and gold, that stood guard at the door of the burial chamber. On one of them the column of text down the front of the kilt names the royal ka of Horakhty and then his throne name, Nebkheperure.
The ninth is the jewellery. Several pieces turn his throne name into a picture: a scarab pushing up a sun disc, with the basket beneath.
The tenth is a box of ebony and ivory shaped like a cartouche, a name ring you can hold, with his names and titles in blue-filled signs on the lid and in bands round the sides. Chariots, walking sticks and chests also carry his names.
Djedefre's name marks Khufu's boat
Khufu's first boat, rebuilt from cedar planks found in a pit beside the Great Pyramid, moved here in 2021. The boat itself carries no text. The blocks that covered its pit carry the name of Khufu's son Djedefre in masons' marks and cartouches, a sign that he probably buried it.
His cartouche has three signs: the sun disc, the djed pillar (R11) and the horned viper (I9), ḏd.f-rꜥ, "He endures like Ra". Where the displays show those blocks or pictures of them, look for that pillar.
Six signs recur across the treasure
Six signs are worth knowing by sight:
Gold and glass need a tilted phone
Gold and glass reflect strongly. Turn off the flash, step a little to one side and tilt the phone until the signs show as dark lines. On the big carved statues of the atrium and the Grand Staircase, the signs are large enough to box with the live camera.
Read toward the faces. Birds and people in a line look toward its start, so a cartouche whose signs face left is read from left to right. For small inlaid signs, take a sharp photo and trace the sign over it.
Questions
Is Tutankhamun's mummy at the Grand Egyptian Museum?
No. His mummy stays in his tomb, KV62, in the Valley of the Kings, in a glass case. The museum has his mask, coffins and the rest of the treasure.
Is the old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square still worth a visit?
Yes, for readers of hieroglyphs. It still holds a large collection of inscribed statues, stelae and coffins from every period.
Can I use my phone camera in the Grand Egyptian Museum?
Since 2019 Egypt's museums have allowed personal photos with phones and cameras indoors, without flash. Rules can change, so check at the entrance.
Glossary
- afterlife
- The life Egyptians expected after death. It needed a preserved body, a tomb, offerings and the right spells.
- birth name
- The name a king was given at birth, written in the second cartouche after the title "son of Ra". Egyptologists also call it the nomen.
- Book of the Dead
- A collection of spells written on papyrus and placed in burials from the New Kingdom on, to guide the dead through the afterlife. Egyptians called it the Spells for Coming Forth by Day.
- canopic jar
- One of four jars that held the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines taken out of a body during mummification.
- cartouche
- An oval ring drawn around a royal name, a loop of rope tied at one end. Kings wrote their two main names in cartouches.
- coffin
- A box for the body, of wood or stone, often shaped like a person and painted with spells, names and gods. Rich burials nested several coffins inside a sarcophagus.
- Maat
- Truth, justice and the right order of the world, shown as a goddess with an ostrich feather on her head. Kings claimed to uphold it.
- mummification
- Preserving a body for the afterlife. Embalmers took out the organs, dried the body in natron salt for about 40 days and wrapped it in linen.
- obelisk
- A tall, four-sided stone pillar with a pointed top, usually set up in pairs before a temple and carved with the king's names.
- scarab
- The dung beetle, sign of the rising sun and of the word ḫpr, "to come into being". Carved scarabs were used as seals and amulets.
- throne name
- The name a king took when he came to the throne, written in the first cartouche after the title "King of Upper and Lower Egypt". Egyptologists also call it the prenomen.
- tomb
- A burial place: a pit, a mastaba, a pyramid or rooms cut into rock. Its chapel was where the family brought offerings.
People in this article
Where to see it
- Grand Egyptian Museum museum
- Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) monument
Sources
- The $1 billion Grand Egyptian Museum opens to the public (AP)
- Statue of Ramesses II (Wikipedia)
- The suspended obelisk that welcomes visitors in Cairo, Bonart
- Djedefre, on the inscribed blocks over Khufu's boat pit (Wikipedia, with its references)
- The Egyptian cabinet allows personal photography in public places without prior permit (Egypt Independent)
- Cartouche-shaped box of Tutankhamun, Egypt Museum
More to read
- Reading the tombs of the Valley of the Kings Valley of the Kings hieroglyphs: what to read in the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I, Thutmose III and Ramesses VI, and the signs to learn before you go.
- Reading the walls of Luxor Temple Luxor Temple hieroglyphs: read the cartouches of Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun, Ramesses II and Alexander the Great, and the signs to learn first.
- Medinet Habu: Ramesses III and the Sea Peoples in his own words Medinet Habu hieroglyphs: Ramesses III's sea battle with the Sea Peoples, his year 8 inscription, the painted second court and the signs to learn first.