Cairo (AFP)

The intact solar boat of the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu dating some 4,600 years has been transported to the Grand Egyptian Museum which is to be inaugurated soon near the pyramids of Giza, the Ministry of Antiquities said on Saturday.

"After crossing the streets of Giza in an autonomous vehicle, the boat of Khufu discovered in 1954 at the southern corner of the Great Pyramid ended its long journey to the Great Egyptian Museum (GEM)", according to a statement of the ministry.

The Great Pyramid of Cairo - also known as the Pyramid of Cheops - is the largest of the three pyramids in Giza and houses the tomb of Cheops.

The solar boats were buried in pits next to the royal burial chambers as they were supposed to transport the deceased to the afterlife.

The Khufu boat, 42 meters long and weighing 20 tons, is "the largest and oldest wooden artefact in human history," says the ministry.

His journey on a special remote-controlled vehicle, imported from Belgium, began on Friday evening and lasted 10 hours, the official MENA news agency reported.

The GEM, on the Giza Plateau, where the famous pyramids are located, has been presented by Egypt as an important archaeological landmark housing its most precious antiquities.

The date of the museum's inauguration has not been specified.

Egypt is counting on a series of recent archaeological discoveries to revive its tourism sector, vital but in difficulty after suffering multiple shocks, from the 2011 uprising to the current pandemic.

A photo from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities shows the solar barque of Khufu on its way to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), in front of the necropolis of Giza, August 7, 2021 - Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities / AFP

In April, authorities moved 22 mummies of kings and queens from ancient Egypt in a grand ceremony through the streets of Cairo.

They joined the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), the new home of the royal remains.

© 2021 AFP