Row erupts over Cairo mural depicting Tutankhamun and Nefertiti with dark skin

A 66-metre-long mural in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, depicting Pharaoh Tutankhamun and Queen Nefertiti with dark skin, was abruptly painted over just hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit. The artwork, created by the volunteer group Rasmet Basma, sparked intense public backlash for allegedly promoting Afrocentric claims regarding the origins of ancient Egyptian civilization. The decision to remove the mural was made by Cairo governorate officials, who had initially approved the project but reversed course as social media criticism intensified.

Ahmed Moussa, the 22-year-old founder of Rasmet Basma, admitted that the team failed to consult archaeological experts during the design phase, which relied on AI-generated imagery from ChatGPT. Moussa explained that the golden-bronze tones used in the painting were intended to create shadow effects but resulted in an unintended dark-skinned appearance. Zahi Hawass, the former antiquities minister, criticized the lack of oversight, stating that such significant public sites should not be subject to amateur artistic interpretations that distort historical facts.

The controversy is part of a broader, long-standing debate concerning the ethnic identity of ancient Egyptians. Afrocentrism, a political movement asserting that ancient Egyptian civilization was fundamentally black African in origin, has faced significant pushback from Egyptian scholars. Previous incidents, including a 2023 Netflix documentary on Cleopatra and a 2024 museum tour incident, have similarly ignited nationalistic fervor and academic disputes over how historical figures are represented in modern media and art.

Experts argue that the incident highlights the risks of relying on AI for cultural representation. Monica Hanna, an Egyptologist, dismissed Afrocentric claims as pseudoscience, emphasizing that Egyptian society has historically been ethnically diverse, spanning from Nubian populations in the south to Mediterranean groups in the north. Meanwhile, AI researcher Walid Mahmoud warned that tools like ChatGPT are trained on Western-centric data, which can inadvertently propagate inaccurate cultural narratives if not carefully curated by human experts.

Looking ahead, the incident serves as a cautionary tale for the intersection of technology and cultural heritage. Art critics like Mostafa Eissa argue that while AI can be a useful tool, it must never replace human artistic judgment or historical accuracy. As Egypt continues to navigate its complex identity, the pressure to maintain control over its historical narrative remains high. Future public art projects in Cairo will likely face stricter oversight to ensure that representations of ancient history align with established archaeological consensus.