THE SECRETS OF TUTANKHAMUN
Egypt’s Boy King and His Incredible Tomb
Tutankhamun's status as ancient Egypt’s most famous pharaoh was cemented when his intact tomb was discovered by archaeologist Howard Carter in November 1922
: His life, times – and afterlife
Born: 1341 BC, died: 1324 BC
* Family: King Tut's genealogy has been a subject of debate, but he is most commonly thought to be the son of Akhenaten and Queen Kiya. Incest was not a problem then – he is thought to have married his half-sister Queen Ankhesenepatan (or Ankhesenamun as she was later known) with whom he probably had two daughters who died at an early age.
The young royal: under his reign, which began at the tender age of 12, he oversaw big changes. As well as some personal transformations – in his third year as king he changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun – he reversed his father's revolution by lifting a ban on the old gods and temples and moving the capital back to Thebes from Akhenaten. He also tried – and failed – to restore diplomatic relations with neighbouring kingdoms
Death: Tutankhamun's temple was small compared to those of other Egyptian monarchs. His and his wife's bodies were mummified with two small coffins believed to be their children
Afterlife: quiet until he was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. His temple was swiftly pillaged and in 2005 his mummified corpse removed from his tomb
King Tutankhamun's golden sarcophagus displayed at his tomb in a glass case at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt
Tutankhamun actually had five royal names. These took the form of short sentences that outlined the focus of his reign. Officially, he was
Horus Name: Image of birth
Two Ladies Name: Beautiful of laws who quells the Two Lands / who makes conten all the gods
Golden Horus Name: Elevated of appearances for the god / his father Re
Prenomen: Nebkheperure
Nomen: Tutankhamun
His last two names, known today as the prenomen and the nomen, are the names that we see written in cartouches (oval loops) on his monuments
His last two names, known today as the prenomen and the nomen, are the names that we see written in cartouches (oval loops) on his monuments
Tutankhamun has the smallest royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings
the principal pharaohs assembled exceptionally prominent pyramids in Egypt's northern deserts. In any case, when of the New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC), this style had finished. Most rulers were presently covered in relative mystery in rock-cut tombs burrowed into the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile at the southern city of Thebes (cutting edge Luxor). These tombs had unnoticeable entryways, however were both extensive and very much beautified inside
Luxor, Valley of the Kings
Burial grounds conveyed their own intense enchantment, and dead rulers were thought to have incredible spirits that may profit others. Entombment among his predecessors would have caused Tutankhamun to accomplish his own existence in the wake of death. It, thusly, appears to be likely that Tutankhamun would have wished to be covered in an amazing tomb in either the primary valley or in a branch, the Western Valley, where his granddad, Amenhotep III, was covered. In any case, whatever he may have had proposed, we realize that Tutankhamun was really covered in a confined tomb cut into the floor of the fundamental valley
It might be that Tutankhamun basically passed on too youthful to even consider completing his goal-oriented plans. His own tomb was incomplete, thus he must be covered in a substitute, non-regal tomb. Be that as it may, this appears to be improbable, as different rulers figured out how to construct appropriate tombs in only a few years. It appears to be undeniably more probable that Tutankhamun's replacement, Ay, a ruler who acquired the position of royalty as an old man, made a vital trade. Only four years after Tutankhamun's demise, Ay himself was covered in an astonishing tomb in the Western Valley, near to the tomb of Amenhotep III
The out of the blue little size of Tutankhamun's tomb has prompted ongoing recommendations that there might be parts up 'til now unfamiliar. As of now Egyptologists are researching the likelihood that there might be mystery chambers taken cover behind the put mass of his internment chamber
(Tutankhamun's tomb (view original
He was buried in a second-hand coffin
Tutankhamun’s mummy lay within a nest of three golden coffins, which fitted snugly one inside another like a set of Russian dolls. During the funeral ritual the combined coffins were placed in a rectangular stone sarcophagus. Unfortunately, the outer coffin proved to be slightly too big, and its toes peeked over the edge of the sarcophagus, preventing the lid from closing. Carpenters were quickly summoned and the coffin’s toes were cut away. More than 3,000 years later Howard Carter would find the fragments lying in the base of the sarcophagus
All three of Tutankhamun’s coffins were similar in style: they were “anthropoid”, or human-form coffins, shaped to look like the god of the dead, Osiris, lying on his back and holding the crook and flail in his crossed arms. But the middle coffin had a slightly different style and its face did not look like the faces on other two coffins. Nor did it look like the face on Tutankhamun’s death mask. Many Egyptologists now believe that this middle coffin – along with some of Tutankhamun’s other grave goods – was originally made for the mysterious “Neferneferuaten” – an enigmatic individual whose name is recorded in inscriptions and who may have been Tutankhamun’s immediate predecessor. We do not know what happened to Neferneferuaten, nor how Tutankhamun came to be buried in his or her coffin
Tutankhamun's gold mask
The discovery of Tut’s tomb made headlines around the world. What most impressed people was not Tut’s mummy but the offerings buried with him, described by Carter as a “strange and wonderful medley of extraordinary and beautiful objects.”
The greatest and perhaps now most iconic treasure was the king’s death mask, containing more than 20 pounds of gold. Other items buried with him to ensure that he remained strong, wealthy, and well fed in the afterlife included a leopard-skin cloak, four game boards, six chariots, 30 wine jars, and 46 bows. Carter spent nearly a decade cataloging the 5,398 grave goods
It's amazing !!
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