Overview
- A Cairo University assessment reports a growing fissure across KV62’s entrance and burial chamber, with rainwater infiltration raising humidity and fostering fungal damage.
- The tomb’s Esna shale bedrock expands and contracts with moisture, creating stresses that researchers say could lead to deformation or sudden “rock bursting.”
- The study identifies the October 1994 flood as a turning point that opened cracks, elevated moisture, and accelerated deterioration of painted surfaces.
- Lead author Sayed Hemeda says the site is not expected to collapse soon but faces significant long-term risk without measures to regulate humidity and reinforce the structure.
- Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities rejects claims of collapse risk, citing recent checks with the Getty Conservation Institute that found the tomb stable and its murals not in danger.