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KING TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB
Tutankhamun's tombKing Tutankhamen's Tomb (Valley of the Kings) is one of the most visited tombs in the Valley of the Kings and has a separate admission price. Its discovery in 1922 was one of the greatest archeological discoveries of all time. Tutankhamen was only a minor king — he didn't build a pyramid or any great temples or monuments and he died when he was 19 — but it just so happens that his tomb was one of the few in the Valley of the Kings with a treasure missed by looters.
King Tutankhamun Tomb is located eight meters (26 feet) underground. It was constructed from the relatively small unfinished tomb of courtier after the king died at an early age. Objects for the afterlife were crammed in the tomb and the paintings were so hastily prepared that splashes of paint that cover some of the images was not cleaned up. Some of the burial objects appear to have belonged to others (their names were erased and replaced with King Tutankhamun’s name).
After Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered, it was given the name KV 62, following a system of naming in the Valley of the Kings. It is a relatively small four-chambered tomb that originally may not have been meant for Tutankhamun, but rather for another important royal figure named "Ay," who would later become pharaoh. [Source: Owen Jarus last updated October 24, 2022]
Two small female fetuses were found in the tomb. DNA testing in 2010 determined the they were Tutankhamun’s two still-born daughters.
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Inside Tutankhamen's Tomb
Tutankhamen was well prepared for his trip to the afterlife. His four-room tomb yielded gold treasures; gilt coffins with images of the king emblazoned on the them; a glittering throne with palace scenes; effigies of gods and goddesses; a chest inscribed battles scenes; and jeweled daggers, earrings, necklaces and other riches. The most famous object found in it was Tutankhamun’s blue and gold funerary mask, which has been pictured in many books and magazines. All of these things are in the Egyptian museum, except when they are on tour.
A mural from Tutankhamun’s burial chamber shows the king between Anubis and a goddess identified as either Isis or Nephthys. A gold dagger and its sheath were found entombed with Tutankhamun. Gilded figures of Tutankhamun wear the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. A lion rests atop an alabaster ointment jar found in Tut's tomb. Clothes made of linen found in the tomb were likely used by Tut when riding in a chariot. [Source: Ann R. Williams, National Geographic History, November 4, 2022]
Some painting in the tomb depict Tutankhamun funeral procession. After the funeral procession, his successor, Aye, symbolically revives the dead. Nut, the sky goddess welcomes Tutankhamun to the realm of the gods, and Osiris, god of the afterlife, embraces him along with his “ka”, or spiritual double. Baboons on the far wall represent the start of his passage through 12 hours of the night.
Magnificent Contents of Tutankhamen Tomb
The King Tutankhamen Collection (on the top floor of the Egyptian Museum) contains around 5,400 objects. Among them are the famous blue-and-gold funerary mask. The mask is made of beaten gold. The beard on the masks identifies the king as being one with Osiris, god of the dead, and the cobra and vulture on his forehead symbolize the Upper and Lower kingdoms of Egypt. A life-size statue of the king, which was found at the entrance of the tomb, is dressed in gilded clothing and was anointed in black resin to denote rebirth.
King Tutankhamun’s tomb is regarded as the the richest royal collection every found. When the king’s coffin was opened, 143 amulets and pieces of jewelry were found tucked in the linen layers of the mummy. Also in the collection is a 15.3 inch coffin for the pharaoh's liver. Only the heart remained in the body when it was mummified. Another coffin contained his viscera.
Tutankhamun Shrines
and sarcophagos Many of big items were found in the anteroom outside the burial chamber. These include gold couches, four gold chariots, a golden throne, alabaster vases and scores of personal items of the king — all of which are on display. The king’s wooden throne is covered in sheets of gold, silver, gems and glass and is decorated with an intimate scene of the queen rubbing Tutankhamun with perfumed oil.
Tutankhamun’s clothes chest is decorated with a scene showing the king shooting his bow and arrow from a chariot while galloping at full speed, trampling Nubians under the wheels of his chariot. Tutankhamun was buried with six chariots, 50 bows, two swords, two daggers, eight shields and assorted boomerangs and slingshots. An inscription of the chest reads "hundreds of thousands of Nubians bowed to him during the battle."
There is also a beautiful painted effigy; a feminized alabaster bust; a walking stick adorned with carvings of Arabs and Nubians; a boat with an ibex bowhead and a nude maiden captain; and statue of Anubis, the jackal god of the necropolis, whose job it was to discourage intruders. So that he may gaze upon himself and procreate in the afterlife the king was buried with a mirror shaped like an ankh, the symbol of life, and pieces of jewelry adorned with scarabs, the symbols of fertility.
King Tutankhamun was also was buried with ordinary things likes boards games, a bronze razor, cases of food and wine, and linen undergarments. Among the small items are gold daggers for protection in the afterlife; a headrest for rebirth; and an alabaster cup which proclaims "Mayst thou spend millions of years...sitting with thy face to the north wind...beholding felicity." There are also effigies of gods and goddesses, jeweled daggers, earrings, necklaces, amulets and pieces of jewelry, gold figures, a leopard skin mantel decorated with gold stars, a child's chair made of ebony and ivory, 15 gold and jeweled rings, seeds, boat paddles, ear and neck ornaments, 50 ornamental vases, robes, sandals, arrows, bows, boomerangs, a forked stick for caching snakes and a lock of hair from Queen Tiye, Tutankhamen's mother.
Tutankhamen'c Coffins and Shrines
Tutankhamun’s mummy was enclosed in three nesting coffins (including a sarcophagus) and four decorated and gilded wooden shrines — one inside the other. The shrines had images of the king emblazoned on the them. The largest, outer golden shrine is 9 feet high, 10¾ feet wide and 16½ feet long. It is inlaid with panels of brilliant blue faience with depictions of special symbols that protected the dead. The innermost one was covered in gold. The sarcophagus is made of yellow quartzite and has a sculpted goddess spreading protecting arms and wings over the feet area. Each shrine and the sarcophagus is displayed separately.
The innermost coffin was made of solid gold and weighed more than 240 pounds. Guarding the room Carter dubbed the “Treasury,” the god Anubis sat before Tut’s canopic shrine.Skelet was one of the four protective goddesses guarding Tutankhamun's canopic shrine. [Source: Ann R. Williams, National Geographic History, November 4, 2022]
King Tutankhamun’s polished gold coffin is inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones. On the lid is a low relief golden effigy of the king. The figure holds a crook and flail, both of which symbolize the king's power. Guarding the coffin during ancient times was the goddess Selket, who was so powerful, it was said, she could cure the string of the scorpion which she wears on a crown on her head. During the Six Day War the coffin was stored in a secret bomb proof shelter.
King Tut's tomb
Examination of Tutankhamun’s Mummy
According to National Geographic: The historic examination of Tutankhamun’s mummy inside the tomb’s innermost coffin was performed over seven days in October and November of 1925, and meticulously recorded in Carter’s journals. In total, ancient embalmers had concealed more than 140 precious objects between 17 layers of thin linen bandages, reverently wrapped around Tut’s remains. All were thought to magically assist the king in his life after death. “How greatly the dangers were feared for the dead is shown by the profusion of amulets and sacred symbols placed on the mummy, which were intended to protect it against injury on that journey in the underworld,” Carter wrote in 1925. [Source: National Geographic, November 2022]
October 28: From the hands downwards the royal mummy has been covered by a libation, which has darkened the linen and hidden the detail of the inlaid gold bands which bear texts edged with rows of beads. The pharaoh’s golden mask in its striped royal headdress had to remain fixed in place as the team examined the mummy, layer by layer, to prevent damage. The pharaoh was positioned like Osiris, god of the dead, with crossed golden hands clasping a crook and flail. Gold bands encrusted with colored glass and semiprecious stones, featuring intricate designs and hieroglyphics, swaddled the king.
November 11: The under bandages which were very voluminous were found to be equally decayed and fragile, in fact, as it eventually proved the deeper and nearer the body, the worse the condition. Six thin gold collars hung around the neck of the pharaoh, who was considered the divine intermediary between Egyptians and their gods. The vulture, serpent, and falcon are traditional iconography of eternal protection in the hereafter. Testing confirmed high levels of cobalt and nickel in the iron dagger, signs of its possible meteoric origin.
November 12: Further layers of decayed wrappings were carefully removed from the lower part of the mummy … Objects were removed. This enabled the body to be bared down to the skin, from the top of the abdomen to the feet.” A falcon-headed pectoral over Tut’s chest, a bangled arm, and a hilted gold dagger were studded with small, colored glass and stone inlaid in gold. Near the flesh of the king the wrappings were nothing more than charred powder. When removing the lower leg bandages, the team found gold-capped toes wrapped in thimble-like stalls, with the mummy’s feet carefully placed in sandals to preserve the delicate appendages.
November 13: In all the material we have just seen we have a clear insight of the work of the skilled craftsmen of Thebes. The court artisans were naturally picked men, and in this last discovery we can discern the refinement of their art.After unwrapping the decayed layers of cloth over the left arm, the team discovered hinged bracelets and rings adorning the pharaoh’s fingers. Some pieces had fine patterns of granulated beads and were fashioned out of electrum, a mixture of silver and gold. The jewelry bore the likeness of the young king, his name, scarabs, and the gods.
King Tut's throne
November 14: The lower part of the body and limbs having been completely bared and thoroughly examined ... we were able to proceed with the uncovering of the upper part of the trunk of body as far as the shoulders. Ancient Egyptians believed amulets channeled divine forces and protected the deceased. Djed pillars, amulets associated with the god of the underworld, Osiris, were found around Tut’s neck and body. he result of Drs. [Douglas] Derry and Saleh Bey’s study of the bony frame of the mummy, so far exposed, has enabled them to give a definite pronouncement as to the age of Tut.ankh.Amen. This controversial question has now been settled and his age definitely fixed between the limits of 17 to 19 years of age.”
November 15: It is now five days since the examination of the mummy was begun, and by this afternoon we have reached only as far as the neck, having completed the investigation from the feet thus far.” During the ancient process of preparing a pharaoh’s body, which traditionally took 70 days, priests removed Tutankhamun’s internal organs and brain. The resin applied during this period hardened over millennia, so much so that the body had to be dismantled to free it from the coffin and mask.
November 16: It was found that like the body of the king the back of the head was stuck to the mask — so firmly that it would require a hammer chisel to free it. Eventually we used hot knives for the purpose with success. The Book of the Dead, a funerary guide, prescribed the form and placement of amulets. Vultures were thought to protect rulers from evil forces. A linen pad filled hollow space in the gold mask. Serpent and vulture adornments signifying rule over Egypt’s two regions had broken off this jeweled headband and were found by the legs. Tutankhamun’s head, once extricated from the golden mask, wore a beaded cap over a closely shaved head. The autopsy also revealed pierced ears, partially exposed wisdom teeth, and that his brain had been extracted. Pressure of the bandages over his nose flattened his appearance.
Items from Tutankhamun’s Tomb
More than 5,000 objects were jammed into Tutankhamun’s 110-square-meter (1,200-square-foot), four-room tomb. These included everything from miniature model agricultural tools to room-size palatial shrines. Jewels, Clothing, games, furniture, cosmetics, weapons, food and wine were found with his mummy. Most items were inscribed with Tut’s name or included a design with his likeness. According to National Geographic: Tutankhamun was born during Pharaoh Akhenaten’s reign — a time when the traditional worship of a pantheon of gods was replaced with worship of a sun deity. When Tutankhamun took the throne, he brought back Egypt’s many gods. And when he died, their images — as well as objects specially crafted for the burial and heirlooms from his predecessors — went with him to the grave. All were believed to accompany the pharaoh to a comfortable afterlife. [Source: National Geographic, November 2022]
Eye of Horus pendant Tutankhamun small tomb contained hundreds of objects (now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo), many richly decorated and covered in gold, that would be needed by the king in his afterlife. Items inside the box included: 1) Tutankhamuneath Mask; 2) Iron Daggers; 3) Board Games and Toys; 4) Garment Mannequin; 5) Golden Sandals; 6) Tutankhamun's Coffin; 7) Tutankhamun's Throne; 8) Writing Materials; 9) Trumpets; 10) Anubis; 11) Loincloths; 12) Osiris Wall Painting in Tomb; 13) Ivory-covered Box; 14) Anubis and Hathor Wall Painting; 15) Animal Mural; 16) Canopic Jars; 17) Tut and Wife; 18) Cup; 19) Cosmetic Objects; 20) Shabti; 21) Bed; 22) Diadem; 23) Mummy; 24) Hippo Hunter; 25) Model Boats; 26) Ritual Oars; 27) Fans; 28) Jar; 29 ) Pieces of Cloth; 30) Labels; 31 ) Mummy Ornaments; 32 ) Lamps; 33) Breastplate; 34) Figures and Emblems; 35) Bouquets; 36) Raw Materials; 37) Musical Instruments.; 38 ) Regalia; and 39) Clay and Mud Seals. Outside Box: 27) More Shabtis; 28) Wooden Box; 29) Gold Buckle; 30) Headrest.
Models: According to National Geographic: A miniature workforce, outfitted with more than 1,800 tools for farming in the hereafter, these figurines were formed from stone, wood, and faience (ceramics). Ancient Egyptians imagined an afterlife in which the dead would take part in daily activities that included — even for pharaohs — agricultural tasks. To avoid a too-laborious afterlife, the dead were buried with hardworking figurines called shabtis. Many of the over 400 four-to-24-inch-tall pharaoh-shaped shabti figurines were inscribed with spells or their owner’s names.
Food Containers: Boxes of preserved meat were among the first objects found upon opening the tomb. Vessels: More than 30 wine bottles — some still containing residue and many with labels that described their vintage and vineyard — were discovered among hundreds of different vessels.
Clothing: Inside wooden boxes were gloves, more than 130 triangular-shaped loincloths, and shoes and sandals. Bandages were there to safeguard against afterlife hazards. Canes: Experts are studying the precise function of 130 sticks in the tomb. Imagery on some of Tut’s belongings suggests he might have used them for support.
Furniture: Over 80 pieces included three adult thrones and one child’s throne. Beds: Nine, mostly intact. Boxes and Cabinets: Many had elaborate painted scenes. Others had inlaid stone and wood veneering. Baskets: About 130 baskets were found. Woven from grasses or palms and lidded, they came in many sizes and held dried foods such as nuts, dates, or seeds. Tools: Knives, flyswatters, and measuring sticks were included.
Royal Weapons: Tut’s tomb was stocked with hundreds of arrows for use in bows and crossbows, as well as armor and throwing sticks. Hunting is a common decorative theme on many of his objects. Chariots: Six were found overturned and in more than 150 pieces.
Treasures from Tutankhamun’s Tomb
Jewels and Amulets: More than 200 pieces — encrusted with semiprecious stones and glass, and symbolic of nature and gods — would imbue the wearer with powers and protection.
Inlaid Throne: This throne is made from wood, which is partly gold plated and inlaid with minute pieces of ivory, ebony, semi-precious stones and coloured glass. The high curved back is fitted to a stool with crossed legs carved to represent the necks and heads of ducks. The deeply curved seat (designed to hold a cushion) is inlaid with ebony and ivory in imitation of a spotted animal skin. [Source: Robert Partridge, BBC, February 17, 2011]
Panel from the Back of the King's Golden Throne: The most elaborate of Tutankhamun's thrones is made of wood completely covered in gold, and in some places silver, with inlay of coloured semi-precious stones and glass paste. |The back depicts the seated Tutankhamun, with his queen, Ankhesenamun, anointing him with perfume, beneath a floral pavilion. The rays of the sun god Aten shine on the couple, giving them the sign for life, the Ankh. |::|
Tutankhamun's Bed: Several beds were found in the tomb (including one that folded up for travelling). This example is of gilded wood, with an intact base of woven string. A headrest would have been used instead of a pillow, and the rectangular board at one end of the bed is a foot-board (not a head-board as in modern beds). The frame of the bed is supported on feline legs. |::|
Headrest: This elaborate headrest (used instead of a pillow) is made of elephant ivory. When in use, the back of the king's neck would rest on the curved support. The carved figure represents Shu, the god of the atmosphere, and the two lions on the base represent the eastern and western horizons. As well as being a functional object, this headrest has symbolic and ritual meanings too. |::|
Scene from a Painted Chest: This scene is from the side of a chest, made of wood covered in a layer of plaster, which is painted with incredibly detailed scenes of Tutankhamun-either hunting wild animals or in battle. In this scene the king is leading his army into battle. He is shown standing in his chariot, ready to fire his arrows into his enemies, who lie in disorder at his horse's feet. |::|
Ushabti Figure: Tutankhamun's tomb contained 413 Ushabti figures, intended to represent the king and to help him with certain duties in the afterlife. Some are very simple, but others, such as the one here, were carved from wood and are portraits of the king. The figure is shown as a wrapped mummy wearing a gilded crown and holding the royal emblems, the Crook and the Flail. |::|
King's Mannequin: This unusual mannequin or effigy of Tutankhamun is life-sized and shows his upper torso and head, but without any arms. It is made of wood, covered in plaster and painted, and it is a very life-like representation of the king. The exact use of this figure is not certain, but it may have been used to display Tutankhamun's robes or necklaces and collars. |::|
Tutankhamun scarab
Gold Mask: Found covering the head and shoulders of Tutankhamun's mummy, this is perhaps the most famous Egyptian antiquity ever found, and a splendid example of the art of the goldsmith. Made of solid gold, inlaid with semi-precious stones and coloured glass paste, the face is an idealised portrait of the young king. Two protective animals, the cobra and vulture, are shown on the forehead, and the king wears the Nemes head-dress, the false beard of the gods and a broad inlaid collar. |::|
Goddess Selket: The king's internal organs were placed in a Canopic Chest, which was enclosed in an elaborate wooden gilded chest, each side of which was protected by a statue of a goddess. |This goddess is Selket, who wears her emblem, a scorpion, on her head. The figure is highly naturalistic, with her arms outstretched to protect the chest and its contents, and her head is inclined slightly to one side. |::|
Stoppers from the Canopic Chest: The Canopic Chest for Tutankhamun's internal organs was made of a large block of delicately veined and translucent calcite, with four compartments, each sealed by a stopper carved to represent the king. Each compartment contained a miniature coffin holding the organs. Tutankhamun is shown wearing the Nemes head-dress and with the protective cobra and vulture on his brow. |::|
Senet Game: Tutankhamun's tomb contained a number of gaming boards for the game of Senet. The rules of the game are not certain, but it was for two players, whose aim was to knock their opponent off the board. The number of squares moved was decided by throwing sticks (used like dice today). Clearly Tutankhamun was a keen player and this small version is a 'travelling set' made of painted ivory. Senet means "game of passing". It was played throughout much of Egypt's history.|::|
King's Firelighter: Along with all the rich and elaborate objects, the tomb contained some more humble and practical objects, such as this firelighter or fire stick. The end of the spindle would be placed in one of the holes in the base block, and then rotated rapidly by using a bow. The resultant friction on the base board would generate heat, which would ignite dry tinder and start a fire. |::|
Dagger in Tutankhamun's Tomb:Made from a Meteorite
King Tut's dagger
In 2016, scientists announced in the in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science. that an iron dagger entombed with King was likely made with iron from a meteorite. The iron dagger was buried with Tutankhamun centuries before iron smelting emerged in Egypt. Academics had long debated whether the iron for the blade was smelted elsewhere and imported as a gift, or came from a metallic meteorite. Tutankhamun was buried around 1352 B.C.); the smelting technologies that allowed people to heat iron emerged around 1200 B.C. Using portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, physicists have determined, based on the blade’s composition, that it was likely made from meteoritic iron, which the Egyptians called bia-n-pt or, literally, “iron from the sky.” [Source: Samir S. Patel Archaeology magazine, November-December 2016]
The Guardian reported: “In 1925, archaeologist Howard Carter found two daggers, one iron and one with a blade of gold, within the wrapping of the teenage king... The iron blade, which had a gold handle, rock crystal pommel and lily and jackal-decorated sheath, has puzzled researchers... ironwork was rare in ancient Egypt, and the dagger’s metal had not rusted. “Italian and Egyptian researchers analysed the metal with an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine its chemical composition, and found its high nickel content, along with its levels of cobalt, “strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin”. They compared the composition with known meteorites within 2,000km around the Red Sea coast of Egypt, and found similar levels in one meteorite. That meteorite, named Kharga, was found 150 miles (240km) west of Alexandria, at the seaport city of Mersa Matruh, which in the age of Alexander the Great – the fourth century B.C. – was known as Amunia. [Source: The Guardian, June 2, 2016 */]
“The researchers also stood with a hypothesis that ancient Egyptians placed great importance on rocks falling from the sky. They suggested that the finding of a meteorite-made dagger adds meaning to the use of the term “iron” in ancient texts, and noted around the 13th century B.C., a term “literally translated as ‘iron of the sky’ came into use … to describe all types of iron”.
“Finally, somebody has managed to confirm what we always reasonably assumed,” Thilo Rehren, an archaeologist with University College London, told the Guardian. Rehren, who studied the nine meteoritic beads, said “there never has been a reason to doubt this outcome but we were never really able to put this hard data behind it”. He added that other objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb, including jewelry and miniature daggers, are believed to made from meteorite iron. The blade may not be the only item derived from falling rocks on Tut’s person. In 2006, an Austrian astrochemist proposed that an unusual yellowish gem, shaped as a scarab in King Tut’s burial necklace, is actually glass formed in the heat of a meteorite crashing into sand.” */
Where Did the Meteoric Iron for Tutankhamun’s Dagger Come From
Two studies from the early 2020s, which utilized relatively new non-invasive technologies, confirm that the iron used in the blade comes from a meteorite. Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: In an article published in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science a team of scholars based in Japan and Egypt argue that the meteoric blade was manufactured using low-temperature forging (<950 °C). [Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, March 13, 2022]
Where the two studies disagree is the place of production. The first team argue, based on an analysis of the famous Amarna papers (a collection of records found in Armana, Egypt), that the blade was manufactured in ancient Anatolia, modern Turkey. The Armana papers suggest that that at least one dagger was gifted to Amenhotep III by Tushratta the King of Mittanai.
The second team are less confident about the dagger’s place of manufacture. They note that the blade’s pommel is similar to other objects from the Aegean Sea but that the stye of dagger is typically Egyptian. They posit that it was either made in Egypt or abroad for an Egyptian market. They conclude, “As a result, [that] no clear overall picture on the origin of the dagger’s handle and blade” can be ascertained. Other experts contacted by Live Science threw other complicating details into the mix and argued that perhaps the blade and hilt were produced separately.
Hidden Chambers Near Tutankhamun's Tomb?
According to Live Science: In 2015, Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves of the University of Arizona published findings that suggested there were hidden chambers in King Tut's burial chamber. Faint lines and indentations on two of the walls suggested possible doorways, Reeves said. The layout of King Tut's tomb was also suggestive of a hidden chamber, he said. Based on the geometry of the tomb and other features, Reeves put forth the idea that Queen Nefertiti, Tut's stepmom, was hiding behind one of those doors. [Source: Owen Jarus last updated October 24, 2022]
In 2016, Japanese radar technologist Hirokatsu Watanabe performed radar scans of the tomb to look for more evidence of any hidden chambers. The scans, released by the Egypt Ministry of Antiquities, "suggest the presence of two empty spaces or cavities beyond the decorated North and West walls of the Burial Chamber," according to a statement by the antiquities ministry. The scans also showed evidence of metal and organic artifacts within these hidden chambers.
However, archaeologists not involved with the scans urged caution about the hidden chambers because "false positives" are common in the Valley of the Kings, where the tomb resides. Determining what is a human-made chamber or artifact and what is a geological feature can be a challenging task, they have said. According to National Geographic: The limestone in the Valley of the Kings is notoriously inconsistent, as hard and slick as marble in some places and as crumbly as dried mud in others. Such irregularities may have prevented the GPR from getting the clearest picture of what lay beneath the ground. [Source: Ann R. Williams, National Geographic History, November 4, 2022]
3D Image of King Tut's Tomb
Radar Scans of King Tut's Tomb: No Hidden Chambers, No Nefertiti
In May 2016, it was announced that radar scans conducted by a National Geographic team have found that there are no hidden chambers in Tutankhamun's tomb, refuting a claim that the secret grave of Queen Nefertiti lay behind the walls. "If we had a void, we should have a strong reflection," Dean Goodman, a geophysicist at GPR-Slice software told National Geographic News, "But it just doesn't exist."[Source: Owen Jarus, Live Science, May 12, 2016]
Owen Jarus wrote in Live Science: “ Reeves, director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, claimed in 2015 that the tomb of King Tutankhamun holds a hidden doorway that leads to the tomb of Queen Nefertiti, the stepmother of Tutankhamun. Scans carried out that year by radar technologist Hirokatsu Watanabe supposedly showed evidence of two hidden chambers, along with metal and organic artifacts. The findings spurred Egypt's antiquities ministry to issue a statement saying that it was nearly certain that hidden chambers exist in Tutankhamun's tomb.
However, when radar images from Watanabe's scans were released, experts voiced doubts to Live Science that the chambers existed. A new team of researchers supported by the National Geographic Society then conducted a second series of scans...Egypt's antiquities ministry has refused to accept the new results, telling Live Science that it plans more tests to search for a tomb. "Other types of radar and remote-sensing techniques will be applied in the next stage. Once they are determined, we shall publish the updates," the ministry told Live Science in a statement.
Archeologists Clash Over King Tut Hidden Chamber Tomb Theory
In May 2016, archeologists clashed at a conference at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo over the theory that secret burial chambers could be hidden behind the walls of King Tutankhamun's tomb. Associated Press reported: “Speaking at the conference, former antiquities minister and famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass rejected the theory that undiscovered chambers lie behind the tomb and likely contain the tomb of Queen Nefertiti. "In all my career ... I have never come across any discovery in Egypt due to radar scans," Hawass said, suggesting the technology would be better used to examine existing tombs that are known to contain sealed-off chambers. [Source: Associated Press, May 8, 2016]
“British Egyptologist Nicolas Reeves meanwhile defended the theory he put forward last year. Preliminary results of successive scans suggest the tomb contains two open spaces, with signs of metal and organic matter lying behind its western and northern walls. "I was looking for the evidence that would tell me that my initial reading was wrong," he said. "But I didn't find any evidence to suggest that. I just found more and more indicators that there is something extra going on in Tutankhamun's tomb." Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani, who attended the conference, said that scans of the tomb would continue in line with the group's recommendations, but that no physical exploration would be allowed unless he was "100 percent sure there is a cavity behind the wall."”
At the conference the researchers who conducted the radar survey were not allowed to present their research but Watanabe and Reeves were able to present their full papers. Owen Jarus wrote in Live Science: “Hawass criticized the situation at the conference, urging those in charge to accept that Tutankhamun's tomb simply does not contain a secret chamber. "If there is any masonry or partition wall, the radar signal should show an image," he said, according to National Geographic News. "We don't have this, which means there is nothing there." Lawrence Conyers, a professor at the University of Denver who literally wrote the book on the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in archaeology, said that he would like to read Goodman's scientific report. He added that he is disappointed that it is not being released.” [Source: Owen Jarus, Live Science, May 12, 2016]
Central part of the Valley of the King; King Tut's Tomb is KV62 is at the center, right
Search for Tutankhamun’s Mortuary Temple
Thus far Tutankhamun’s mortuary temple has not been found. Jason Urbanus wrote in Archaeology Magazine: Archaeologists believed that, like several other 18th Dynasty (ca. 1550–1295 B.C.) pharaohs, Tutankhamun likely had a mortuary temple somewhere along the Nile’s west bank — but they had been unable to find it in such a vast area dotted with ruins. However, a clue to the temple’s location may have been buried with the pharaoh himself. [Source: Jason Urbanus, Archaeology Magazine, September/October 2022]
Among the golden chairs, beds, and chariots was a relatively simple pottery vessel with an inscription suggesting that Tutankhamun’s temple was located near a place on the west bank known today as Medinet Habu. “The inscription indicated that the mortuary temple was built in the most sacred area of the god Amun, which is Medinet Habu,” says Egyptologist Zahi Hawass. “I thought further investigation was needed in this area.”
Following this small but promising piece of evidence,in 2020 Hawass began his quest to find the temple just north of Medinet Habu, near the site of the mortuary temples of Ay (r. ca. 1327–1323 B.C.) and Horemheb (r. ca. 1323–1295 B.C.), two of Tutankhamun’s successors. As the excavations unfolded,Hawass’ team failed to turn up definitive evidence of Tutankhamun’s mortuary temple, but instead found something unexpected — the lost city of Amenhotep III, “Dazzling Aten”
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP and various books and other publications.
Last updated July 2024