Grand Egyptian Museum
Museum, Cairo and Giza · also called GEM, Grand Egyptian Museum Giza, Egyptian Grand Museum
The Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza pyramids holds Tutankhamun's complete burial treasure, much of it covered in hieroglyphs. It is the best place to read one king's names again and again, in gold, wood and stone.
The Grand Egyptian Museum stands about two kilometres from the Giza pyramids and fully opened in November 2025. Its heart is the treasure of Tutankhamun, shown together for the first time since its discovery in 1922, with a Grand Staircase of royal statues and inscribed blocks leading up to it.
Tutankhamun's objects are ideal for learning to read. His two cartouches appear on almost everything: his throne name Nebkheperure and his birth name Tutankhamun, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Heliopolis. Learn their signs and you will spot them on chests, jewellery, chariots and walking sticks, chased in gold or inlaid in glass.
Inscriptions to see
Tutankhamun's gold mask
The back and shoulders carry columns of a protective spell from the Book of the Dead, linking each part of the face to a god.
The golden throne
It carries his name in both forms: Tutankhaten, from before the return to Amun, and Tutankhamun. The two cartouches show a change of faith in one sign group.
The gilded shrines
Four nested shrines covered in texts from funerary books. One carries a netherworld text written partly in cryptic signs that specialists still debate.
Colossus of Ramesses II
The standing colossus from Ramesses Square greets visitors in the atrium. Look for his cartouches carved on the statue.
Khufu's boat
Khufu's first boat, rebuilt from cedar planks found beside the Great Pyramid. The blocks over its pit carried the name of Djedefre, who probably buried it.
Names you can find here
Signs to look for
- Scarab beetle L1ḫpr The scarab (kheper) sits in Tutankhamun's throne name, Nebkheperure.
- Basket V30nb The basket (neb, 'lord') sits at the bottom of the same cartouche.
- Ankh S34ꜥnḫ The ankh spells 'living' in his birth name, Tutankhamun.
- Game board Y5mn The game board (men) spells Amun; it is missing from the earlier Tutankhaten on the throne.
- Crook S38ḥqꜣ The crook (heqa, 'ruler') follows in his birth name.
Reading the hieroglyphs here
- Learn Tutankhamun's two cartouches before you go: you will see them on hundreds of objects.
- Gold reflects strongly: turn off the flash and tilt the phone until the signs show as dark lines.
- Try the live camera on the Grand Staircase, where large carved signs sit at an easy height.
Point your camera at a wall Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.
Questions
Is Tutankhamun's mask in the Grand Egyptian Museum?
Yes. It moved from the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square with the rest of his treasure. Coffins, shrines, throne and chariots are shown in the same galleries.
Where is Khufu's boat now?
Khufu's first boat is in the Grand Egyptian Museum. It was moved in 2021 from its old museum beside the Great Pyramid.
Where it is
Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.