A general view of the Valley of the Kings showing a large number of visitors near the entrance to KV62. Photo: Robert Jensen

Conservators using a portable microscope linked to a laptop computer to examine the paintings on the west wall. Photo: Stephen Rickerby

East wall of the tomb's burial chamber. The wall painting depicts Tutankhamen's mummified body lying in a shrine, which is on a sledge being drawn by twelve mourners. Photo: Robert Jensen

The north wall of the burial chamber depicts three separate scenes, read from right to left. In the first, Ay, Tutankhamen's successor, performs the "opening of the mouth" ceremony on Tutankhamen, who is depicted as Osiris, lord of the underworld. In the middle scene, Tutankhamen, dressed in the costume of the living king, is welcomed into the realm of the gods by the goddess Nut. On the left, Tutankhamen, followed by his ka (spirit twin), is embraced by Osiris. Photo: Robert Jensen

The burial chamber's west wall shows an excerpt from the Book of Amduat, an ancient Egyptian funerary text that describes the dead pharaoh's journey by boat to the afterlife. The upper register depicts the solar bark, preceded by five deities. Below, twelve baboon-deities represent the twelve hours of the night that the sun must travel through before being reborn at dawn. Photo: Robert Jensen

The south wall shows Hathor, goddess of the west, welcoming Tutankhamen into the underworld. The embalmer god, Anubis, stands behind the king. The remainder of this scene, which showed the goddess Isis welcoming the king, was dismantled when the partition wall was removed to gain access to the burial chamber in 1923. The whereabouts of the painting fragments is presently unknown. Photo: Robert Jensen

Tutankhamen's gilded-wood outermost coffin rests in the red quartzite sarcophagus within the burial chamber. Photo: Robert Jensen

Plan of Tutankhamen's tomb showing its layout and modest size. Image: ©Theban Mapping Project

Detail of a baboon on the west wall shows a crack and injection holes from previous treatments, as well as surface dust. Such condition issues will be addressed during the conservation phase of the project. Photo: Lori Wong

Detail of the north wall shows Tutankhamen's successor, Ay, dressed as a priest and holding a special tool to perform the opening of the mouth ceremony. This ceremony was believed to reanimate the dead king's senses in preparation for the afterlife. Photo: Lori Wong

View of the entrance to Tutankhamen's tomb (KV62) in the foreground, with the entrance to the tomb of Rameses VI (KV9) in the mound behind. Photo: Stephen Rickerby

Detail of painting on the north wall of Tutankhamen's burial chamber showing Osiris, lord of the underworld, embracing Tutankhamen, who is followed by his ka or spirit twin. Photo: Lori Wong

Conservators conducting a visual examination of the wall paintings on the north and west walls of the burial chamber. Photo: Robert Jensen

Conservators using a portable, handheld microscope to examine and photograph the paintings on the burial chamber's west wall. Photo: Robert Jensen

Conducting photographic documentation of the paintings on the tomb's north wall. Photo: Lori Wong

The brown spots marring the wall paintings are clearly seen in this detail of the goddess Hathor from the south wall of the burial chamber. The nature and origin of these spots, which have never been fully explained, will be addressed during the project. Photo: Lori Wong

The red quartzite sarcophagus dominates the burial chamber's floor space. Photo: Robert Jensen

Tutankhamen's gilded-wood outermost coffin rests in the sarcophagus. The GCI will conduct a condition assessment of the coffin and sarcophagus. Photo: Lori Wong

Detail of the east wall showing areas of flaking paint. In order to prevent further loss, such deterioration will require stabilization during the conservation phase of the project. Photo: Stephen Rickerby

Visitors looking into the burial chamber from the antechamber. KV62 is one of the most heavily visited sites in the Valley of the Kings. During the project's second phase, the GCI will address visitor management issues. Photo: Stephen Rickerby

Tutankhamen's mummy is displayed in the tomb's antechamber. The GCI will address issues related to the mummy's presentation and interpretation. Photo: Stephen Rickerby

SCA and GCI conservators conducting a visual examination of the paintings on the west wall. Photo: Lori Wong