What historical site impresses you the most? I've always been fascinated by the pyramids in Egypt. A few years ago I braved a long queue and climbed through a narrow passage to reach the main chamber¹ deep inside one of them. Like millions of other tourists I marvelled² at stoned-walled rooms full of the magic of this ancient civilisation³.

 

But popularity might be the undoing⁴ of such archaeological treasures.

 

Take Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, for example. It lay untouched for more than 3,000 years until the British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered it in 1922. Now more than 1,000 people a day walk through it.

 

But as more and more people visit, the temperature and humidity inside the tomb change. As a result, the beautifully decorated plaster is coming away from the rock.

 

In order to preserve its heritage, a replica⁵ of the monument is being opened about 1km away from the actual burial site. Specialists have recorded every detail of Tutankhamun's tomb and used the data to recreate it.

 

Adam Lowe from the organisation⁶ behind the project, Factum Arte, says the copy is identical to the original. He believes visitors will want to "become part of the force that protects it rather than a force that is leading to its destruction", so won't mind seeing a replica.

 

But for historian Tom Holland, a copy is still a copy. He believes that although preservation⁷ is important, there is something unique about places like Tutankhamun's tomb.

 

He says it was built "by people who believed in the world of the spirits, the dead and the supernatural. You don't have to believe in a god or gods to feel a place is consecrated⁸ and has a particular quality that can't be reproduced."

 

What about you: would you visit a replica of a monument rather than the original to help preserve it?

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