Egypt opens pharaoh's tomb in Valley of the Kings for first time in 20 years and it is stunning

Egypt has officially opened the tomb of an ancient pharaoh after more than 20 years of renovations and the result is breathtaking.

The tomb belonged to one of ancient Egypt's most powerful and prosperous pharaohs, Amenhotep III, who ruled between 1390 BC and 1350 BC, and is one of the largest in the Valley of the Kings.

Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, unveiled the stunning tomb to the public in the southern city of Luxor on Saturday (4 October), after more than two decades of restorations, including renovating paintings of the pharaoh and his wife on the tomb walls.

The vast tomb includes a main burial chamber for the king and two other chambers for his wives, Queens Tiye and Sitamun. While Queen Tiye, a woman not of royal birth, became his principal wife and one of the most influential queens in Egyptian history, Sitamun was thought to be one of their daughters, before becoming one of Amenhotep III's wives.

The tomb has undergone 20 years of renovations (AFP via Getty Images)

It was not unusual for pharaohs to marry their eldest daughters as it allowed them to consolidate royal bloodlines and strengthen political and religious symbolism.

Amenhotep III also had a son, his successor Amenhotep IV, who introduced Egypt’s short-lived monotheistic worship of Aten, the sun disk deity.

The tomb was first discovered back in 1799, however, all of its contents were stolen, including the sarcophagus, according to Egyptian antiquities authorities.

However, Amenhotep III's body, which had been mummified, was removed from the tomb by ancient priests and placed in the tomb of his grandfather, Amenhotep II, which is also located in the Valley of the Kings.

Now, the badly damaged mummy sits alongside 16 other kings and queens of ancient Egypt, on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.

Egypt was reopened the tomb in a bid to boost tourism (AFP via Getty Images)

The reopening of the tomb, following the long, pain-staking Japanese-led restorations, is part of Egypt's plans to revive the country's tourism sector, by bringing in more foreign visitors and in turn sourcing a major source of international currency.

The tourism industry in Egypt has suffered considerably since the political violence that followed the 2011 uprising which brought the end of President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule. Much of the efforts to revive the interest of foreign nationals have centred around the country's rich pharaonic artefacts. Meanwhile, the official inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids is set to take place on 1 November.