King Tut !

Today, as I came to know, is KING TUT DAY. The day of discovery of King Tutankhamun’s Tomb by the famous archeologist Howard Carter, who uncovered the tomb after a 15-year search. Let us try to know a little about the boy king of Egypt who died at the age of nineteen.

Over 3,000 years ago, King Tutankhamen became the King of Egypt at the age of 9. He died at the age of 19. He is commonly called “King Tut”. He was a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, probably the greatest of the Egyptian royal families. The tomb of Egypt’s “child king” was discovered on November 4, 1922.  The tomb was discovered nearly intact in Egypt’s Valley of Kings.

King Tut’s rule lasted a short nine years, from 1333 B.C. to 1324 B.C. The cause of his death is uncertain. Murder and an innocent accident are the two main theories.

The tomb contained treasure more spectacular than any previous discoveries. The story goes that Carter also found an ancient clay tablet in the antechamber. When he later translated it, the inscription read: “Death will slay with his wings whoever disturbs the peace of the pharaoh”. This would later become the famous “Curse of the Pharaohs”, which in fact is just a myth. The curse, which does not differentiate between thieves and archaeologists, allegedly can cause bad luck, illness or death.

Because the ancient Egyptians saw their pharaohs as gods, they carefully preserved their bodies after death, burying them in elaborate tombs containing rich treasures to accompany the rulers into the afterlife. In the 19th century, archeologists from all over the world flocked to Egypt, where they uncovered a number of these tombs. Many had long ago been broken into by robbers and stripped of their riches.

Inside lay a sarcophagus with three coffins nested inside one another. The last coffin, made of solid gold, contained the mummified body of King Tut. Among the riches found in the tomb–golden shrines, jewelry, statues, a chariot, weapons, clothing–the perfectly preserved mummy was the most valuable, as it was the first one ever to be discovered. Despite rumors that a curse would befall anyone who disturbed the tomb, its treasures were carefully cataloged, removed and included in a famous traveling exhibition called the “Treasures of Tutankhamen.” The exhibition’s permanent home is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Some Items From The Tomb :

• A gold mask that rested directly on top of the pharaoh’s mummy weighs ten kilo-
• Approximately 3500 articles were found in the tomb of King Tut The famous gold
• Jewelry including Bracelets, Anklets, Buckles, Scarabs, Amulets, Pendants, Pectorals, Necklaces, Earrings, Collars, Ear Studs and Rings
• 6 Chariots
• Couches
• Chairs
• 2 Thrones
• Ritual beds and Headrests
• Anthropoid (man-shaped) Gilded Coffins and the Solid Gold coffin
• Shrines – Canopic shrine and Burial shrines
• Funeral Equipment
• Naos covered with gold lamina – a shrine in which statues were kept – this naos was empty but decorated with scenes of daily life and hunting
• Gilded statues – Anubis and life-size sentry statues and other statuettes
• Chests
• Daggers and other weapons and shields
• Musical Instruments
• Scribal Equipment
• Lamps
• Ornaments
• Caskets, Vases, and jars
• 139 ebony, ivory, silver, and gold walking sticks
• Clothing made of the finest linen – 50 garments including tunics, kilts, gloves, scarves and headdresses
• Ostrich fans and Golden Fans
• Games – Ebony gaming boards including Senet
• Food and Wine – 30 jars of wine
• Perfume, oils, and ointments

Watch This Video see the tomb, the treasure, and the mummy.