KING TUTANKHAMUN
King Tut’s tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings and is by far the best preserved royal tomb ever discovered. The tomb, which was thought to be left intact, was believed to be robbed twice. Even though this tomb revealed treasure beyond our imagination, it was modestly furnished compared to the pharaohs before and after his time. This “humble” tomb had remained hidden for 3000 years and had eluded tomb robbers and flash floods throughout the centuries. With the odds stacked against finding this tomb, the discovery of this tomb was brought to light through Theodore M. Davis who was an American business man. Davis found items that led to King Tut’s discovery. The first clue was a famous cache (a group of royal funerary objects from Tell el Amarna that were brought to Thebes to escape destruction). These items were hidden in a safe tomb and according to the clay sealing of the cache it was done by King Tut himself. Some Egyptologists believe this royal cache was probably stored by tomb robbers who hoped to find the treasure later. Among these treasures, furniture that belonged to Tutankhamen was found. In addition, there were other clues that gave way to the existence of this pharaoh’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
Another clue was found inside a pit in 1907. This pit provided seal impressions of Tutankhamen along with embalming materials such as: linen bags, natron, and broken pottery. These findings were overlooked and sent to New York where they underwent examination.
Another clue that led to the existence of King Tut’s tomb was a faience cup with King Tut’s name upon it. Close to this cup and under a large piece of stone, Mr. Davis found fragments of gold foil with Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamun inlaid upon it. These clues were disregarded by Davis although an Egyptologist (Howard Carter) who worked with Davis during his excavations found the items to be very interesting.
After studying and examining these items, Carter was convinced that King Tut’s tomb lay inside the Valley of the Kings. Howard Carter quickly went to Lord Carnarvon, his long time friend, to finance his search for King Tut’s tomb. Carnarvon reviewed the evidence and agreed that the tomb might still be there. They were given the concession to dig in 1914 but had to abandon the dig due to World War I.
After the war had died down, they resumed the dig. Like Davis they turned up without King Tut’s tomb and Carnarvon started to run low on funds. Carnarvon was ready to give up and abandon the project. Carter knew King Tut’s tomb had to be hidden in that location, so he pleaded for one more season of digging. He promised Carnarvon if nothing turned up, he would pay for the dig himself.
Carnarvon agreed and digging began again on November 1, 1921. They began this project by digging close to Ramesses VI’s tomb. While there, the workers were told to remove an Ancient workman’s hut. As they took down this hut a step was found. Carter quickly ordered the steps to be cleared of sand and debris and by noon the next day the doorway was revealed. This door was stamped with the seal of the royal necropolis. The Necropolis seal depicted Anubis standing above five defeated enemies. Carter quickly sent a telegram to Carnarvon which said, “At last have made wonderful discovery in valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations.”
Carnarvon and his daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, quickly left for Egypt to arrive in Alexandria on November 23rd. Once they reached the Archeological spot, they were met by Howard Carter and his assistant, A. R. Callender. They quickly removed the ruble from the 16 steps to show Carnarvon and his daughter the discovery. Both Lady Evelyn and Lord Carnarvon saw the royal stamp of Tutankhamen and the necropolis.
The next day Cater started to drill a hole into the plaster door. In the foreground, Carter, Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn, and Callender waited anxiously. Carter made the hole in the upper left-hand corner and started to chip away at the opening. As the hole became larger, it allowed him to peer inside. Carter held the candle into the darkness and permitted his eyes to adjust to the warm ancient air that exited the tomb. This air made the candle flicker. The gold furniture became illuminated by the small candle. Carter stood frozen and looked with amazement. Lord Carnarvon who waited anxiously for any news quickly exclaimed, “Can you see anything?” Carter replied with, “Yes, wonderful things.” They made the hole large enough to just squeeze by and entered the tomb. They stepped carefully down into the room. The air was warm and a faint smell of perfume and oil filled the air. To them, the tomb looked as if it had remained intact as the day it had been sealed. Carter held up the candle that flickered frantically as they moved about the tomb viewing all the objects. As the candle lit the room to a small glow, three animal couches were visible. As they searched about, Lady Evelyn turned her light to the left and a pile of broken chariots littered the room. Carter explained that tomb robbers had most probably thrashed the chariots in search of gold. At the end of the room and to their right two statuesque guards could be seen. They were life-sized statues of the king that holding maces and staffs. With so much excitement they all agreed to explore more of the remaining tomb the next day.
The next day, Callender came prepared with electric lights and those were set up inside the tomb. This allowed the four of them to explore the tomb more freely. The tomb was eventually excavated and heavily photographed and this excavation consumed many years of Carter’s life. He eventually died in 1939. Now its contents lay inside the Cairo Museum. The treasure toured the world during the 1970’s and the second tour began in 2005.
When Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, he remarked that it was, "the day of days, the most wonderful that I have ever lived through, and certainly one whose like I can never hope to see again". However, the collection is yet to be completely documented, and it took some ten years for Howard Carter to finish excavating the tomb.
There is probably no more famous group of artifacts in the world then those associated with the discovery of young King Tutankhamun's tomb. The collection has traveled the world, setting attendance records most anywhere that it may be found. While its current permanent housing is in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, it will soon be moved to a new down town location.
Tutankamun"s Life
Tutankhamun, or better known as King Tut, was a pharaoh who accomplished little in his life. He did not expand Egypt’s borders nor enjoy triumphant victories like the many pharaohs before him; however, he is the most recognized and probably the most famous pharaoh today. But why is he so famous? This answer can be attributed to the discovery of his tomb and his elaborate treasure.
King Tut’s tomb was a major discovery of the 19th century. It was discovered November 4, 1922 in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter. It was a phenomenal discovery that made headlines across the world. Up until the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, it was believed that all royal tombs had been robbed and drained of their treasure.
For the first time, a tomb, which was almost intact, had been discovered and remained hidden from robbers for thousands of years. The tomb revealed an elaborate lifestyle that many people could only dream about as well as providing clues and insight into King Tut’s life and how he lived.
Even though little is known about Tutankhamen’s life, we do know that he was given the throne at a young age. It has been estimated that he was about eight or nine years old when this throne exchange took place. During the time that this occurred, Egypt was in turmoil due to his father’s religious movement. His father, which is believed to be Akhenaten, had changed the religious system and the old beliefs that had been practiced for hundreds of years before him. This religious change angered many angry citizens and priests. Tutankamen was left with an angry and chaotic Egypt to rule.
The birth name of Tutankhamen was Tutankhaton, which meant “Living Image of the Aten.” His father, which remains a mystery, is believed to be Akhenaten, although some evidence points to Amenhotp III. His mother remains a mystery as well but she is believed to be Kiya. It is thought that Tutankhaton must have had a good childhood. He probably spent his younger years hunting, swimming, and studying. His tomb revealed he enjoyed board games. Like most children, he probably found politics unexciting and went about his environment enjoying leisurely activities. Because he was a child, he probably had an ignorant view about his father’s teachings and politics. He was also believed to be an ill child due to the many walking canes that were found inside his tomb.
After his father’s death, Tutankaton was given the throne. He was wed to his half-sister Ankhensenpaaton, the daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten. After acquiring the throne he began to uphold his father’s beliefs, which was the worship of one god -- the Aton. A few years later Tutankaton started to bring back gods that were forbidden by Akhenaten. He soon changed his name to Tutankhamen along with changing his wife’s name to Ankhesenamun. Their names were changed to reflect their beliefs towards Amun (eighth Heh god of the Ogdoad) and probably to ease the angry priests who missed their old Egypt. They soon decided to leave their father’s capital Amarna and relocated to a new capital in Memphis and Thebes. This movement was probably suggested by Ay (a high ranking official and advisor) to show the Egyptians and priests that things were slowly returning to the original ways.
With the ancient beliefs restored and the movement of the new capital, King Tutankhamen threw lavish parties to show his support for Amun. Tuankhamen was only a child while the old gods were being reinstated, but could a child make decisions of this magnitude at such a young age?
It doesn’t appear so, and it appears that his adviser Ay most likely made major decisions for him. Ay and Hermhab were probably the sole drive behind the throne. Could this be why old gods were reinstated and King Tut changed his name? It could have been a great possibility due to the records left behind, which showed Egypt was in a poor state after Akhenaten.
Sometime during his tenth year of reigning, Egypt was at war with the Hittites. During this confrontation Tutankhamen suddenly died. How he died remains a mystery; however, it’s believed he was murdered. King Tut had not left a male heir to the throne and the children that he had were stillborn. King Tut died at around eighteen or nineteen years old. Ay, who was a high official in Akhenaten’s court, staked his claim as pharaoh. Ay went on to rule for only 4 years and died shortly after acquiring the throne.
Was King Tut Murdered
Was King Tut murdered or did he die from an illness? King Tut’s death has puzzled both historians and Egyptologists for many years. If King Tut was indeed murdered, some research and evidence point to a few limited servants or contacts that could have been responsible for King Tut’s death. But who were these potential people that could have been responsible for such a scandalous act? What motives might the murderers have had if the pharaoh was killed? Why is it believed that King Tut was murdered? What about the prospect of King Tut dying due to an illness? Could this be possible? With all these questions and with the latest research we hope to shed some light into his death.
In 1968, Ronald Harrison (British scientist) took X-rays of King Tut’s skull. While doing an examination he discovered fragments of bone inside the skull possibly indicating trauma to the head. The damages to the head could have been caused after death; however, it is highly unlikely. A trauma specialist from Long Island University insisted that this injury could not have been from a natural cause. The specialist stated, “The blow was to a protected area at the back of the head which you don't injure in an accident, someone had to sneak up from behind.” So who would have carried out this “sneak-attack” if this truly occurred? Why would someone want to kill King Tut?
Moving forward to a more recent time, in 1994, Bob Brier, an Egyptologist from Long Island University insisted that Tutankhamen was murdered by Ay (a high ranking official). Mr. Brier revealed his findings January 17, 1997 in a conference held in California.
Why would Brier suggest it was Ay who killed the pharaoh? This answer is found after King Tut’s death—Ay succeeded the throne. So now that we have a possible motive that’s obvious, how did Ay become king if he was the vizier and not a royal family member? This answer was found through a ring. A ring discovered in Cairo in 1931 shed light into Ay’s tactic used to attain the throne. Ankhesenamun (King Tut’s wife) was forced to marry Ay after King Tut’s death. This gave Ay the right to step into kingship. This marriage was not a happy event as evidence found some points of distress and despair on Ankhesenamum’s part.
Some Egyptologists believe that Ankhesenamun could have made a desperate plea for help. But why would they believe this? Some tablets, which are dated towards the end of the Amarna period, were discovered. These tables appeared to be from Ankhesenamum to the Hittites asking for help. The Hittites were enemies of Egypt at the time.
These tablets, dating back to the end of the 18th dynasty, revealed a possible last plea for intervention to the Hittites revealing a potential scandal in the making. Some Egyptologist’s strongly associate this letter with Ankhesenamun as a last resort in the hopes of saving her throne and her status. She informed the Hittite king, Suppiluliumas, to send a son to wed her. She clearly stated her humiliation and her feelings of being worried. The queen pointed out the loss of her husband and stated, “Never shall I pick out a servant of mine and make him my husband. I am afraid!” Was this servant Ay she was talking about?
The Hittite son who was sent to be married never made it to Egypt. He was assassinated. Could Ay have been responsible for this?Ankhesenamun was eventually forced to marry Ay but what transpired for this to occur still remains a mystery. But is Ay the only suspect in the murder of King Tut?
The king's deputy, also known as Horemheb, may have been responsible for the death of King Tut as well. The possibility that King Tut was getting older and probably ready to take powers into his own hands also may have contributed to his early demise. This might have worried Horemheb and could have been a possible motive. After Ay passed away, Horemheb became the pharaoh and restored Ancient Egypt to its traditional times. He moved his capital to Memphis and returned all the temples to the rightful priests. During his reign as pharaoh he removed any sign of the Amarna Period. It could be that if he contributed to King Tut’s death, that this was done to restore Egypt to its traditional ways and not so much due to the greed factor. Although, in hindsight, it appears that King Tut was also leaning in the direction of restoring Egypt to the more habitual ways before his father’s reign. Nonetheless, Horemheb can not be ruled out as a suspect.
Mohamed El-Saghir, head of Upper Egyptian Antiquities, believes that Horemheb could not have committed the murder of the pharaoh. Mohamed El-Saghir believes that because King Tut was restoring Egypt to its traditional ways, Horemheb would not have had a reason to kill him. He does find it interesting that Horemheb removed King Tut’s name from several items and replaced it with his. Even so, it’s still not enough evidence.
Ay is also ruled out by Mohamed El-Saghir. According to Mohamed El-Saghir, Ay would not have killed the king as Ay assisted the pharaoh with personal and important rituals. He goes on to say, "There is insufficient evidence that he is guilty. He was the high priest and was, moreover, the one who wrote Tutankhamen's negative confession and performed his ‘opening of the mouth’ ceremony.” If Ay and Horemheb are ruled out, then how else might have King Tut died?
Other theories as well have come to light though scientific examination. Forensic experts from Egypt did an examination on King Tut. It was found that he may have been poisoned. They believed the blow to the head could have happened during mummification. "His body might have been dropped on the floor and his head hit the flagstones; there is no trace of bleeding around the blow," said the experts.
Just recently, new CT scans of King Tut have been performed and the results shed new light into King Tut’s death. The scans revealed a broken leg that may have been responsible for the death of King Tut. Doctor Zahi Hawass says, "We found that he had a fracture on the left leg. And that fracture proved to have happened a few days before he died. It was before mummification, and therefore it could happen, we are not sure, it could (have) happened that he died because of this accident." So King Tut might have not been murdered after all.
If King Tut was murdered, which the evidence points in that direction, it could never be solved due to many years of tarnish. King Tut was the son of the “Heretic” Pharaoh—Akhenaten. This could have bred many angry individuals who wanted nothing or anything to do with Akhenaten. If it had not been his advisors or confidants, it surly must have been the priests who were forced to shutdown temples because of Akhenaten. One thing is for sure, the quest for answers to King Tut’s death, continue to remain a mystery and they may always remain an unknown.
The Curse of the Mummy
The curse of the mummy began when many terrible events occurred after the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Legend has it that anyone who dared to open the tomb would suffer the wrath of the mummy. Because mummies have been associated with many magical powers throughout history, some of the mummies found from Egypt were ground into a fine powder and sold as this mystical mummy powder. It's believed the powder had magical healing powers and it wasn't until the discovery of King Tut and the hype of the media that things would change forever.
The hype began when Lord Carnarvon, the person who funded the discovery of King Tut’s Tomb, died shortly after the discovery. The path to his death began in the spring of 1923 when he was bitten on the cheek by a mosquito. During his morning shaving routines, he further aggravated the mosquito bite. It soon became infected and Lord Carnarvon found himself ill. He suffered a high fever and chills. A doctor was sent to examine him but medical attention arrived too late and Lord Carnarvon died. At that exact moment the lights in Cairo mysteriously went out.
Once Carnarvon died the media went wild with stories of his death. They claimed King Tut wanted vengeance and announced a mummy's curse, which targeted those who had entered the tomb. Not only did the death of Carnarvon get all the people in an uproar but other stories began to surface as well. Of the stories that surfaced, two remain prominent. One of the prominent stories is that a cobra killed Howard Carter's (explorer who discovered King Tut’s tomb) pet canary after the discovery of King Tut's tomb. The other story is that Lord Carnarvon's dog howled and dropped dead at two in the morning when Carnarvon died.
What is interesting is that Howard Carter lived a decade after this major discovery. So what happened to Howard Carter during all this hype? Howard Carter spent his last years logging and recording every artifact found in the tomb. Why didn't he suffer the curse of the mummy? He was, after all, the first to enter the tomb.
Did King Tut's Tomb really unleash a curse? New findings are showing that bacteria on the wall of the tomb might have been the cause of the curse. The bacteria would release spores into the air allowing
t to be breathed. This in turn caused people who came into contact with these spores to become ill. Could this be what killed Lord Carnarvon? It appears that this could have contributed to his demise, as well as the fact that he was not in the best of health.
Whether the mummy’s curse is fact or fiction, this story seems to interest people even today. The myth of the curse has remained with King Tut and continues to make people question as to whether the curse was really unleashed. What is known is that when you mix propaganda, facts, and hype you get a story that can be exciting. It all really boils down to one question. Do you believe in the curse of the mummy? We will leave that for you to decide.
source: Kingtutone.com
The Tomb of Tutankhamun (King Tut)
It is not the grandest tomb in Egypt, and was certainly not occupied by one of Egypt's most powerful rulers. But in general, the population of the world know the tomb of Tutankhamen (KV 62) better then any other, because of all the royal tombs, it was found mostly intact. What was found in this tomb surely gives us pause to understand the motive behind ancient tomb robberies. If such a vast fortune in treasure (in all, some 3,500 items were recovered) was found in this tiny tomb owned by a relatively minor king, what must have dazzled the eyes of the thieves who first entered the huge tomb of Ramesses II, or one of Egypt's other grand kings? Of course, the list of funerary equipment was very useful to Egyptologists, giving them an idea of what had been removed from other royal tombs. The tomb, which lies in an area that was not normally used for royal burials in the Valley center, was apparently quickly buried deep below the surface of the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes). It was forgotten about until Howard Carter discovered it on November 4th, 1922. Part of Howard Carter's luck was that it was not discovered earlier when, his predecessor in the Valley, Theodore Davis who was American, came within little more then a meter of finding it himself.It is a little known fact that Howard Carter did not excavate every part of the King’s Valley, down to bedrock in his search for Tutankhamun. Having identified the area, in the centre of the Valley, most likely to produce the sort of find his patron desired; & which would indeed do so, many years before he seems to have expended much of his efforts in the search for answers to much more academic questions; such as the hunt for foundation deposits – in order to clarify which king was actually responsible for the construction of which tomb, & only went flat out in his search for Tutankhamun’s tomb, when it became apparent that his source of funds might be about to dry up.
From "Recent Excavations in the Valley of the Kings by the Amarna Royal Tombs Project" by Glen Parry
Indeed Howard Carter was told, prior to finding the tomb, that Lord Carnarvon was withdrawing from the project, but after pleading his case, was given one more season of excavation in order to find it.Actually, we are told that after having initially discovered the steps of the tomb on November 4th, Carter initially telegraphed Lord Carnarvon, who was still in England at his Hampshire estate, after which Carter refilled the stairway to await his benefactor's arrival. Upon Lord Carnarvon's arrival on November 24th, work was resumed and by November 26th, the interior was observed for the first time since antiquity.After its discovery, the worldwide media spectacle the discovery created along with movies about the curse of the mummies which are still produced every so often, is probably as interesting as the actual tomb itself. What many people do not realize is that it took Carter, with his attention to details, another ten years to fully explore, excavate and clear the tomb. Legend has it that Carter posted the first notice of discovery of the tomb on the bulletin board at the Old Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor.
Tutankhamen was certainly not one of the greatest of Egyptian pharaohs. In fact, prior to the discovery of his tomb in 1922, little of his life was known. Today, we know much more about this king, but surprisingly little of that knowledge comes from the treasures of his tomb. Tutankhamen died about 1325 BC, after only nine years of rule. Apparently he died fairly suddenly, because a proper royal tomb, to our knowledge, was never prepared for this pharaoh. Instead, the tomb of Tutankhamen is relatively small and follows a design more often found in non-royal tombs. Some scholars believe that the tomb that King Ay was eventually interred in was actually begun for Tutankhamen.
Actually, Tutankhamen's tomb is not nearly as interesting as other tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It consists of an entrance leading to a single corridor, followed by several annexes for funerary equipment. At a 90 degree right angle is the small burial chamber, with another annex attached leading back in the direction of the entrance. This is not much of a tomb compared to other royal tombs, and most all of the funerary equipment will not be found here, but rather in the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo, if it is not elsewhere on exhibit.
Only the burial chamber received decorations. Here, all of the walls have the same golden background. On the west wall we find scenes depicting the apes of the first hour of the Amduat. On the south wall the king is followed by Anubis as he appears before Hathor. Here, there is also a scene of the King being welcomed into the underworld by Hathor, Anubis and Isis. The north wall depicts the King before Nut with the royal ka embracing Osiris. On the same wall, we also find the scene of Ay performing the opening of the Mouth ritual before the mummy of Tutankhamun. Finally, on the east wall, Tutankhamun's mummy is depicted being pulled on a sledge during the funeral procession. Within the procession are two viziers to the king, and a third person who might be Horemheb.
It should be noted that this tomb was not found completely intact. In fact, there had been at least two robberies of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamen's burial, probably by members of the tomb workers. King Tut's Golden Shrinesjust behind the blocking of the Burial Chamber entrance in the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Howard Carter and his assistants were met by what appeared to be a wall of gilded wood inlaid with dazzling blue faience. What they were actually seeing was the outermost of a group of nested shrines that protected the king's sarcophagus. It was a carefully built construct mostly built of cedar and held together by tenons of oak, Christ's Thorn wood and bronze. Within this shrine were contained a pall frame, a second, third and fourth inner shrine and then the sarcophagus.
Each shrine was copper-bound at its lower edge and fitted at its eastern end with double folding doors.
The doors were held shut by ebony bolts sliding within massive, silver-coated staples. Two other staples on each door were intended to receive a cord binding and seal. However, on the outermost shrine, neither the cord nor the sealing was present, though on the second and third shrines, these corded seals not only remained, but were intact. The door of the fourth (innermost) shrine had never been sealed.
These shrines were extremely fragile when discovered by Carter. Their gilded gesso surfaces had parted in places due to the shrinkage of the base wood. Furthermore, the shrines so closely filled the confines of this hot, stuffy chamber that their disassembly into 51 sections, some weighing as much as half a ton, and their removal from the tomb was no easy task. According to Howard Carter, "We bumped our heads, nipped our fingers, we had to squeeze in and out like weasels, and work in all kinds of embarrassing positions". Not until the end of the second season, after "eighty-four days of real manual labour", was the work of dismantling completed. At that point the panels of the shrines lay propped against the walls of the Burial Chamber, while their roof sections were in the Antechamber of the tomb. Conservation began in 1928, which used up over half a ton of paraffin wax. Only two seasons later were the shrines strong enough to be transported to the Cairo Museum where they could be properly examined.
The first shrine that Carter saw, the outermost one, measures 5.08 by 3.28 meters and was 2.75 meters (about 9 feet) high. With its battered walls and double-sloping roof, it bears a striking resemblance to the sed-festival pavilion in which the king achieved rejuvenation and rebirth. However, in Carter's view, the shape was chosen just as much for aesthetics as for ritual requirement.It was built of heavy cedar panels some 32 millimeters thick. Both the inside and outside of these panels were gessoed, gilded and inlaid. The sides and rear panel of the shrine are decorated with double tyet-knot amulets of Isis and djed (stability) hieroglyphs of Osiris, all set against a brilliant blue faience background. A pair of protective Wadjet-eyes decorate what was intended to be the shrine's north side, but as erected these eyes actually faced south. The two doors are each adorned with a rectangular panel with sunk reliefs. The one on the left depicts a headless and pawless leonine creature, while the one on the right has a seated divinity with twin feather headdress, grasping an ankh (life) sign.
In opposed to the exterior, the inside surfaces of the shrine are heavily inscribed with extracts from the Book of the Dead, spells 1, 134 and 141-2, and also from the Book of the Divine Cow (the legend of the Destruction of Mankind). The inside of the roof, the middle section of which was incorrectly inversed, is decorated with winged solar discs and 13 vultures.
Situated between the outer shrine and the first inner shrine was poorly constructed, nine-piece gabled framework of gessoed, varnished and gilded wood measuring 4.32 by 2.93 meters. It stood 2.78 meters high. Over this framework had been carelessly spread a coarsely woven, dark brown linen pall, itself measuring 5.5 by 4.4 meters. It was actually made up of several widths of material that were sewn together.
Decorating the cloth were large, 4.7 centimeter marguerites of gilded bronze which had been sewn onto the fabric at intervals of 19.5 and 22 centimeters. J. H. Breasted thought that this pall was "like a night sky spangled with stars." Regrettably, while Carter and his team had expended considerable time and ingenuity trying to preserve this extremely fragile item, which had torn apart from the weight of its bronze sequins, it suffered extensive damage due to its having been left out in the open during the period that the American team was locked out of the tomb and laboratory (See the politics of the King Tut excavation). While Carter was extremely agitated on discovering the ruined condition of the fabric upon his return to work, he limited his remarks by saying that, "Well, anyway, it's your pall, not mine, and it's the only one in the world."
The second outermost shrine was different from the first both in its dimensions (3.75 meters deep by 2.35 meters wide by 2.25 meters high) and in its shape. Unlike that of the outermost shrine, the second shrine had a sloping roof which reached its maximum height above the entrance doors. The shrine appears to imitate, in its basic form, the shape of the Per-wer, the ancient shrine of Upper Egypt. This shrine was made of 16 heavy wooden sections. Most of the surfaces, both inside and out, had been gessoed and covered with a layer of gold leaf. The roof was covered with thick black resin divided into squares by gilded bands of incised decoration. The exterior surface of each door was adorned with a superbly crafted depiction of the king before Osiris (left) and Re-Horakhty (right), executed in sunk relief. On the back of the shrine stand Isis and Nephthys, who as the sisters of Osiris would have been the principal mourners at the deified king's funeral. The remainder of the outer surface is decorated with texts and vignettes from various funerary compositions, including the Book of the Dead spells 1, 17, 26, 27 and 28, as well as a unique cryptographic funerary book which has as its theme the triumph of light.
Inside, the decorative theme of this shrine is dominated by a figure of the winged sky-goddess Nut surmounting the hieroglyph for "gold" which, together with five vultures having outspread wings, decorates the ceiling. To either side of the goddess are spells from the Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead. The inside surface of the right-hand door carries a depiction of a donkey-headed herald and a ram-headed guardian of the underworld, while that of the left door panel carries a similar underworld guardian and a human-headed figure wearing a close-fitting cap. Above is text from spell 144 of the Book of the Dead, invoking the keepers of the gates of the underworld. The right and left side panels of the shrine are decorated with sunk-relief vignettes illustrating the Book of the Dead spell 148 (the seven celestial cows, the bull of heaven and the four rudders of heaven). Another vignette depicts spells 141-2, with additional texts from spells 130, 133, 134 and 148. The back panel of the shrine is inscribed in finely delineated hieroglyphs with Book of the Dead spell 17, a statement of the solar doctrine.
One interesting feature of this shrine is that it has been re-inscribed. The more brilliant gilding of the cartouches reveals that the nomen "Tutankhamun" was written over an original name, a component part of which, according to Carter, was '-aten."
The third outer shrine is very similar in form to the second, with a sloping roof and, of course, somewhat smaller dimensions. It was 3.4 meters long by 1.92 meters wide with a maximum height of 2.15 meters. This structure was built using ten separate sections, and like the first shrine, it is gilded over its entire surface and decorated in sunk relief with vignettes and extracts from various Egyptian funerary texts. The roof of the third outer shrine depicts a winged solar disc and a vertical row of eight spread-winged birds, including four vultures, two mythical serpent-headed vultures and two falcons. The sides of the shrine are inscribed with abridged versions of the second and sixth divisions of the Book of What Is in the Underworld (the Amduat). The outer faces of the doors and the back panel of the shrine are inscribed with extracts from spell 148 of the Book of the Dead, and are adorned with four ram-headed guardian figures and four heralds, each grasping one or two knives, and variously represented as human-headed, antelope-headed or crocodile-headed.The decorative theme of the top of this shrine is balanced on the side of the roof with a similar decoration, consisting of a winged disc, five vultures, a serpent-headed vulture, a sixth vulture and a falcon. The inner walls of the shrine are decorated with processions of various gods, while on the inside door panels and end are shown Isis and Nephthys, their wings again outspread to protect King Tut.
The final, innermost of King Tut's four shrines measures 2.90 meters deep by 1.48 meters wide and 1.9 meters high. It was constructed from only five separate sections. We believe that it is a reconstruction in miniature of the prehistoric "Palace of the North", the Per-nu. Its has a barrel-vaulted roof, decorated in bas relief with kneeling figures of Isis, Nephthys, Selkis and Neith, alternating with Wadjet-eyes, recumbent Anubis dogs and vultures, each on a pylon. The right and left side panels depict, respectively, a procession of Imsety, Anubis, Duamutef and Geb, and Hapy, Anubis, Qebhsenuef and Horus between figures of Thoth supporting the sky. The end panel and the outside door panels show protective images of the winged Isis and her sister, Nephythys. The ceiling of this shrine is adorned with a magnificent representation of the goddess Nut, again with outspread wings, flanked by the falcon-headed Horus. Once more, Isis.and Nephthys guard the doors, while the interior wall panels carry the text of spell 17 from the Book of the Dead.
The Sarcophagus
The sarcophagus measures 2.74 meters long by 1.47 meters wide and is 1.47 meters high. It was carved from a single block of the hardest quartzite and was supported at each corner upon a block of calcite (alabaster). According the J. H. Breasted:"When Carter and I opened the doors of the third and fourth shrines and beheld the massive stone sarcophagus within, I felt for the first time the majesty of the dead Pharaoh's actual presence."The sloping lid of the sarcophagus, with its winged sun disc at the head end and three vertical columns of incised hieroglyphs, was made of red granite, painted to match the yellow of the sarcophagus box. Obviously, the lid was not a match to the box, and Carter suggested that it was possibly a replacement for the intended lid, which had not been ready in time for the funeral. The lid was even cracked across the center, perhaps due to some accident at the time of its hurried installation. This crack was then filled with gypsum, which was itself touched up to blend in with the new color of the lid. The decorative theme of the sarcophagus is dominated by the four tutelary deities, Isis, Nephthys, Selkis and Neith, carved in high relief to the traditional proportions of the Pre-Amarna, 18-square grid and delicately picked out in colors. They stand at each of the four corners of the sarcophagus box, their winged arms outstretched to envelop the box in a protective embrace. The box has a cavetto cornice at the top edge, which is balanced at the bottom by a dado of double tyet and djed amuletes. Each long side of the sarcophagus is adorned with one horizontal and six vertical columns of deeply incised hieroglyphs and at its westernmost end is an incised Wadjet-eye. The east and west ends of the box are similarly inscribed with a single horizontal band of text and fourteen vertical texts.
Carter says that "the crack (in the lid) greatly complicated our final effort, the raising of (the sarcophagus) lid." However, by passing angle irons beneath the long edges of the lid, permitting "it to be raised by differential pulleys as one piece", the difficulty was resolved. On February 12th, 1924, the tackle was brought into play. The ropes tightened and the ton and and a quarter granite lid slowly lifted into the air. According to J. H. Breasted:"The sarcophagus lid trembled, began to rise. Slowly, and swaying uncertainly, it swung clear.
At first we saw only a long, narrow, black void. Then across the middle of this blackness we gradually discerned fragments of granite which had fallen out of the fracture in the lid. They were lying scattered upon a dark shroud through which we seemed to see emerging an indistinct form...."
Source: Touregypt
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