The Tomb of Tutankhamun (King Tut)
It
is not the grandest tomb in Egypt, and was certainly not occupied
by one of Egypt's most powerful rulers. But in general, the
population of the world know the tomb of Tutankhamen (KV 62)
better then any other, because of all the royal tombs, it
was found mostly intact. What was found in this tomb surely
gives us pause to understand the motive behind ancient tomb
robberies. If such a vast fortune in treasure (in all, some
3,500 items were recovered) was found in this tiny tomb owned
by a relatively minor king, what must have dazzled the eyes
of the thieves who first entered the huge tomb of Ramesses
II, or one of Egypt's other grand kings? Of course, the list
of funerary equipment was very useful to Egyptologists, giving
them an idea of what had been removed from other royal tombs.
Wonderful Artwork found in the Tutankhamun Tomb
A top from one of the Canopic Jars
The tomb, which lies in an area that was not normally
used for royal burials in the Valley center, was apparently
quickly buried deep below the surface of the Valley of the
Kings on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes). It was forgotten
about until Howard Carter discovered it on November 4th, 1922.
Part of Howard Carter's luck was that it was not discovered
earlier when, his predecessor in the Valley, Theodore Davis
who was American, came within little more then a meter of
finding it himself.
It is a little known fact that Howard Carter did
not excavate every part of the King’s Valley, down to bedrock
in his search for Tutankhamun. Having identified the area,
in the centre of the Valley, most likely to produce the sort
of find his patron desired; & which would indeed do so, many
years before he seems to have expended much of his efforts
in the search for answers to much more academic questions;
such as the hunt for foundation deposits – in order to clarify
which king was actually responsible for the construction of
which tomb, & only went flat out in his search for Tutankhamun’s
tomb, when it became apparent that his source of funds might
be about to dry up.
From "Recent Excavations in the Valley of the Kings
by the Amarna Royal Tombs Project" by Glen Parry
Indeed Howard Carter was told, prior to finding the
tomb, that Lord Carnarvon was withdrawing from the project,
but after pleading his case, was given one more season of
excavation in order to find it.
Actually,
we are told that after having initially discovered the steps
of the tomb on November 4th, Carter initially telegraphed
Lord Carnarvon, who was still in England at his Hampshire
estate, after which Carter refilled the stairway to await
his benefactor's arrival. Upon Lord Carnarvon's arrival on
November 24th, work was resumed and by November 26th, the
interior was observed for the first time since antiquity.
After its discovery, the worldwide media spectacle
the discovery created along with movies about the curse of
the mummies which are still produced every so often, is probably
as interesting as the actual tomb itself. What many people
do not realize is that it took Carter, with his attention
to details, another ten years to fully explore, excavate and
clear the tomb. Legend has it that Carter posted the first
notice of discovery of the tomb on the bulletin board at the
Old Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor.
Tutankhamen was certainly not one of the greatest
of Egyptian pharaohs. In fact, prior to the discovery of his
tomb in 1922, little of his life was known. Today, we know
much more about this king, but surprisingly little of that
knowledge comes from the treasures of his tomb.
Tutankhamen
died about 1325 BC, after only nine years of rule. Apparently
he died fairly suddenly, because a proper royal tomb, to our
knowledge, was never prepared for this pharaoh. Instead, the
tomb of Tutankhamen is relatively small and follows a design
more often found in non-royal tombs. Some scholars believe
that the tomb that King Ay was eventually interred in was
actually begun for Tutankhamen.
Actually, Tutankhamen's tomb is not nearly as interesting
as other tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It consists of
an entrance leading to a single corridor, followed by several
annexes for funerary equipment. At a 90 degree right angle
is the small burial chamber, with another annex attached leading
back in the direction of the entrance. This is not much of
a tomb compared to other royal tombs, and most all of the
funerary equipment will not be found here, but rather in the
Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo, if it is not elsewhere
on exhibit.
Only
the burial chamber received decorations. Here, all of the
walls have the same golden background. On the west wall we
find scenes depicting the apes of the first hour of the Amduat.
On the south wall the king is followed by Anubis as he appears
before Hathor. Here, there is also a scene of the King being
welcomed into the underworld by Hathor, Anubis and Isis. The
north wall depicts the King before Nut with the royal ka embracing
Osiris. On the same wall, we also find the scene of Ay performing
the opening of the Mouth ritual before the mummy of Tutankhamun.
Finally, on the east wall, Tutankhamun's mummy is depicted
being pulled on a sledge during the funeral procession. Within
the procession are two viziers to the king, and a third person
who might be Horemheb.
It should be noted that this tomb was not found
completely intact. In fact, there had been at least two robberies
of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamen's burial, probably
by members of the tomb workers.
Tutankhamun's Gold Inner Coffin
See also: