TUT'S TOMB ACCESS WILL BE LIMITED & THEN CLOSED IN MAY

The Egyptians have announced that they will restrict the number of visitors to the tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings to 400 a day beginning in December, 2007. They also plan to close the tomb to visitors indefinitely in May, 2008, in order to carry out restoration work, Supreme Council for Antiquities secretary general Zahi Hawass announced in a statement.

In another recent news story, the face of ancient Egypt's boy king was revealed to the public for the first time since he died more than 3,000 years ago. The pharaoh's mummy was moved from its ornate sarcophagus in the tomb where its 1922 discovery caused an international sensation to a nearby climate-controlled case where experts say it will be better preserved.

Every day hundreds of visitors file through his tomb in the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile in the southern city of Luxor, bringing with them bacteria, humidity and other pollutants. "The mummy risked being reduced to dust because of the rising levels of humidity due to the visitors," Hawass said when the face was revealed.

Tutankhamun, the 12th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, reigned for about 10 years c. 1360 BC.