TUTANKHAMUN (text for teachers, if story told)
The most famous Egyptian pharaoh today is, without doubt,
Tutankhamun. The boy king died in his late
teens and remained at rest in Egypt's Valley of
the Kings for over 3,300 years.
All that changed in November 1922, when
Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered by the
British Egyptologist Howard Carter who was
excavating on behalf of his patron Lord
Carnarvon. His tomb almost escaped discovery
and could have been undiscovered to this day.
Carter had been searching for the tomb for a
number of years and Carnarvon had decided
that enough time and money had been
expended with little return. However, Carter
managed to persuade his patron to fund one
more season and within days of resuming the tomb was found.
Today, the tomb still contains the
pharaoh's remains, hidden from view
inside the outermost of three coffins. He is
the only pharaoh still residing in the Valley
of the Kings - as far as we know!
The tomb itself is very small and appears
to have been destined for someone of
lesser importance. Tutankhamun's
unexpected early demise saw the tomb's
rushed modification to accommodate the
pharaoh. (Colour tomb layout illustration
copyright by M. Rigby.)
The only part of the complex that contains
wall paintings is the Burial Chamber. One
of the scenes, shown below, depicts the
Opening of the Mouth Ceremony where the
senses are restored to the deceased
Tutankhamun. In this case the person
performing this duty is Ay, who became
the next pharaoh. (Photograph of wall
painting - non-copyright postcard.)
It contained four gilded shrines nested
one inside the other. The innermost of
these covered a stone sarcophagus.
Inside that were three coffins - the
innermost being made of 110 kilograms of solid gold. Inside that lay
the pharaoh himself wearing the famous gold mask.
Innermost Coffin
Adjacent to the Burial Chamber was the so-called Treasury which was
home to much of the supporting equipment for Tutankhamun's
afterlife. It contained a dazzling array of boats, gilded figures and
the canopic chest within which were various internal organs
belonging to the ancient king. Gathered around the chest in their
protective stance were four beautiful gilded figures of
goddesses. Just inside the entrance to the room was the protective
black figure of Anubis in the form of a recumbent jackal.
The Antechamber contained dismantled chariots, containers of
food, various funeral couches, thrones, and two black guardian
figures at the entrance of the Burial Chamber. It was this area that
was first seen when Carter made a hole in the blocked-off far end of
the entry passage. A small Annex was a jumble of other equipment.
Carter concluded that the tomb had been broken into on two
occasions soon after the pharaoh was buried. After each break-in the
tomb was resealed by officials of the necropolis. Fortunately, the
tomb robbers did not get away with too much and much of the
material sealed in with Tutankhamun may now be viewed in Cairo's
Egyptian Museum with a few items in the Luxor Museum.
Source: [Link]
TUTANKHAMUN (text for teachers, if story told)
The ancient Egyptians buried people with some of the things they
had when they were alive.
Tutankhamun was a pharaoh.
He had a lot of precious objects.
He died when he was young, probably 19 years old. When they
buried him in a subterranean tomb, they placed his treasures near
his body.
There were many things. Among them there were…
four gilded shrines
a stone sarcophagus
three coffins
a gold mask
some boats
some gilded figures
a canopic chest with internal organs belonging to the ancient
king.
four beautiful gilded figures of goddesses.
a protective black figure of Anubis
dismantled chariots
containers of food,
funeral couches
thrones
two black guardian figures
Tutankhamun’s tomb was found by an English Egyptologist in 1922.
His name was Howard Carter.
Some people think there is a mystery. Some people who discovered
the tomb died in strange circumstances.
