56801506 tutankhamun the life and death of a pharoah

&TheLife

DeathPharaoh

aof

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Discovery Series ABC Spreads 216mm x 276mm UK

Tutankhamun’s mummy wasenclosed in three coffins, asarcophagus, and four shrines.

The treasury ofTutankhamun’s tomb

The blue crown

The nemes head cloth

The double crown

Assembling the canopic shrine

Howard Carter and his teamlook into the tomb for the first time.


Written byDAVID MURDOCH

Illustrated byCHRIS FORSEY

ANNE YVONNE GILBERTERIC THOMAS

DORLING KINDERSLEYLONDON • NEW YORK • MOSCOW • SYDNEY

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A

PHARAOHTUTANKHAMUN

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ContentsLONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH, MELBOURNE and DELHI

Project Editor Susan MalyanArt Editor Penny Lamprell

Senior Editor Scarlett O’HaraSenior Art Editor Vicky Wharton

Senior Managing Editor Linda MartinSenior Managing Art Editor Julia Harris

DTP Designer Almudena DíazPicture Research Catherine Edkins

Jacket Designer Mark HaygarthProduction Lisa Moss

Hardback edition first published in Great Britain in 1998This edition published in Great Britain in 2003

by Dorling Kindersley Limited, 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Copyright © 1998, © 2003, Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 0 7513 3748 X

Reproduced by Colourscan, SingaporePrinted and bound by L.E.G.O., Italy

Additional illustrations by John Lawrence

Quotes from The Tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter Copyright © The Griffith Institute,

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

see our complete catalogue at

www.dk.com

6THE DISCOVERY

8THE CHARACTERS

10THE VALLEY OF

THE KINGS

12 THE HIDDEN STEPS

14BREAKING THROUGH

16 THE ANTECHAMBER

18 THE BURIAL CHAMBER

20THE TREASURY


38GODS AND RELIGION

40THE PHARAOH

42WHO WAS

TUTANKHAMUN?

44MUMMIES AND

EMBALMING

46THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS

AT WORK

48INDEX

22THE ANNEXE

24UNWRAPPING THE

MUMMY

26TREASURES OF

THE TOMB

28~31THE JOURNEY TO

THE TOMB

32“WONDERFUL THINGS”

34LIFE AND TIMES OF

TUTANKHAMUN

36THE KINGDOM OF

THE NILE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

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12

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14

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17

18

19

20

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23

24

25

26

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38

Discovery Series Section Opener 216mm x 276mm UK

WHEN ARCHAEOLOGIST Howard Carter shone his torch through a hole in the door

of Tutankhamun’s tomb, this was theamazing sight that met his eyes.Hundreds of priceless treasures werepiled up inside, waiting to be discovered.

DiscoveryThe

This strange,elongated cow forms one side of aceremonial couch.


EYEWITNESS“We had worked formonths at a stretchand found nothing....

We had almost made up ourminds that we were beaten,and were preparing to leavethe Valley; and then – hardlyhad we set hoe to ground inour last despairing effort than we made a discovery

that far exceeded our wildest dreams.”

Howard Carter and Arthur Mace, from their book

The Tomb of Tutankhamun,1923–33

Photograph insidethe antechamber,taken by HarryBurton, when thetomb was opened in 1922.


This is one of six beds found in the tomb.Like all the treasures, they were put therefor Tutankhamun to use in the afterlife.


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8


T H E D I S C O V E R Y

THECHARACTERSMORE THAN 3,000 YEARSseparate the two casts ofcharacters shown onthese pages. In 1327 BC,Tutankhamun, pharaoh ofancient Egypt, was buried in atomb in the Valley of the Kings. Thirty-two centuries later, in AD 1922,his tomb was rediscovered, with all its treasures still intact, by the Britisharchaeologist Howard Carter and histeam. Thanks to them, the forgotten pharaoh, Tutankhamun, became world famous.One person is missing from these pages –Harry Burton was a photographer whoworked with Howard Carter and took manyof the black-and-white pictures used in thisbook. He was always behind the camera,which is why he does not appear inany of the photographs!

THE CHIEFMINISTERTutankhamun’s chiefminister, Ay, was themost powerful man inEgypt after the king.When Tutankhamundied, Ay became thenext pharaoh. By thenhe was an old man,and he reigned forjust four years.

PRIESTSThe chief priest ata royal funeral wascalled the Sempriest. He wore aleopard skin. Otherpriests prepared the pharaoh’s body forthe afterlife andthen installed hismummified body in the tomb.

ROYAL COUPLEThis vivid picture of the youngking and his queen is carved on thegolden throne found in the tomb.Ankhesenamun is anointing herhusband with perfume.

THE YOUNGQUEENTutankhamun wasmarried to his half-sister,Ankhesenamun (see page42). After Tutankhamun’sdeath, his successor, Ay,married Ankhesenamun tostrengthen his own claimto the throne.

THE BOY KINGTutankhamun was probablythe son of Akhenaten, thepharaoh whose changes to thereligion of Egypt causedturmoil (see page 43). He wasonly nine when he came tothe throne, so the real powerwas in the hands of his chiefminister, Ay, and of the headof the army, Horemheb.Tutankhamun died when hewas only 18, and was buriedwith magnificent treasures.

ROBBERS Egyptian rulers wereburied with greattreasures, which attractedtomb robbers. All thetombs in the Valley of theKings were robbed – evenTutankhamun's tomb wasdisturbed. Often therobbers were the veryworkers who hadbuilt the tomb.

CRAFTSMEN Large numbers ofworkers and craftsmenwere needed to cutTutankhamun's tombout of the rock. Theyhad to carve and thendecorate it. Many ofthem lived in a specialworkers’ village nearthe Valley of the Kings,called Deir el-Medina.

Ay Chief priest

Ankhesenamun

Tutankhamun

Workers and craftsmen

Tomb robbers

9


T H E C H A R A C T E R S

THE ARCHAEOLOGISTAt the age of 17, Howard Carter’s

drawing skills got him a job inEgypt, copying tomb paintings.

There his passion for archaeologybegan. In 1899 he became Inspector

General of Monuments, but his realambition was to lead an archaeologicaldig in the Valley of the Kings. In 1907Carter teamed up with Carnarvon, whoshared his belief that a great discoverycould still be made in the valley.

THE SPONSORLord Carnarvon was awealthy British aristocrat.He took up archaeologyas a hobby after hisdoctor advised himto spend winters inEgypt to improve hishealth. Lord Carnarvonsponsored HowardCarter to dig forhim in Egypt.

Carter with CallenderWhen Carter started work inTutankhamun’s tomb, he needed helpfrom other experts. He is picturedhere with Arthur Callender (right),who was an engineer and architect.

Mace and LucasArthur Mace (left) was an Americanarchaeologist who helped Carter writethe first volume of his book about thetomb. Alfred Lucas (right) was anexpert in conserving ancient treasures.

Local workersCarter hired hundreds of localworkers to help him discover the siteof Tutankhamun’s tomb. They movedthousands of tons of stone debris inthe search for the tomb.

LADY EVELYNCarnarvon’s daughter, LadyEvelyn Herbert, was his“devoted companion in all his Egyptian work”.

HIGHCLERE CASTLE Lord Carnarvon’s collection ofancient Egyptian art was kept in his grand house in England.

Howard Carter

Lord Carnarvon

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10



THEVALLEY OF THE KINGSONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST AMAZINGburial grounds lies in a desert valley inEgypt, near the modern city of Luxor.For 500 years, the Valley of the Kings was aroyal cemetery, where the some of the mostfamous pharaohs of ancient Egypt wereburied, surrounded by treasures, in tombs cut out of the valley cliffs. Modernarchaeologists began excavating the valley seriously in 1898, but they did not find a single tombwith its treasures intact. In 1912, Theodore Davis, anAmerican Egyptologist, announced, “The Valley of the Tombs is now exhausted”. But Howard Carter believedthat at least one tomb was still hidden in the valley – that ofthe forgotten pharaoh, Tutankhamun.

MAP OF THE VALLEYNearly every pharaoh of the NewKingdom period (1550–1070 BC) wasburied in the Valley of the Kings. By 1922, archaeologists haduncovered about 60 tombs and burialpits in the valley. They gave eachtomb a number. Many of the tombsare still known by these numbers,because the names of the occupantshave not yet been discovered.

THE VALLEY IN THE WESTThe ancient Egyptians believed that theland of the dead lay in the west, wherethe sun set. For this reason, theircemeteries were usually situated on thewest bank of the Nile. The Valley of theKings was particularly suitable as a royalburial ground, because it had narrowentrances that could easily be guardedagainst tomb robbers.

Map of the Valley of the Kings

2: Ramesses IV

7: Ramesses II

6: Ramesses IX

4: Ramesses XI

9: Ramesses VI

8: Merneptah

57: Horemheb

35: Amenhotep II

38: Tuthmosis I47: Siptah

34: Tuthmosis III

43: Tuthmosis IV

20: Hatshepsut

17: Sety I

15: Sety II

62: TUTANKHAMUN

11: Ramesses III

Tomb 48 Pit 54

N

EYEWITNESS“The Valley

of the Tombs ofthe Kings – thevery name is full

of romance.”Howard Carter

Following the cluesDURING HIS EXCAVATIONS, Davis made twodiscoveries connected with Tutankhamun.This evidence proved to Carter that

Tutankhamun was buried somewherein the valley.

11


T H E V A L L E Y O F T H E K I N G S

The pyramids at GizaEgypt’s early rulers were buried inpyramids. But these huge monumentsinevitably attracted tomb robbers.The builders concealed the entrancesand the route to the burial chamber,but the pyramids were still robbed. Inthe hope of defeating the thieves,later kings were buried in hiddentombs in the Valley of the Kings.

THEODORE DAVISOnly one team of archaeologists waspermitted to work in the valley at a time.From 1902, the permit was held byDavis, a wealthy American who found35 tombs. When he gave up the permitin 1915, the way was clear for Carter.

Inside a valley tombMany of the tombs that had beenuncovered in the valley by the 1920swere magnificent. Their walls weredecorated with beautiful paintings,like these in the tomb of Ramesses VI(above). But every one of the tombshad been robbed. So far no one hadfound a tomb containing the treasuresthat were buried with a pharaoh.

CARTER STARTS WORKCarter admitted, “Ever since my first visitto Egypt in 1890, it had been myambition to dig in the Valley”. From1917–22, his army of workmen clearedthousands of tons of sand and rockchippings from the valley floor in apainstaking search for the entrance toTutankhamun’s tomb. But they foundnothing. Had Davis been right all along?

Location of the valley

Inscribed cup In 1905, a small faience(pottery) cup inscribedwith Tutankhamun’sname was found neartomb 48 by Ayrton,one of Davis’ team.

Pit 54 artefactsIn 1907, Ayrton foundcollars and objects usedfor embalming near pit54. Tutankhamun’sname was on some ofthese things.

Linen bag

Pottery vesselCollar of flowers

EGYPT

Giza

Valley of the KingsThebes(Luxor)

Faience cup

Riv

erN

i le

MEDITERRANEANSEA

REDSEA

Edge of the valley

Important royal tombs,with their numbers

Other tombs and burial pits

Key to mapsTutankhamun’s tomb

Tutankhamun’s faience cupfound here in 1905

Tutankhamun’s embalmingmaterials found here in 1907

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The forgotten tomb

TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMBmight well have remainedlost for ever. By thesummer of 1922, LordCarnarvon was so disappointed

by their lack of success that he told Carterhe wanted to pull out. Eventually they agreed to try one last season, excavating asmall area near the tomb of Ramesses VI. On 1 November, Carter’s workmen began clearing theremains of some ancient huts. Only three days latera stone step was discovered. Was this the entranceto a tomb? Further digging uncovered a stairway, then the top of a blocked doorway covered with ancient seals. But these seals gave no hint of who was buried in the tomb. Containing his excitement, Carter ordered the staircase to be filled in again and sent a telegram to Lord Carnarvon, summoning him to Egypt.

The staircaseLarge amounts of debris were cleared,and the sunken stairway emerged. Atthe twelfth step the top of a sealeddoor appeared. This photograph ofthe entrance was taken by HarryBurton after the tomb was opened.

12



THEHIDDEN STEPS

EYEWITNESS“Hardly had Iarrived at work

the next morning (4th November) thanthe unusual silence...made me realize thatsomething out of theordinary had happened;and I was greeted bythe announcement

that a step cut into the rock had beendiscovered.”

Howard Carter

LOCAL WORKERSThe local workmen hired by Cartershared in the rediscovery of Egypt’spast. One of the workmen discoveredthe first stone step and othersguarded the staircase until it wastemporarily filled in again.

Plan of the tomb

TOMB OF RAMESSES VI

Antechamber

TOMB OF TUTANKHAMUN

Entrance

Entrance

Corridor

Corridor

Antechamber

Annexe

Annexe

Burial chamberHall of pillars

Ritual well

Hidden under another tombOnly luck had kept Tutankhamun’s tombintact. It was hidden by its surroundings inthe Valley of the Kings, and had quicklybeen forgotten. About 200 years later,Pharaoh Ramesses VI had his own tomb cutout of the rock almost directly above it.Ramesses’ workmen built their huts rightover the entrance to Tutankamun’s tomb.They hid it still further, by burying the siteunder the chippings of stone that theywere digging out of Ramesses’ tomb.

EYEWITNESS“At last have made a wonderful

discovery in the Valley; a magnificent tomb withseals intact; re-covered

same for your arrival;congratulations.”

Carter’s telegram to Lord Carnarvon, 6 November 1922

13


T H E H I D D E N S T E P S

Carnarvon arrives in EgyptCarter’s telegram brought Carnarvonto Egypt in a hurry. With his daughter,Lady Evelyn Herbert, he arrived inLuxor on 23 November and was metby Carter and an Egyptian official.

THE VITAL CLUEWhen the door was completelyuncovered, Carter was finally ableto read more of the seals and finda name – Tutankhamun! After yearsof searching, he had finally foundthe tomb, but what was inside?

The sealsTHE ANCIENT EGYPTIANSstamped seals into the wetplaster on tomb doors. Theseals showed whose tomb it wasand which officials had sealed it.

Jackal and nine captivesThis seal was used by theofficials who were in charge of the Valley of the Kings.They stamped it on the door of a royal tomb when theyclosed it for the last time.

NebkheprureWhen he was crowned, apharaoh was given a series offive names that made up hisformal title. This seal showsTutankhamun’s fourth name,Nebkheprure. Seals like thisone convinced Carter that this was Tutankhamun’s tomb.

PUZZLING INSCRIPTIONSAll the debris was carefully sifted.The names of several pharaohs were found carved on fragments of pottery.

UNCOVERING THE STAIRCASEOn 24 November, withCarnarvon eagerly watching,Carter, now joined by his

colleague Arthur Callender,dug out the wholestaircase. It was slow,

laborious work, buteventually 16 steps and an

entire doorway were revealed.

BACK-BREAKING WORKThe workmen carried out the stonechippings in wicker baskets.

WORRYING EVIDENCECarter could now see thatthe door had been repairedin two places. This wasevidence that the tombhad been broken in toin ancient times.

KEEPING RECORDSCarter’s skills as an artist provedextremely useful – he made carefuldrawings of everything they found.

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WHAT LAY BEHIND THE SEALEDdoorway? On 25 November, Carterand his team dug out the roughstones that blocked the door and

discovered a downward-sloping corridor, filled fromfloor to ceiling with limestone chippings. Theworkmen set to work at once to clear it.Unfortunately, there were signs that someone –probably tomb robbers – had tunnelled through the rubble in ancient times. Worse still, the whole layoutreminded Carter of some of his earlier finds, which hadturned out to be just stores for objects removed from othertombs. Was this Tutankhamun’s tomb after all? After digging for about9 m (30 ft) they came to a second sealed doorway and broke it open...

14



BREAKINGTHROUGH

WORKERS IN LINECarter’s workmen formed a line to passout the debris, in just the same way asthe ancient Egyptians worked.

HEAD OFTUTANKHAMUNOne encouraging find wasthis head of Tutankhamun.He is shown as the sungod, Re, emerging from alotus flower. Months later,the head was discovered,packed to be shipped outof Egypt. Carter said it waswaiting to be registered,but was he trying to keepit for himself?

LIGHTING THE WAYThere was already an electricitysupply to the Valley of the Kings,so only extra wiring and lampswere needed to light the corridor.

CLEARING THE RUBBLEThe team painstakingly sorted andcleared the rubble by hand, so thatany object they found could be saved.

AMONG THE CHIPPINGSMixed with the chippings, Carter foundjars, vases, clay seals, bronze razors, andpieces of jewellery. These objects wereprobably dropped by the tomb robbers as they made a hasty escape.

STEPS TO THE OUTSIDENo machinery could be used to clearthe rubble. Each basket of chippingshad to be carried up the steps by handand its contents dumped outside.

THE CORRIDORThe corridor was about 1.7 m (5 ft 6 in) wide – thesame width as the stairs – and 2 m (6 ft 6 in) high.Like the stairs, it was completely filled with stonechippings – probably the material which had beencut out when it was originally excavated.

Plan of thetomb


The candle testAlthough they had electrictorches, Carter used a candlewhen he first looked into thetomb. He was carrying outthe old-fashioned test for badair. Inert gases would put thecandle out, though flammablegases might explode!

Visitors to the tombThe news of the discovery soon spreadand a crowd of journalists and touristsarrived in the valley. They waited eachday by the tomb entrance, hoping tosee something exciting.

TUNNELLING THROUGHThe corridor had only been filled withrubble after the first gang of robbers brokein. The second gang, faced with a corridorfull of chippings, tunnelled through justbelow the ceiling. Carter reckoned it wouldhave taken about eight hours of digging.

Two tombs revealedThe entrance to Tutankhamun’s tomb is behind the low wall in theforeground of this photograph. Cutinto the hill behind is the tomb ofRamesses VI, which was built almoston top of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING?Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn,and Callender waited anxiouslyas Carter looked through the holein the door.

Signs of robberyTHE CORRIDOR SHOWED “signsof more than one openingand reclosing of the tomb”,Carter noted. He knew thisfrom looking at the filling.

15

EYEWITNESS“When LordCarnarvon,unable to stand

the suspense any longer,inquired anxiously, ‘Can you see anything?’it was all I could do to get out the words, ‘Yes, wonderful things.’ ”

Howard Carter

B R E A K I N G T H R O U G H

CARTER’S FIRST GLIMPSECarter stuck a rod through the second sealeddoorway, but felt nothing. There must be a spacebehind the door. He widened the hole, lit a candle,then peered in. An amazing sight met his eyes.

White chippings

Dark flint

The evidenceMost of the filling was whitechippings and dust, but the top left-hand corner was filled with darkflint. A tunnel had been dug throughthis part and then filled in again.

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CARTER WIDENED THEhole in the door, so thatboth he and Carnarvon could see in, and pushed

through an electric torch. Caught in itsbeam of light and distorted by theshadows, was a sight so extraordinary that at first it was bewildering. Gradually, theymade out three gilded couches in the shapes of strange animals, while to the right were twolife-sized black statues, clothed in gold. Piled upall around were inlaid caskets, alabaster vases, egg-shaped boxes, and a huge heap of chariotparts. Chipping out an entrance, Carter ledCarnarvon, Lady Evelyn, and Callender down intothe small room, where they wandered around,examining the treasures. There was no sign of acoffin, but Carter noticed that the two blackstatues were guarding a sealed doorway. Herealized that this was just an outer room, orantechamber, and that the king’s real burialplace must lie behind the mysterious door.

EYEWITNESS“At first I could seenothing..., butpresently, as my eyes

grew accustomed to thelight, details of the roomwithin emerged slowlyfrom the mist, strange

animals, statues, and gold– everywhere the

glint of gold.”Howard Carter

Funeral ritesThe evidenceThere wasevidence in thisroom of theceremonies thattook place duringthe king’s funeral.Carter found twogilded rattles,called sistra,which were usedby priestesses.Bouquets of persea and olive leaveshad been left as offerings in front ofthe guardian statues and, amazingly,they were still intact 3,000 years later.

16



THEANTECHAMBER

WAR CHARIOTHorse-drawn chariots are oftenshown in ancient Egyptianpaintings like this one from theside of a box found in the tomb.It shows Tutankhamun leadingthe Egyptian army against theSyrians. Before 1922, only twocomplete chariots had everbeen found. There were six ofthem in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Plan of thetomb

IN SEARCH OF TREASUREThe robbers rifled through boxes andchests, looking for small objects that theycould sell easily.

WRAPPED UPThe robbers took jewellery,oils, cosmetics, ointments, andlinen. They wrapped their lootin cloth bundles to make iteasy to carry away.

REJECTED RICHESEven though they were covered in gold,large objects like the chariots andcouches were of no interest to therobbers. They were just too big to carry.

Priestess leavingan offering

17


T H E A N T E C H A M B E R

Preserving the treasuresCarter and his team hadto clear the antechamberbefore they could explorethe other rooms. Each

object was numbered,described on a record

card, photographed,and then removedfor preservationtreatment in anearby tomb usedas a “fieldlaboratory”.

THE FUNERALWorkers hurriedly filling the antechamberafter Tutankhamun’s funeral in 1327 BCfound the space very cramped. Caskets andboxes had to be piled under and on top ofthe couches. The chariots had to be takenapart to get them into the tomb so theywere stacked in pieces.

THE ROBBERIESOnly a few years after thefuneral, in about 1323 BC, tombrobbers looted the tomb. Theyworked fast, breaking opencontainers and passing objectsout through a hole in the door.The tomb was robbed at leasttwice. The first gang of robbersprobably got away safely, butthe second gang may not havebeen so lucky.

THEDISCOVERY

After the robberies, theantechamber stood undisturbedfor more than 3,000 years until

1922, when Carter and his teamcame in. They were amazed by

the quantity of treasures piled upin the room, many of them

flashing with gold. These objectswere all part of the equipment that the

ancient Egyptians believed a pharaohwould need in the afterlife.

A QUICK GET-AWAYOther robbers waited in the corridorto receive the objects as they werepassed out.

GUARDIANS OF THE DEADThe two guardian statues were life-sizedportraits of Tutankhamun. One representedthe king, the other his ka, or spirit.

Couch

Sealed door

Doorway tocorridor

Chariot wheels

Chariot body

A robber’s fateRiches or deathRobbers could get rich by selling their loot,but if they were caught, they faced a terriblepunishment. First they were tortured byhaving the soles of their feet beaten withrods. Then they suffered an agonising deathimpaled on a sharpened wooden stake.

18


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MM

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ummy

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.T

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nerm

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eaten

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with

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lock

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ite st

one.

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YST

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arte

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d to

use

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ys t

ora

ise

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lid o

f th

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r-co

phag

us a

nd t

hen

lift

out

the

coff

ins,

bec

ause

the

yw

ere

so h

eavy

. Her

e th

ese

cond

cof

fin is

bei

ngsl

owly

lift

ed o

ut o

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eou

term

ost

coff

in.

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n pa

llFr

ame

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dess

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s

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igio

usin

scri

ptio

ns

Plan

of

the

tom

b

TH

EBU

RIA

LC

HA

MBE

R

19

A L

ENG

TH

YTA

SKC

arter

’s tea

m w

orke

d w

ith th

eirus

ual c

are.

Taki

ng a

part

the s

hrin

es,op

enin

g th

e cof

fins,

and

recor

ding

over

300

items

foun

d in

the r

oom

took

two-

and-

a-ha

lf ye

ars.

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MA

NT

LIN

GT

HE

SHR

INES

Wit

h al

l the

shr

ine

door

sop

ened

, Car

ter

and

his

team

cou

ld s

ee t

he s

ar-

coph

agus

insi

de.

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man

tlin

g th

e sh

rine

sw

as d

iffic

ult

beca

use

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as s

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ght.

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ter

wro

te, “

We

had

to s

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and

out

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, and

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k in

all k

inds

of

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rras

sing

posi

tion

s”. E

vent

ually

,th

e sh

rine

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d to

be

take

n ap

art

in 5

1 se

c-ti

ons

and

carr

ied

out.

FIR

ST S

HR

INE

The

out

erm

ost

shri

ne w

asm

ade

of c

edar

woo

d, g

ilded

and

inla

id w

ith

blue

fai

ence

(gla

zed

pott

ery)

. It

was

dec

-or

ated

wit

h pr

otec

tive

sym

-bo

ls, s

uch

as w

edja

teye

s an

ddj

edpi

llars

(se

e pa

ge 3

9).

The

sea

ls o

n th

e do

ors

ofth

is s

hrin

e ha

d be

en b

roke

nby

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tom

b ro

bber

s.

WA

LL P

AIN

TIN

GS

The

bur

ial c

ham

ber

was

the

only

roo

m in

the

tom

b w

ith

deco

rate

d w

alls

. The

wal

lpa

inti

ngs

show

ed a

seq

uenc

e of

scen

es f

rom

Tut

ankh

amun

’s fu

nera

l and

his

arri

val i

n th

e un

derw

orld

. Her

e, t

he d

ead

king

is e

nter

ing

the

unde

rwor

ld, f

ollo

wed

by

his

ka(s

piri

t), a

nd w

elco

med

by

the

god

Osi

ris.

TO

TH

ET

REA

SURY

On

the e

ast s

ide o

f the

cham

ber l

ay a

n op

endo

orw

ay le

adin

g to

a

smal

ler ro

om, f

ull

of tr

easu

res. C

arter

name

d th

e roo

m th

etre

asur

y.

Osi

ris

Ka

EYEW

ITN

ESS

“I h

ave

got

Tuta

nkha

mun

,th

at is

cer

tain

, and

I be

lieve

....in

tact

.”Le

tter

fro

m L

ord

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narv

on

to A

lan

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dine

r, 1

Dec

embe

r 19

22

Gild

edw

ood

Inla

id b

lue

faie

nce

Tuta

nkha

mun

Assembly of the shrine

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20



THETREASURY

BEYOND THE BURIAL CHAMBER, THROUGHan open doorway, lay a smaller room thatCarter called the treasury. Inside weremore wonders. A dramatic statue of Anubis,the jackal-headed god of mummification,crouched in the doorway, guardingthe room. On the far side stood ahuge gilded shrine, protected by thefigures of four goddesses. Accordingto Arthur Mace, it was “the mostbeautiful object I have seen anywhere”.All around lay caskets, shrines, and chests, containing jewellery, amulets, magicalobjects, and gold statuettes of the gods and ofTutankhamun himself. There were evenseveral model boats, with their sails andrigging still intact. It was all so extraordinarythat Carter had to block the doorway so thathe wouldn’t be distracted while he wasworking in the burial chamber.

AT WORKThe treasurypresented Carter andhis team with anotherdifficult task. Over 500objects had to be removed,catalogued, and preserved. Therobbers had reached the treasury too.They had stolen jewellery and goldfigures, but had not disturbed much.

SHRINESEach of these small woodenshrines contained several gildedfigures of Tutankhamun.

1Each of the four organs wasembalmed, wrapped in linen, and

then put in a coffinette (small coffin)made of beaten gold.

2Four hollows were drilled out of themiddle of a decorated stone chest.

The coffinettes were placed inside thesehollows, which formed the canopic jars.

3Each jar was sealed with a stopper,carved in the shape of the king’s

head. The facial features were paintedin black and the lips were reddened.

A FIRST GLANCECarter first looked into the treasuryin 1923 when he opened the burialchamber, but it was more than threeyears before he could start work there.

THE CANOPIC SHRINE contained the king’s liver,lungs, stomach, and intestines. These organswere removed from the body to stop themrotting inside the mummy.

Coffinette

Stone chest

Stopper

Lid of chest

Organ

Plan of thetomb

Statue ofAnubis

EYEWITNESS“A singleglance sufficedto tell us that

here, within thislittle chamber, lay

the greatesttreasures of

the tomb.”Howard Carter

21


Tutankhamun’s children?A plain wooden box found inthe treasury contained twotiny coffins. Each held amummified foetus. ProfessorDerry, who examined theking’s mummy in 1925, foundthat these were the bodies oftwo stillborn baby girls. Theywere probably the children ofTutankhamun and his wife,Ankhesenamun.

Servants for the afterlifeThe ancient Egyptians believed thatin the afterlife the dead king might beasked to perform hard tasks, such asworking in the fields. To avoid this,he was buried with shabti figures –

servants who would do the workfor him. Tutankhamun had oneshabti for each day of the year.

MODEL BOATSThere were 16 models of boats for the kingto use in the afterlife. Some were for sailingacross the heavens, others for river travel.

CANOPIC SHRINEBefore a body was mummified, certain internal organswere removed and stored in special containers, calledcanopic jars. This huge shrine was built to containthe king’s canopic jars. At its four sides stood statuesof the goddesses Isis, Nephthys, Neith, and Selkis.

4The chest was tied with cords totwo sleds, both made of wood

covered in gilded plaster. A darklinen shroud was laid over the chest.

5Finally, a gilded wooden shrine wasplaced over the chest, topped by a

cornice. The completed shrine wasprotected by statues of four goddesses.

Most of theseboxes hadbeen lootedby the tombrobbers.

The complete shrine was2 m (6 ft 6 in) high and1.2 m (4 ft) wide.

Many of the boxescontained a docket – a listof the original contents.

Linenshroud

Cornice

Gilded sled

T H E T R E A S U R Y

Canopicshrine

Shrine

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WHEN CARTER FIRSTlooked round theantechamber, he spotted a sealed door behind one of the

couches. He climbed througha small hole in this doorat ground level, and discovered a room beyond– the annexe. This was the last room to be cleared – it wasnot until October 1927 thatCarter and his team could begin work there. Although it was the smallestroom in the tomb, the annexe wascrammed with an extraordinary jumbleof objects, “tumbled any way oneupon the other”, wrote Carter.Things were stacked up nearly 2 m (6 ft) high in places, andthere was no space left on thefloor. Clearing this room wasgoing to be extremely difficult!

In a rope slingHE COULD NOT STAND on the floor,so Carter had to start work byleaning into the annexe from the

antechamber, suspendedin a rope sling.

22



THEANNEXE

IN THE JUMBLEScattered around theroom were items includingan alabaster boat, figuresof a lion and a goat, a fan,a sandal, and even a glove.

The floorwas coveredwith baskets,boxes, and jars.

Plan of thetomb

CLEARING THE ANNEXEFirst, Carter and his team had to clearenough space to be able to stand on theannexe floor. Then, as the items werecarefully removed, one by one,

they used wooden props to stopthe remaining heaps of

objects from collapsing.

Entrance to the annexeCarter believed that the mess in theannexe had been caused by the tombrobbers. They had broken in from theantechamber, through a small hole inthe wall. The officials who repairedthe rest of the tomb, after therobberies, had not blocked up thishole or tidied the annexe.

Everything had tobe photographed,numbered, andrecorded before itwas moved.

Rope sling,held up byother membersof the team

The robbers’ hole wasunder this couch.

PASSING THINGS OUTThe floor of the annexe was about1 m (3 ft) lower than that of theantechamber. This meant that eachobject had to be lifted out by hand.

Death of Lord CarnarvonSADLY, LORD CARNARVON did not

live to see more than the firststages of the work in the tomb.In February 1923, he cut amosquito bite on his face whileshaving. The bite became infectedand Carnarvon collapsed with a

fever. He had never been veryhealthy, and he died of pneumonia on 5 April. Ominously, two

weeks earlier, the writer Marie Corelli had warned that punishmentwould descend on anyone who violated Tutankhamun’s tomb.

23


FoodThis was the sort of food the ancientEgyptians ate. The dead king wouldneed to eat in the afterlife, so a supplyof food was stored in the annexe. Thisincluded bread, meats, jars of honey,dates, and dried grapes.

FACT fileThe annexe contained a huge varietyof objects. Here are just some of thethings that were found there:• 236 shabti figures (see page 21)

• Bows, arrows, throwing sticks,armour, and shields

• Three ordinary beds and a folding“camp-bed”

• Boards and pieces for playing anancient Egyptian game, called “senet”

• A throne and footstool

• 116 baskets of food and 30 jars ofwine

• Cosmetics and a razor

Wildhoney

Duck

Pomegranate

Nuts

Leeks

A THIEF LEAVES HIS MARKThere was probably only enough spacefor one robber to climb into the annexe.He had searched hurriedly, tipping outboxes, pushing objects aside, or throwingthem out of his way. Carter wrote aboutthe robber, “He had done his work justabout as thoroughly as an earthquake”.The thief had clambered over a whitebox, and his dirty footprints were stillthere, over 3,000 years later.

Robber’sfootprint

Carnarvon’s razor

Carnarvon’sdeath

certificate

VICTIM OF THE CURSE?Jay Gould was one of the supposedvictims of the curse. He was anAmerican businessman who had madean immense fortune from the railways.Gould caught a cold while visiting thetomb and later died of pneumonia.

STOREROOMThe annexe was only 4.4 m (14 ft 3 in) long and 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) wide,but it contained over 2,000 objects.It was intended as a storeroom foroils, ointments, food, and wine.Haste and lack of space meant it wasalso used to store objects like thebeds and chairs, which should havegone in the antechamber or treasury.

Grapes

Pots and boxes had beentossed aside in the confusion.

THE KING’S BEDSFour beds were found in the annexe.They each had a wooden frame and awoven mattress made of linen or string.

WOODEN STOOLThis wooden stool was painted

white and had a curved seat designed to hold a

cushion in place.

WOODEN PROPSBig items were held in position withwooden props while other objectswere removed.

The curseIn no time, newspapers invented the story ofthe “pharaoh’s curse”, which would bring deathto anyone entering the tomb. A few peoplewho had visited the site or were connectedwith the excavation team did die shortlyafterwards. But most did not! Carterhimself died in 1939, at the age of 65.

T H E A N N E X E

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Discovery Series Right Hand Gatefold 216mm-211mm x 276mm UK


ON 11 NOVEMBER 1925, THREEyears after the discovery of thetomb, experts began a post mortem on a 3,000-year-old corpse. DouglasDerry, professor of anatomy from theEgyptian University, had to workcarefully, because Tutankhamun’s mummy was very fragile. Thewrappings had decayed and themummy was glued so firmly to thecoffin that it took four days to get it out. The gold death mask was stuck to the head and had to beremoved using hot knives. Only then wasthe face of the boy-king revealed at last.

The bodyIn this photograph, taken by HarryBurton, Tutankhamun’s unwrappedbody is lying on a tray of sand, in theposition it had been placed in thecoffin. The body was in poorcondition compared to other royalmummies. The skin was badlypreserved – it was brittle and grey.

DERRY AT WORKDerry could notsave the wrappings,and he had to take the bodyapart to get it out of the coffinand then reassemble it.Unwrapping the head neededextra care – he used a fine,soft brush for the last stages.

DISAPPOINTMENTCarter anxiously watched theprocedure, disappointed at thestate of the mummy.

KEEPING RECORDSBurton photographedeach stage of the delicatework and Carter madedetailed drawings.

THE FIRST CUTDerry cut through the outershroud to peel back thewrappings. He foundmany pieces ofjewellery under thebandages.

The head hadbeen shaved.

An embalmer’scut ran fromnavel to hip.

The legs hadthinned andshrunk.

UNWRAPPINGTHE MUMMY

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Discovery Series Right Hand Gatefold 216mm-211mm x 276mm UK

U N W R A P P I N G T H E M U M M Y

THE EVIDENCEAlthough the body was badlydamaged, the team was still able tolearn a lot from the post mortem. Itshowed that Tutankhamun had beena slim young man, 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)tall. His bones and wisdom teethindicated that he was about 18 yearsold when he died. Derry was unableto suggest the cause of death, but a second post mortem, held in 1968,uncovered some dramatic newevidence (see page 43).

JewelleryMore than 150 pieces of jewellerywere found on the mummy, placedaccording to instructions in the Bookof the Dead (see page 18). This pectoral(chest) ornament is decorated with asacred scarab beetle.

MUMMY’S FACEThe mummy’s face hadcracked, darkened skin andthe nose had been flattenedby the bandages.

REAL LIFE?The death mask showed theking as a handsome youngman. He may have lookedlike this in real life.

The second coffinThis coffin, also made of gildedwood, was more elaborate than thefirst. It was inlaid with red andturquoise glass, and blue pottery.

The third coffinWhen the third coffin was finallyrevealed, the team were amazed todiscover that it weighed 110 kg (296 lb), and was made of solid gold.

The crookand flailsymbolizeddivine rule.

Nemes headcloth (see page 41)

Above the facestood the cobraand vulture –goddesses ofLower andUpperEgypt.

The first coffinThe outermost coffin was 2.2 m (7 ft 4 in) long. It was made of woodcovered with plaster and gold leaf, anddecorated with a rishi (feather) pattern.

Full lengthThis type of coffin is called “mummiform”because it is mummy-shaped. For theancient Egyptians, the coffin was a housefor the dead person’s spirit.

Crook and flailFalse beard

Vulture andcobra

WHEN THEY SAW Tutankhamun’s first golden coffin,Carter’s team gasped with astonishment. There werein fact three coffins, placed one inside the other.

A resin-based ointment had been poured over themummy and coffins as part of the mummificationprocess, and had stuck them firmly together.

The coffins

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THE FOUR ROOMS of Tutankhamun’s tomb were crammed with hundreds of objects.

These treasures had been carried to the tomb onthe day of the king’s funeral and were storedthere for him to use in the afterlife.

Discovery Series Top Gatefold 206mm x 276mm UK

Treasuresof theTombThe goddess

Isis spreads her wings toprotect the dead pharaoh.

EYEWITNESS“Let the reader imagine howthe objects appeared to us aswe looked down upon them

from our spy-hole in theblocked doorway, casting the

beam of light from our torch –the first light that had pierced the darknessof the chamber for three thousand years –from one group of objects to another, in avain attempt to interpret the treasure thatlay before us...We had never dreamed ofanything like this, a roomful – a wholemuseumful, it seemed – of objects, some

familiar, but some the like of whichwe had never seen, piled one

upon another in seeminglyendless profusion.”

Howard Carter

Discovery Series Top Gatefold 206mm x 276mm UK

The inside of one of the doors to the thirdshrine. The winged figure is the goddess Isis.

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Crossing the NileWHEN THEY REACHED THE BANKS OF THE NILE, the wholeprocession climbed into barges to cross the river. There werestrict rules about who should travel in which barge.

Discovery Series Gatefold 206mm-211mm-211mm-206mm x 276mm UK

T R E A S U R E S O F T H E T O M B

Model boatModels of the king’s funeral bargewere found in the tomb. The bargewas based on the boat that the sungod used for his journey across thesky. It was originally painted green tosymbolize sprouting corn and rebirth.

IN THE WORKSHOPSpecial craftsmen werepermanently employedmaking things for thepharaoh’s tomb.

ToolsPREPARING THE BODYWhile the tomb was hastily being prepared,Tutankhamun’s body was taken away to bemummified. The embalmers removed certaininternal organs, dried the body, and thenwrapped it in many layers of bandages.

MAKING THE SHRINESSome of the objects found in the tombwere things that Tutankhamun had usedin his everyday life. But certain items,

such as the coffins, shrines,and a death mask, had to be specially made by craftsmen.

AT THE PALACEOn the day of the funeral, everyonewho was to take part in the processionto the tomb met at the royal palace.Mourners began their public grieving,while servants assembled all the goods to be placed in the tomb.

FUNERAL BARGETo cross the Nile,the pharaoh’smummy was laid onthe deck of a barge,beneath a canopy.

Mummy

Mourner

THEBESThe royal palace wasin the capital city,Thebes, on the easternbank of the Nile.

Mummy

Second bargeThe mummy, Ay, andtwo women relativeswent in the second boat.

First bargeIn the first barge werethe mourners, wailingand tearing their hair.

Following bargesMost people clamberedinto the remaining boatsand followed behind.

EGYPTIAN CARPENTERSproduced beautifullycarved statues andfurniture. They hadonly simple tools,such as chisels and adzes.

AdzeAn adze was a metalblade tied to a woodenhandle. It was used likea modern plane tosmooth wood.

Chisel

Adze

29


EVERY EGYPTIAN WANTED TO HAVE A PROPERfuneral, because they believed it was essential for the well-being of the soul in the afterlife. A pharaoh’s funeral was a particularly magnificent affair.Normally, it took many years to prepare – the king’stomb had to be built and decorated, and all the beautiful

objects that would go in it had to be made. But Tutankhamun died young and without warning. His tomb was not ready. The court wasthrown into a frenzy of activity, because religious rules stated that the funeral must take place exactly 70 days after the king’s death.

THE PROCESSIONOn the west bank of the Nile,everyone got out of the boatsand the procession re-formedto make the slow journeyacross the desert to the tomb.In the heat and dust, the deadking’s mummy, on its sled, wasdragged along to the cries ofwailing mourners.

ANKHESENAMUNThe king’s widow and anotherfemale relative walked beside thecoffin. They represented thegoddesses Isis and Nephthys andwere called “kites” (see page 38).

THE COFFINThe mummy inside itsthree coffins was placedon a bier (coffinplatform) in the shape ofa boat. It was coveredby a canopy representingthe night sky. The wholething was dragged alongon a wooden sled.

PULLING THE SLEDTwelve officials from the palace hauledthe sled along. They were dressed inwhite, the traditional colour formourning. The last two men were Pentuand Usermont, the viziers (highofficials) of Upper and Lower Egypt.

CANOPIC SHRINEA second sled carried thecanopic shrine. It containedthe king’s internal organs,which had been removed fromhis body during embalming.

MU DANCERWearing kilts and tall, featheredhats, mu dancers performedritual dances. Their steps andmovements followed strict rules.

Canopy over mummy

Boat-shaped bier

Route of the procession

Thebes

River Nile

Valley of theKings

Female relative

River Nile

THE JOURNEYTO THE TOMB

30


In that short time, everything else had to be madeready. While the embalmers set to work, a finishedtomb had to be found (probably the one intended for Ay),coffins made, shrines constructed, and hundreds of objects collected. On the day of the funeral, a hugecrowd of people gathered at the palace to take part inthe funeral procession. They included Tutankhamun’ssuccessor, Ay, who was to lead the funeral rituals, priests,members of the nobility, dancers, official mourners, andservants carrying the goods to go in the tomb. This longprocession made its way from the palace to the Nile,across the river, then through the desert on the west bank,taking the dead pharaoh to his final resting place in theValley of the Kings. There, the last rituals, including the“opening of the mouth” ceremony, prepared the dead kingfor the afterlife. Then the tomb was finally sealed.

TUTANKHAMUN’S SUCESSORThe funeral rituals were traditionallyled by the sem priest, who wore aleopard-skin. At Tutankhamun’sfuneral, this role was taken by hissuccessor, Ay.

TOO BIG TO CARRYLarge objects, such as thethree animal couchesfound in the antechamber,were probably carried in pieces.

WEEPING WOMENWomen mourners wept, wailed,threw dust over themselves, and wavedtheir arms wildly. It was important tohave a lot of mourners, so some of these women would have been “professionalmourners”, hired for the occasion.

GOLDEN THRONEIn the afterlife, the kingwould need symbols of hisauthority, so his goldenthrone accompanied himto the tomb.

ANUBISThis statue of the god Anubiswould watch over the tomb’streasury, which contained theking’s canopic shrine.

TREASURESAmong the riches to be storedin the tomb were boxes ofjewels and a golden-hornedcow head representing thegoddess Hathor.

“The courtiers ofthe royal

household go inprocession withthe Osiris KingTutankhamun tothe West. They

cry: O King!Come in peace!

O God! Protectorof the Land!”

Inscription from the wallof Tutankhamun’s

burial chamber

GUARDIAN STATUETwo statues of the kingwere made to guard theentrance to the tomb’sburial chamber.

The opening of the mouth THIS IMPORTANT CEREMONY took place at the entrance tothe tomb. In this wall painting of the ceremony, thedead man’s son is touching the mummy’s mouth, ears,and eyes with a special instrument that resembled an

adze. This was believed torestore the mummy’s senses,so that the dead person wouldbe able to see, hear, and movearound in the afterlife.

31


T H E J O U R N E Y T O T H E T O M B

iled,and waved

mportant toome of these rofessionalasion.

AT THE TOMB ENTRANCEThe mummy was stood upright, facingthe tomb, for the “opening of the mouth”ceremony. This was usually performed bythe dead man’s son, but Tutankhamunhad no children. The paintings on thewall of the burial chamber show that athis funeral this role was taken by Ay, hissuccessor as king. After the ceremony,the mummy was carried into the tomb.

god Anubisr the tomb’sontained therine.

SAYING GOODBYEAnkhesenamun, the king’swidow, made her formalgoodbye outside the tomb.

Vase forsacredliquid

Adze

Cup

IN THE BURIALCHAMBERThe mummy, encased in itsthree coffins, was placed inthe stone sarcophagus in theburial chamber. Four goldenshrines were built around it,and all the treasures wereplaced in the tomb. Thepriests were the last to leaveeach room, sweeping thefloor behind them. Finally,the tomb was sealed.

LECTOR PRIESTDuring the ceremony, the lector priestrecited spells and praises for the king,then carried out more rituals,including breaking two red vases.

A NEW HUSBANDLosing her young husband was only thestart of Ankhesenamun’s problems. Soonafterwards, Ay married her to reinforce

his claim to the throne, but thismay have been against her wishes.

Ay

Mummy in its coffins

Stone sarcophagus

The sem priestburns incenseand scattersholy water.

The dead man’sson touches themummy’s mouthwith the adze.

Grievingrelatives

Anubis holdsthe mummyupright.

Priest’s kitItems needed for the opening ofthe mouth ceremony included: thesymbolic adze, jars of ritual liquidsto rub over the mummy’s face, andcups to pour offerings to the gods.

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32

Discovery Series Left Hand Gatefold 211mm-216mm x 276mm UK

T R E A S U R E S O F T H E T O M B

FOR AN EGYPTIAN PHARAOH, DEATHwas just an unfortunate crossing pointbetween two lives. Beyond death,Tutankhamun’s life and his position aspharaoh would continue, so his tomb wasfilled with the sorts of items a pharaohwould need in his afterlife. These “wonderful things”, as Howard Carterdescribed them, included thrones, jewellery, and other symbols of his wealth, as well as practicalitems, such as furniture, clothes, and food. Many ofthe items were decorated with images of the kingperforming important acts, because the Egyptians believed

that whatever they showed him doing wouldbecome real in the afterlife.

PAINTED BOXThe sides and lid of thisbox are covered withintricate paintings of theking hunting and at war. Likemost of the boxes in the tomb,its contents had beenplundered by the robbers.

LITTLE GOLDEN SHRINEThis tiny wooden shrine is covered inembossed sheets of gold, that show QueenAnkhesenamun lovingly helping the king –as she would in the afterlife. The robbers hadstolen a statuette from inside the shrine.

STATUETTE OFTUTANKHAMUNIn Egyptian mythology, Horus, the son of Osiris, fought and finallykilled the evil god Seth, his father’sslayer. This gilded statuette showsTutankhamun as Horus about tospear Seth, who had taken the form of a hippopotamus.

ANUBISGuarding the treasurywas this black statue ofAnubis, the god ofmummification and theguardian of the dead.He is sitting on agilded shrine, whichcontained items usedfor mummification.

The shrine is only50 cm (1 ft 7 in) high and

26 cm (10 in) wide.

Tutankhamun iswearing the red crown of Lower Egypt(see page 41).

Rafts, like the one heis standing on, weremade of reeds andused on the Nile.

Sled withcarryingpoles

The earsand collarare coveredin gold.

Gildedshrine

“WONDERFULTHINGS”

• One of the most unusual treasures is a lock of hair from Tutankhamun’sgrandmother, Queen Tiye.

• The gold in the death mask is worth about £64,000 (US $105,500) at today’s gold prices.

• Wrapping up the treasures from theantechamber alone, took 1.6 km (1 mile) of cotton wadding.

• People thought that clearing thetomb would take months. In fact, therewere so many treasures that it took Carter’s team 10 years.

FACT file

33

Discovery Series Left Hand Gatefold 211mm-216mm x 276mm UK

“ W O N D E R F U L T H I N G S ”

ITEMS OF JEWELLERYThe king wore jewellery in life, so naturallyhe was supplied with plenty of it to wear inthe afterlife. There were more than 200pieces of jewellery in Tutankhamun’s tomb,even after the robbers had stolen a largenumber of the most valuable items.

THE DEATH MASKProbably the most famous item fromthe tomb is Tutankhamun’s deathmask, which was found covering theface of his mummy. It is made fromtwo sheets of gold, joined together byhammering, and inlaid with colouredglass, carnelian, and lapis lazuli. The mask weighs about 10 kg (22 lb)and probably shows an idealizedimage of Tutankhamun’s face.

THE THRONEThis magnificent goldenthrone was found in theantechamber, hidden underone of the animal couches.The back panel showsthe king and queenbeneath the rays ofthe Aten – the sundisc worshippedby Tutankamun’sfather,Akhenaten.

PROTECTIVE SPELLOn the back of the mask is a spell

which asks various godsto protect eachfacial feature.

The legs are shaped likeof those of a lion, andtopped with lions’ heads to turn away evil.

Winged scarab beetle

Wedjat eye

MODEL BOATSacred boats carried the godson their journeys, and thedead pharaoh would needboats too. He would use themfor activities such as followingthe voyage of the sun andhunting in the Nile marshes.

The throne is covered ingold and silver, inlaidwith coloured glass andsemi-precious stones.

These two pieces ofjewellery are pectoral(chest) ornaments.

Aten

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38


BY TUTANKHAMUN’S TIME,the kingdom of Egypt had

already existed for 1,600 years. It was a stable and prosperouscountry, whose power and influencestretched far into Africa and Asia. All Egypt’s wealth came from farming the rich land watered by the River Nile.

Life&Timesof Tutankhamun

Finely crafted throne, found inTutankhamun’s tomb

Scribes carefullyrecorded theamount of grain harvested.


A wall painting from the tomb of Mennah,scribe to pharaoh Tuthmoses IV, showsfarmers at harvest time.

Threshed corn was tossedinto the air with woodenfans to separate the grainfrom the chaff.

Corn was trampledby oxen to thresh it.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

AN

CIE

NT

EGY

PTW

AS

AC

OU

NT

RYC

LIN

GIN

Gto

the

ban

ks o

f a

rive

r. N

ine-

tent

hs o

f th

e co

untr

yw

as u

ninh

abit

able

des

ert

– th

e Eg

ypti

ans

calle

dit

Desh

ret, t

he “

red

land

”. Bu

t th

e fin

al t

enth

, alo

ng t

heba

nks

of t

he r

iver

Nile

, was

Kem

et, t

he “

blac

k la

nd”,

nam

ed a

fter

the

ric

h, d

ark

soil

whe

re t

he f

arm

ers

grew

the

ir c

rops

. Mos

t pe

ople

live

d in

thi

s re

gion

and

all

the

citi

es w

ere

built

here

. Egy

pt w

as a

ric

h an

d po

wer

ful c

ount

ry, r

uled

by g

od-k

ings

cal

led

phar

aohs

. The

ir s

tron

g go

vern

men

t br

ough

t pe

ace

and

stab

ility

–th

e Eg

ypti

anci

viliz

atio

n la

sted

for

mor

eth

an 3

,000

yea

rs, a

nd t

hew

ay o

f lif

e ha

rdly

cha

nged

in a

ll th

at t

ime.

36

Dis

cove

ry S

erie

s U

prig

ht 2

76m

m x

432

mm

UK

L I F E A N D T I M E S O F T U T A N K H A M U N

TH

EK

ING

DO

MO

FT

HE

NIL

E

TH

E R

IVER

NIL

EEa

ch s

umm

er, t

he N

ile f

lood

edth

e la

nd a

long

its

bank

s. I

t le

ftbe

hind

a la

yer

of r

ich

silt

,w

hich

fer

tiliz

ed t

he s

oil.

Farm

ers

used

a n

etw

ork

ofca

nals

, dyk

es, a

nd r

eser

voir

s to

trap

the

flo

od w

ater

and

cha

n-ne

l it

on t

o th

e la

nd t

o gr

owcr

ops.

The

Nile

was

als

o a

high

way

, lin

king

Egy

pt’s

citi

esby

che

ap b

oat

tran

spor

t.

TH

E T

WO

LA

ND

SEg

ypt

was

tra

diti

onal

ly d

ivid

ed in

to t

wo

part

s, c

alle

d th

e Tw

o La

nds.

Low

erEg

ypt

was

the

del

ta r

egio

n –

the

wet

,m

arsh

y ar

ea a

roun

d th

e m

any

bran

ches

of t

he N

ile w

here

it jo

ins

the

sea.

Upp

erEg

ypt

stre

tche

d so

uth

in a

nar

row

val

ley

alon

g th

e ba

nks

of t

he N

ile. I

t w

as s

ur-

roun

ded

by d

eser

t on

bot

h si

des,

and

was

muc

h dr

ier

than

the

del

ta r

egio

n.

FAR

MIN

GT

he E

gypt

ians

pro

duce

d fa

rm

ore

food

tha

n th

ey n

eede

d,an

d w

ere

able

to

sell

the

exce

ss a

broa

d. T

heir

mai

ncr

ops

wer

e w

heat

and

bar

ley.

The

y al

so g

rew

oni

ons,

bea

ns,

lent

ils, m

any

othe

r ve

geta

bles

,an

d a

rang

e of

fru

its.

Sepa

ratin

g th

e gra

infro

m th

e cha

ff at

har

-ve

st tim

e

RED

SEA

FAIY

UM

OA

SIS

Giz

a

Mem

phis

Saqq

ara

LO

WE

RE

GY

PT

Her

acle

opol

is

UP

PE

RE

GY

PT

Beni

Has

an

El-A

mar

na

SIN

AI

PEN

INSU

LA

Even

toda

y, o

nly

ath

in st

rip o

f lan

d al

ong

the N

ile c

an b

e far

med.

ME

DIT

ER

RA

NEA

NSEA

CANAAN

River Nile

D E S E

RT

48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 78 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46

37

Dis

cove

ry S

erie

s U

prig

ht 2

76m

m x

432

mm

UK

T H E K I N G D O M O F T H E N I L E

A W

EALT

HY

CO

UN

TRY

As

wel

l as

its

fert

ile f

arm

land

, Egy

pt w

as b

less

edw

ith

rich

min

eral

depo

sits

. The

sein

clud

ed t

in, c

op-

per,

gold

, and

sem

i-pr

ecio

usst

ones

suc

h as

amet

hyst

s, t

urqu

oise

s,an

d pe

rido

ts. T

heph

arao

hs u

sed

this

wea

lth

to p

ay f

or t

hepy

ram

ids,

tem

ples

,an

d pa

lace

s th

atth

ey b

uilt

.

TH

E R

ULE

RA

ccor

ding

to

Egyp

tian

lege

nd,

Upp

er a

nd L

ower

Egy

pt h

adbe

en u

nite

d in

abo

ut 3

100

BCby

Kin

g M

enes

. He

beca

me

the

first

Egy

ptia

n ph

arao

han

d th

e fo

unde

r of

the

cit

yof

Mem

phis

. Fro

m e

arly

tim

es, t

he p

hara

oh w

as n

otju

st t

he h

ead

of g

over

nmen

t,bu

t th

e lin

k be

twee

n th

epe

ople

of

Egyp

t an

d th

ego

ds. T

he p

hara

oh h

imse

lfw

as t

houg

ht t

o be

a g

od.

Aby

dos

Den

dera

The

bes

Cop

tos

Edfu

Asw

an

Abu

Sim

bel

Buhe

n

Ker

ma

GO

LDG

ALO

RE!

Egyp

t’s w

ealth

was

obvi

ous f

rom

the m

any

gold

obj

ects

foun

d in

Tuta

nkha

mun’s

tomb

.

HAT

HO

RC

OW

Thi

s gol

d-co

vered

statu

e sho

ws

Hat

hor,

the c

ow-

head

ed g

odde

ss o

fth

e West

. She

was

ofte

nca

lled

“the g

olde

n on

e”.

VA

LLEY

OF

TH

EK

ING

S SEC

ON

DC

ATA

RA

CT

FIR

STC

ATA

RA

CT

TH

IRD

CAT

AR

AC

T

NU

BIA

D E S E

RT

River Nile

How

do

we

know

?T

HER

EA

RE

MA

NY

SOU

RC

ESof

info

rmat

ion

abou

t an

cien

tEg

ypt.

The

se in

clud

e w

ritt

en r

ecor

ds, w

all p

aint

ings

,ob

ject

s fo

und

in t

ombs

, mon

umen

ts s

uch

as p

yram

ids

and

tem

ples

, and

the

wri

ting

s of

anc

ient

tra

velle

rs a

ndhi

stor

ians

, suc

h as

Her

odot

us (

see

page

45)

.

1Wal

l pai

ntin

gs g

ive

a w

ealt

h of

det

ail

abou

t pe

ople

s’ cl

othe

s an

d ap

pear

ance

,th

e to

ols

and

wea

pons

the

y us

ed, a

nd t

heda

ily w

ork

of f

arm

ers,

off

icia

ls, a

nd

craf

tsm

en, l

ike

this

car

pent

er.

2Wri

tten

rec

ords

wer

e re

cord

ed in

a s

ys-

tem

of

pict

ure

sym

bols

, cal

led

hier

o-gl

yphs

. The

y pr

ovid

e in

form

atio

n ab

out

the

Egyp

tian

s’ re

ligio

us b

elie

fs a

nd a

bout

the

lives

and

rei

gns

of in

divi

dual

pha

raoh

s.

3Man

y an

cien

t Eg

ypti

an o

bjec

ts h

ave

been

disc

over

ed in

tom

bs a

nd a

t ot

her

arch

aeo-

logi

cal s

ites

. Tut

ankh

amun

’s to

mb

was

impo

rtan

t be

caus

e it

con

tain

ed e

very

day

item

s as

wel

l as

rem

arka

ble

trea

sure

s.

Key

to

map

TEM

PLE

FORT

RES

S

CAT

AR

AC

T(A

LAR

GE

WAT

ERFA

LL)

CIT

Y

PYR

AM

ID

TO

MB

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38



GODSAND RELIGIONTHE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WORSHIPPED

many gods. At the centre of their beliefslay the sun god, Re, who couldappear in many different forms and hadseveral names. Some gods were shownwith a human body and an animal head –the animal that represented their power.

For example, Horus, the god of kingship, wasrepresented by a falcon. Some of the most

important gods were linked to burial and the afterlife.

ANUBISReal jackals often roamed thegraveyards of Egypt, so Anubis waslinked to the dead. He was the god ofembalming and guardian of the dead.

AMUNAmun was the kingof the gods. He wasoften linked to the sungod and was also knownas Amun-Re. His naturewas secret – Amun means‘“hidden”.

OSIRISOsiris was murdered byhis brother, Seth. Hiswife, Isis, brought him backto life and he became thegod of the underworld.Osiris represented boththe rebirth of the landthrough the Nile floods,and the rebirth of thebody in the afterlife.

THE DEAD MANThe dead man was ledinto the Hall ofJudgement by the jackal-headed god, Anubis.

WEIGHING THE HEARTAfter the dead man had been questioned, Anubisweighed his heart against the feather of truth. Ifhe had lied, his heart was eaten by the Devourerof the Dead and he would not enter the afterlife.

BOOK OF THE DEADThis Hall of Judgement picturecomes from the tomb ofHunefer, a scribe who died inabout 1285 BC.

ISISIsis was a powerful mother goddessand protector. She brought Osirisback from the dead and then caredfor their son, Horus. When Isissearched for the body of Osiris, shetook the form of a bird called a kite,so she was often shown with wings.

THE JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFEThe crossing to the afterlife was full of perils. Thedead person had to know what to expect and havemagic spells ready to ward off the many dangers.The dead soul wandered the underworld, lookingfor the Hall of Judgement, where their past lifewould be judged by the god Osiris.

Gods from each of Egypt’sdistrictsquestioned the dead manabout his life.

Isis with her wingsoutstretched

39


G O D S A N D R E L I G I O N

LIFE AFTER DEATHA painting from the tomb ofSennedjem in Western Thebesshows what the Egyptians expectedin the afterlife – a happier versionof their earthly life. The dead manand his wife are ploughing andreaping in the “field of reeds”, arealm of the afterlife situated atthe northern edge of the sky.

Osiris bedEgyptian tombssometimes contained anOsiris bed. This was awooden frame in theshape of the god,filled with Nile soil,and planted withcorn seeds. Theseeds wouldgerminate in thetomb, symbolizingthe rebirth of Osirisand that of the dead person.

THE GODS’ HOMESKarnak, Luxor, and the other great templeswere built as homes for the gods. The sacredstatue of the god was kept in the innermostsanctuary of the temple. Each day, thepharaoh or the high priest carried outreligious ceremonies and offered the statuefood and drink. On festival days, the statuewas paraded outside the temple, so thatordinary people could consult the god.

This Osiris bed was found in the treasury ofTutankhamun’s tomb, still filledwith dried-out germinated corn.

Becoming an OsirisThe magical rebirth ofOsiris gave theEgyptians hope thatthey too could“become an Osiris”and live for ever inthe afterlife. Toachieve this, a deadperson had to imitateOsiris in every way.Tutankhamun’smummy was preparedwith the arms crossedand holding the crookand flail, to make himlook like Osiris.

HORUSIf the dead man had told thetruth and led a good life, Horus,the falcon-headed god ofkingship, presented him to Osiris.

OSIRISOsiris welcomed the dead man,who would now “become anOsiris” himself and live for everin the kingdom of the dead.

ISIS AND NEPHTHYSOsiris was attended byhis wife, Isis, and hersister, Nephthys, whowatched the judgement.

Symbols of the gods

Osiris Tutankhamun

Wedjat eyeThe wedjat eyerepresented the eye ofHorus. He had lost the eye in afight with evil, but it was magicallyrestored. The eye was used toprotect mummies and ward off evil.

Djed pillarThe symbol of the godOsiris was the djed pillar.It represented survival,stability, and thepossibility of rebirth inthe afterlife. The worddjed means “stability”.

Girdle of IsisThe protective power ofthe goddess Isis was calledup by the tyet symbol,which is also known as theGirdle of Isis. The tyet wasprobably an image of aknot of cloth.

THE EGYPTIANS BELIEVED thatcertain symbols were able toprotect against evil or bring goodluck. Some of these symbols werelinked to specific gods, and couldsummon the gods’ special powers.

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LEADING THE ARMYPharaohs were trained aswarriors and traditionallyled Egypt’s armies in battle. On a box from his tomb,Tutankhamun is showndefeating the Syrians andNubians, but there isno evidence that heever fought in real life.

40



THEPHARAOHLIKE ALL THE PHARAOHS OF ANCIENTEgypt, Tutankhamun was worshipped as aliving god. The pharaoh had immense power and wealth, and great responsibilities.He made offerings to gain the gods’ favour forEgypt, he performed ceremonies to ensure thatthe land would be fertile, and he had a duty to build monuments which would please the gods.He made all the laws, and was also commander-in-chief of the army. Above all, the pharaoh had to maintainma’at (harmony and order) and hold the regions of Upperand Lower Egypt together. One of his many titles

was the “Lord of the Two Lands”.

HEAD OF GOVERNMENTThe pharaoh made all the laws, set the levelof taxes, and decided on Egypt’s foreignpolicy. In theory, he personally supervized allthe affairs of state, but in practice he had ahost of officials to carry out his instructions.

MINISTERS IN ATTENDANCETutankhamun would have been attended byservants and supported by his officials,especially Ay, the chief minister.

Scribes carefullyrecorded all the king’spronouncements.

HOLDING COURTTutankhamun would have held court seatedbeneath a canopy on his golden throne (seepage 33) and holding the crook and flail.

RIDING ALONEThe pharaoh is often shown

fighting from a chariot, atthe head of the army.

Ay

Fanbearer

When a Pharaoh was crowned, he wasgiven a series of five names that madeup his formal title. These areTutankhamun’s names and titles:

• The Horus name: Ka-nakht tut-mesut(Strong bull, best of all created beings)

• The “He of the Two Ladies” name:Nefer-hepu segereh-tawy sehetep-netjeru nebu(Perfect law-maker, who calms the TwoLands and makes the gods content)

• The golden falcon name: Wetjes-khau sehetep netjeru(He who displays the regalia, andmakes the gods content)

• The prenomen: Nebkheprure(The lordly appearance of the god Re)

• The nomen: Tutankhamun(The living image of the god Amun)

FACT file

Pharaoh’s regaliaSTATUES, PAINTINGS, AND CARVINGSshow that the pharaoh wore specialclothing and carried regalia(symbols of royalty) to show hisstatus as a divine king.

41


T H E P H A R A O H

The QueenA pharaoh often had several wives, butonly one of them was Queen. Likemany other pharaohs, Tutankhamunmarried his sister. Pharaohs may havedone this to strengthen their claim tothe throne, or to imitate the gods, whowere often married to their sisters.

RELIGIOUS DUTIESThe pharaoh was Egypt’s religiousleader and had many duties, such asmaking offerings to the gods in theirtemples. He also used his divine powersin ceremonies to bring the annual Nilefloods and water the land for crops.

Decorated sandalsThe pharaoh had a duty to defeatEgypt’s enemies. Many paintingsshow him victorious in battle.Tutankhamun’s sandals have picturesof Syrian and Nubian captives on thesoles. As he walked, these enemieswould be crushed underfoot.

Wadjit,cobra goddess

of LowerEgypt

Nekhbet, vulturegoddess of Upper

Egypt

The gods had beards,so the pharaoh worea false one.

The double crownThis combined the red crownof Lower Egypt and the whitecrown of Upper Egypt.

The blue crownThe blue crown waslinked to the sun godand was worn by NewKingdom pharaohs.

The nemes clothThe pharaoh’sdistinctive stripedheaddress was calledthe nemes cloth.

The crook and flailThe shepherd’s crook and corn-beatingflail were emblems of the god Osirisand important parts of the regalia.

Nine bowssymbolizeEgypt’senemies

Twoboundcaptives

Ministers and officialsIn addition to a chief minister, apharaoh appointed two officials calledviziers to rule Upper and LowerEgypt. Other officials supervized thetreasury, the granaries, and theconstruction of temples and palaces.

BUILDING A TOMBA pharaoh began to prepare his tomb early in his

reign, because it took years to build. Tutankhamundied young, and his tomb was unfinished. He was

hurriedly buried in someone else’s tomb.

OPENING THE DYKESThis ceremony took placeafter the Nile flood hadsubsided. Traditionally, thepharaoh cut the firstirrigation channel.

Crook

Flail

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42



WHO WASTUTANKHAMUN?“WHAT DO WE REALLYknow about this Tutankhamun?”wrote Carter. “Remarkably little.... The one outstandingfeature of his life was that hedied and was buried.” We know solittle about Tutankamun’s life that experts are not even certain who he was. This is partly because the Egyptians themselves tried to wipe out allrecords of Tutankhamun because he wasrelated to Akhenaten, the pharaoh who fell out of favour. Discovering the facts aboutthe real Tutankhamun, 3,000 years later, is liketrying to make sense of a jigsaw puzzle withmany pieces missing.

HE IS CROWNED...Tutankhamun was probably broughtup in Akhenaten’s royal court at El-Armana. He became pharaoh,aged just nine, in 1336 BC, and was crowned at Memphis.

MARRIES...Tutankhamun married his half-sister,Ankhesenamun. They had no childrenwho survived, though two foetusesfound in the tomb may have been their stillborn daughters.

RULES EGYPT...Because Tutankhamun was just a boy, he was very dependent on his ministers.Most important decisions were taken by Ay, the elderly chief minister, andHoremheb, the head of the army.

FAMILY TREEExperts still disagree about whoTutankhamun was. Some think he was Akhenaten’s son, others think

he was Akhenaten’s brother. And noone knows who Smenkhkarewas. This seems to be the most likely version of the family tree.

Tutankhamun1336–1327 BC

Ankhesenamun

Akhenaten1352–1336 BC

Smenkhkare?1338–1336 BC

Amenhotep III1390–1352 BC

Nefertiti Kiya

Tiye

Five otherdaughters

m

m m

m

KEYm = married1390–1352 = dates of pharaoh’s reign

43


W H O W A S T U T A N K H A M U N ?

Ruins at El-AmarnaAkhenaten built a new capital city,called Akhetaten, at the site nowknown as El-Amarna. The city oncehad palaces, a temple to the Aten,and houses for the nobles, but it wasabandoned soon after Akhenaten’sdeath. These ruins are all that is left.

Bust of Nefertiti by asculptor named Djehutemose

RESTORES RELIGION...The young king reintroduced theworship of Amun and the othergods. As a sign of this, he changedhis name from its earlier version,Tutankhaten, to Tutankhamun.

AkhenatenTUTANKHAMUN’S FATHER, AKHENATEN,introduced a new religion, the worship ofthe sun disc, or Aten. He banned the othergods and closed their temples. Thesechanges were unpopular – ordinary peoplecould no longer worship the traditionalgods, and the priests lost their power.

Worshipping the AtenAccording to Akhenaten, the Aten wasthe only god. The Aten created andcared for mankind and could be reachedonly by the pharaoh. In this carving(left), Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and some oftheir six daughters are receiving light raysfrom the Aten. Each ray ends in the ankhsymbol, which means “life”.

NefertitiAkhenaten’s queen was thebeautiful Nefertiti. Shewas very powerful, butafter the thirteenth year ofthe king’s reign she is nolonger mentioned. Wasshe dead or disgraced?Or, as some evidencesuggests, did she take anew name and become themysterious Smenkhkare?

AND DIESTutankhamun died suddenly in1327 BC, the ninth year of hisreign. He was succeeded by Ay,who may have thought this was hislast chance to seize the throne.

Fragmentof bone

Tutankhamun’s brainwas removed duringmummification.

The heretic pharaohAfter his death, Akhenaten was considered aheretic (someone whose religious views areunacceptable), and officials tried to destroy allmention of his name and those of his successors– Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun, and Ay.

X-ray of Tutankhamun’s skullThis X-ray, taken in 1968, shows a piece of boneinside the skull. This could have been caused by afall, a blow to the head, or the mummificationprocess. Recent evidence suggests a blow was themost likely. So Tutankhamun was probably murdered.

Was he murdered?TWO POST MORTEMS have been carried outon Tutankhamun’s corpse. Neither couldprove the cause of death, but damage tothe skull suggested that he either had anaccident or was hit on the head. Someexperts believe that Ay had Tutankhamunmurdered so that he could be pharaoh.

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Discovery Series Technical Spread 216mm x 276mm UK

THE EGYPTIANS BELIEVED THAT TO LIVE FOR

ever in the afterlife, they had to preservethe body. They thought that everyone hadseveral spirits. The most important were theka, the body’s spirit double, and the ba, theessence of the person’s personality. These spiritswould need a body to inhabit in the afterlife, sothe dead body was preserved by embalming it.

MUMMIES ANDEMBALMING

1 PURIFICATIONWhen someone died, the embalmers at oncetook the body away to the ibu, the “tent ofpurification”. There they began thecomplicated process of embalming the body.While the lector priest read spells out loud,other priests carried out the first stage –cleaning the body with natron (a form ofsalt) dissolved in water.

DAY 30DAY 20

DAY 0: PERSON DIES DAYS 1-15: PURIFYING AND REMOVAL OF ORGANS DAYS 16-56: DRYING IN NATRON

DAY 0 DAY 10

F A C T - F I N D E R

44

2 REMOVAL OFTHE CANOPICORGANSAfter cleansing, thebody was taken tothe wabet, “the placeof embalming”. Thenext task was to takeout certain internalorgans. One priest,“the scribe”, markedthe line of a long cuton the lower leftside of the stomach,then another, called“the slicer” cut thebody open. Thestomach, intestines,lungs, and liver werethen removed.

3 BRAINAND HEARTThe brain was pulledout through thenose with specialhooks, which werepushed up onenostril and into theskull. The heart wasleft in the body,because the deadperson would needit when he or shewas judged by Osiris(see page 38).

4 DRYING THE BODYNext, the body was dried out completely.Natron was packed into the abdomen, thenthe body was laid on a bed with more natronlaid around it. The bed was often slightlytilted, so that any fluids could drain away.The drying process took 40 days.

Heart scarabAn amulet (charm) of ascarab beetle was placedover the heart to protectit against the perils of theunderworld.

Priests carry out thecleansing of thebody, pouringnatron and waterover it again andagain.

CeremonialknifeThe “slicer” priestused a flint knifelike this one. Assoon as he had

finished, he wasdriven away by theother priests, incase his act hadoffended the gods.

The embalmersThe chief embalmer was called the “controller of themysteries” and was often depicted as Anubis, the god ofembalming. His many assistants included the lectorpriest, who recited spells throughout the process.

From death to the funeralHerodotus wrote that the dead body was dried innatron for 70 days. Historians now think that 70 days was the period from the person’s death tothe funeral. All the stages of mummification had tobe completed within this time, as shown below.

Scenes from a coffinThe Egyptians did not leavemany pictures of theembalming process. Theserare scenes are taken fromthe painted coffin ofDjedbastiufankh, who died in about 600 BC.

The body lies on a couch like those found in Tutankhamun’s tomb

The chief embalmerputs the finishingtouches to a mummy.

These hooks were usedto pull out the brain.

Chief embalmer

Priests

Canopic jars


DAY 70DAY 60DAY 50DAY 40

DAYS 57-58: ANOINTING DAYS 59-69: BANDAGING DAY 70: FUNERAL

StomachThe stomach wasplaced in the jarwith the jackalhead of Duamutef.This jar was alsoprotected by thegoddess Neith.

M U M M I E S A N D E M B A L M I N G

45

LungsThe god Hapy,who had the headof a baboon,protected thelungs. This jar waslinked to thegoddess Nephthys.

6 BANDAGINGNext the body was covered in melted resin.It was then ready for bandaging. Using stripsof linen, first the head, then each toe andfinger, then the arms and legs, and finally the trunk were painstakingly wrapped. Thebandages were kept tight and coated withresin to stiffen them.

ShroudThe final layer was ashroud – a large piece oflinen that covered theentire body. It was heldin place by a longbandage running fromhead to toe.

7 MASKThe mummy’s facewas covered with amask. This was aportrait of the deadperson, whichwould help the baspirit to recognize

its body.Ordinary peoplehad masks madefrom cartonnage,a mix of linen orplaster stiffenedwith resin.

8 COFFINSFinally, the completed mummy was laid ina coffin, or in several coffins, one insideanother. This was both for protection andto provide a place for the ka spirit to rest.Coffins were mummy-shaped and usuallymade of painted or gilded wood.

Bandaging was usually done by lesser priests, but

overseen by the chief embalmer.

Canopic jarsBag of natronNatron was

a mixture of salts,includingsodium

carbonate and sodium

bicarbonate. Itwas found around theedges of desert lakes.

Tutankhamun’s coffinsTutankhamun’s mummy layin three coffins. The outertwo were made of gildedwood, but the third wasmade from beaten gold.

Gold maskTutankhamun’s mask wasmade of two layers ofbeaten gold, inlaid withsemi-precious stones.

5 ANOINTINGAfter 40 days, thebody was washed toremove the natron,then taken to the per nefer, the“beautiful house”, foranointing. Here, theabdomen was stuffedwith clay, sawdust,or other materials,then the skin wasmassaged withperfumes and oils to make it flexible.

IntestinesThe falcon-headedgod, Qebehsenueflooked after theintestines. This jarwas under theprotection of thegoddess Selkis.

LiverThe liver wasguarded by thegod Imsety, whohad a human head.The goddess Isislooked after thiscanopic jar.

Pharaoh’s canopic jarsTutankhamun’s canopicorgans were placed inbeaten gold coffinettes.

Herodotus’ account“As much as possible ofthe brain is extractedthrough the nostrilswith an iron hook...next the flank is laidopen with a flint knifeand the contents of theabdomen removed; thecavity is thenthoroughly cleansed...After that it is filledwith myrrh, cassia, andevery other aromaticsubstance...after whichthe body is placed innatron, coveredentirely over, for 70days – never longer.When this period isover, the body iswashed and wrappedfrom head to foot inlinen cut into strips.”

HERODOTUSMuch of what we knowabout embalming comesfrom the writings of theancient Greek historian,Herodotus. He visitedEgypt in about 450 BC.and watched embalmersat work.

THE FOUR ORGANS that had been removedfrom the body were embalmed separately,then stored in four special containers, calledcanopic jars. Each jar was protected by one ofthe four sons of the god Horus – the lid of thejar was often in the shape of the god’s head.

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From discovery to museumThe tomb was discovered in 1922, but it was 1932before the last of the treasures was safely sent tothe museum in Cairo. It took Carter two-and-a-half years to clear the burial chamberalone. Some of the main events of theclearance are shown on the timeline below.

3 REMOVING THE TREASURESThe treasures had to be carried out of thetomb with great care. Each item was tiedwith bandages to a padded wooden stretcher.When a number of stretchers were ready,they were carried under guard to the nearbytomb of Sety II. Large items, such as theanimal couches and chariots found in theantechamber, had to be taken to pieces first.


WHEN TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB WAS FOUND,everyone thought it would be cleared and

its contents displayed within a few weeks. Withmany other archaeologists of that time, thiswould have happened – and most of the objectsmight have been damaged beyond repair. ButCarter was different. He and his team took theutmost care to protect the treasures, and to keepproper records of their discovery. As a result, ittook them 10 years to clear the tomb.

THE ARCHAEOLOGISTSAT WORK

Engrossed in his workCarter wrote: “It wasslow work... andnerve-wracking atthat”. Here, he iscleaning the faceof the secondcoffin with apaintbrush.

19261925

4 NOVEMBER 1922TOMB DISCOVERED

DECEMBER 1922WORK STARTED IN ANTECHAMBER

1922 1923 1924

F A C T - F I N D E R

46

1 PHOTOGRAPHSBefore anything was touched, Harry Burtonphotographed each room, showing the exactposition of everything in it. Then he placed anumbered card on each object andphotographed the room again. Each itemcould then be identified by its number.

Carter’s recordsCarter made hispreliminary notes anddrawings on graph paper.This is his record ofTutankhamun’s goldenthrone (see page 33).

Removing a chestEach time an object was carried out, it caused greatexcitement among the crowd of press and touristswho waited constantly outside the tomb.

The chest was secured to thestretcher with bandages.

16 FEBRUARY 1923OPENING OF BURIAL CHAMBER

11 NOVEMBER 1925POST MORTEM BEGUN

24 OCTOBER 1926WORK STARTED IN TREASURY

Numbered objects in the antechamberThe objects were photographed in groups, witheach number appearing in at least one picture. Aphotograph of each item was filed with Carter’snotes to show where the object was found.

2 SKETCHESCarter’s artistic skillswere to prove veryuseful. He madewhat he called“sketches” of manyof the items found inthe tomb. Thesewere actually veryprecise drawings. He also kept notesabout each object,recording its size,where it was found,what it was made of,and details of anyinscriptions.


19311930 1932192919281927

T H E A R C H A E O L O G I S T S A T W O R K

47

7 IN THE MUSEUMThe Egyptian government at once displayedTutankhamun’s treasures in the CairoMuseum, where they are still kept today.Tutankhamun himself lies once more in histomb, though now his sarcophagus has aplate-glass top, so that tourists can look in.

Preservation problemsTHE TOMB HAD BEEN VERY HUMID. When wooden objects

were brought out and exposed to dry desert air, therewere problems. The wood shrank and separated from its coverings of gesso (plaster) and gold.Other materials, such as cloth, leather,and the strings holding necklacestogether, had rotted away in thetomb and could not be saved.

Head clothmade of gildedgesso plaster

Shrinking woodThis guardian statue shows theproblem of shrinking wood. Thereare cracks where the head cloth andcollar of gilded gesso have startedto separate from the wooden bodyand face. Carter treated woodenobjects with melted paraffin wax.This worked temporarily, but theproblem still continues today.

4 IN THE LABORATORYCarter persuaded the Egyptian governmentto let him use the tomb of Sety II as alaboratory and storage area. The tomb was atthe far end of the valley, but it was unvisitedby tourists and sheltered from the sun. Hereeach object was cleaned of surface dust andmeasured, and further notes were taken. Allthe information was put on filing cards.

6 OFF TO CAIROFinally, the objects were wrapped in cottonwool and packed into crates. These wereloaded on to a Decauville railway – a seriesof flat wagons that had to be pushed by handalong the tracks. Each 8 km (5 mile) journeyacross the desert to the river took 15 hours,usually in blistering sun. The treasures werethen shipped down the Nile to Cairo.

5 PRESERVINGMany of the tomb’scontents were veryfragile or likely todecay immediately,so preservation wasnecessary. Onlyurgent work wasdone at the site,long-term workwould take place atthe Cairo Museum.

Post mortemThe team used the outercorridor of the laboratorytomb for the post mortemon Tutankhamun’s mummy.

Mace and LucasMost of the preservationwork was undertaken byArthur Mace, anarchaeologist, and AlfredLucas, who was a chemist.

Relief carvings onthe walls of the tomb

Mace andLucas atwork onone of theguardianstatues.

Treasures on displayEach year, thousands of people visit Tutankhamun’stomb and see his treasures in the Cairo Museum.Millions more people worldwide have seen thetreasures, thanks to the spectacular touring exhibitions that took place in the 1960s and 1970s.

Laying the tracksThere was only a small amountof track, so it had to be takenup and laid again in front ofthe wagons.

30 OCTOBER 1927WORK STARTED IN ANNEXE

10 NOVEMBER 1930LAST OBJECTS REMOVED FROM TOMB

SPRING 1932LAST ITEMS SENT TO CAIRO

Woodenface andbody

Workers pushed thewagons along the tracks.

Jewellery hadto be rethreaded.

Discovery Series Index 216mm x 276mm UK

Aadze, 28, 31afterlife, 29, 31,

38–39Akhenaten, 8, 33,

42–43Amun, 38, 43ankh symbol, 43Ankhesenamun, 8,

29, 31, 32, 42–43annexe, 22–23anointing, 45antechamber, 16–17Anubis, 20–21, 29,

32, 38, 44–45archaeological digs,

10–11, 37archaeologists, 9,

46–47army, 40Aten, 33, 43Ay, 8, 28–31, 40,

42–43

Bba, 44bandaging the

mummy, 24–25, 28, 45

beds, 7, 23blue crown, 41Book of the Dead,

18, 25brain, removal of,

43, 44burial chamber,

18–19burial pits, 10–11Burton, Harry, 8, 12,

24, 46

CCairo Museum, 47Callender, Arthur, 9,

13, 15, 16candle test, 15

canopic jars, 20, 45canopic organs,

20–21, 44–45canopic shrine,

20–21, 28Carnarvon, Lord, 9,

13, 15, 16, 23Carter, Howard

discovers tomb, 12–13early work, 10–11life, 9work on tomb, 12–25, 46–47

cataracts, 37chariots, 16, 40, 46chippings, 12, 14–15cobra goddess, 25,

41coffins, 18, 25,

28–31, 45, 46corridor of tomb,

14–15couches, 6, 16–17,

29, 46craftsmen, 8, 28crook and flail, 25,

39, 40–41crowns, 41curse, the, 23

DDavis, Theodore,

10–11death mask, 18, 24,

33, 45Derry, Douglas,

24–25djed pillar, 19, 39double crown, 41

EEl-Armana, 36,

42–43embalmers, 27,

44–45embalming, 44–45

entrance to the tomb, 15

Evelyn, Lady , 9, 13,15, 16

Ffarmers, 35, 36“field of reeds”, 39food, 23funeral barge 27funeral procession,

28–31funerals, 28–31,

44–45

Ggesso, 47girdle of Isis, 39gods and goddesses,

38–39gold, 16, 18, 25, 33,

37golden shrine, 32Gould, Jay, 23guardian statues,

16–17, 30, 47

HHall of Judgement,

38–39, 44Hathor, 29, 37head of

Tutankhamun, 14heart, 38, 44Herodotus, 37, 45hieroglyphs, 37Horemheb, 8, 42Horus, 32, 38–39

IJKinscriptions, 37Isis, 21, 26, 38–39jewellery, 25, 33journalists, 15, 46ka, 17, 19, 44kites, 29, 38

Llaboratory tomb, 17,

46–47laws, 40

lector priest, 31, 44lighting the tomb,

14Lower Egypt, 29, 36,

40, 41Lucas, Alfred, 9, 47Luxor, 10, 11, 39

MMace, Arthur, 9, 47Menes, King, 37mineral deposits, 36ministers, 40–41model boats, 20–21,

33mourners, 30mu dancers, 29mummies, 39, 44–45mummiform coffins,

25, 45mummy ofTutankhamun, 18,

24–25, 27

Nnatron, 44–45Nefertiti, 42–43Neith, 21, 45nemes head cloth,

25, 41Nephthys, 21, 29,

39New Kingdom, 10Nile, 34, 36–37Nile floods, 36, 38,

41

O“opening of the

mouth”, 31 opening the dykes,

41Osiris, 19, 32, 38–39Osiris bed, 39

PQpainted box, 32, 40pectoral jewellery,

25, 33pharaohs, 8, 10–11,

17, 32, 36, 39,

40–41, 42photography, 8, 24,

46pit 54, 10–11post mortem on the

mummy 24–25, 47

preservation work, 17, 46–47

priests, 8, 38–39, 44–45

pyramids, 11queen, 41

Rrailway to Cairo, 47Ramesses VI, tomb

of, 10, 11, 12, 15Re, 38regalia, 25, 41religion, 38–39, 41robbers, 8, 10,

14–15, 16–17, 19, 22–23

robber’s footprint, 23

rope sling, 22

Ssandals, 41sarcophagus, 18, 31,

47scribes, 34, 40seals, 13Selkis, 21, 45sem priest, 8, 30, 31Sety II, tomb of

46–47shabti figures, 21, 23shrines, 18, 28shrouds, 45sistra, 16sponsor, 9steps, discovery of,

12–13sun god, 28, 38

Ttelegram to

Carnarvon, 13temples, 39

Thebes, 28, 37thrones, 8, 30, 33,

34tomb robbers, see

robberstombs, 10–11, 12,

31, 41tools 27torches, 6, 15tourists, 15, 46treasures of the

tomb, 26, 32–33treasury, 20–21Tutankhamun

children of, 21, 42death, 43family tree, 42funeral, 28–31life, 8, 42–43mummy, 24–25names and titles, 13, 40–41role as pharaoh, 40–41

Tutankhamun, tomb of, 12–23, 31, 39, 46-47

Two Lands, 36tyet symbol, 39

UVUpper Egypt, 29,

36, 40, 41Valley of the Kings,

8, 10–11, 30, 37viziers, 29, 41vulture goddess, 25,

41

Wwall paintings, 19,

37wedjat eye, 19, 39“weighing the heart”,

38wood, problems

with, 47wooden props,

22–23workers who helped

Carter, 9, 11, 12

Index

Dorling Kindersley would like tothank: Venice Shone and PeterRadcliffe for design help; AngelaKoo for research; Lee Thompson forpicture research.

Illustration of the treasury, page 20-21 centre, based on a drawing by IanBott from The Complete Tutankhamun byNicholas Reeves, published byThames and Hudson Limited,London 1995.

The publisher would like to thankthe following for permission toreproduce their photographs:

c=centre; t=top; b=bottom; l=left;r=right; a=above

The Ancient, Art and ArchitectureCollection: Ronald Sheridan 19t,21cra; John P.Stevens 43cr; TheAncient Egypt Picture Library: 11cr(below), 39cr, 41tl, 47cr (below);AKG, London: 23b, 41tr; ErichLessing 34/35c, 36tr, 47bc; TheBridgeman Art Library: EgyptianNational Museum, Cairo/Giraudon:25tr; British Museum: 28bl/tr, 31tl/tr,38tl, 38/39b, 41cr, 44cra/c(below)/bc, 45cla/ca/cl (below);Bildarchiv PreussischerKulturbesitz: Margarete Busing 43cl;The Carnarvon Archive/Highclere

Castle: 23cr (below); Peter ClaytonAssociates: 37bl, 41bc, 43tc, 43tr,44tr; Corbis: 38bl; UPI 15br, 46cr(below); Roger Wood 32br; MaryEvans Picture Library: 11c, 12cl,45cr (below); The Griffith Institute/Ashmolean Museum, Oxford: 7c,9cra, 17tr, 18tl, 19bl, 21cr (below),22bl, 23tl, 24cl (below), 25tl, 39br,41br, 46tr/cl/c (below), 47cla/ca/cra;Robert Harding Picture Library:Rainbird Publishing Group 5tr, 8cr,14tr, 16bc, 25cl/c/cr/b, 26tl, 27c,32cl/tl, 33clb/c (below) /br/tc, 34bl,37tl/tr, 47cl (below); Ellen Rooney10tr; J.Ross 45tr; Hulton GettyImages: 6cl, 9c/cl/cr (below)/tr, 10cl,12tl, 13t/cr, 15t, 16cl (below), 19br,

21t, 23c (below), 26cl; TheIllustrated London News PictureLibrary: 9tcl; The MacQuittyInternational Collection: 39cla;Scala: 21car; Spectrum ColourLibrary: 9ca, 15cr, 36tl, 39tl; SirBenjamin Stone Archive/Birmingham City Library: 11tl;Visual Arts Library:Artephot/BABEY 32c, 33tl

Jacket: The Bridgeman Art Library:Egyptian National Museum,Cairo/Giraudon front cover cl,inside back t ; Robert HardingPicture Library: Rainbird PublishingGroup front cover ca/cal, inside frontc, inside back c

Acknowledgments

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