How Tutankhamun's tomb was found. Opening of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun
E Howard Carter's expedition found stone sarcophagus Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Since ancient times high culture Egypt caused enthusiastic surprise among the peoples of the world. Scientists and philosophers from Greece came to Egypt in search of knowledge. Sick people were brought to the Nile Valley, as Egyptian doctors were considered the best healers of human ailments. But Egypt - a country of stone wonders - beckoned with its incomparable monuments of art. There is a lot in this post under CAT interesting photos from excavations...
Tutankhamun's tomb, the only unlooted tomb, was discovered in 1922 by two Englishmen, Egyptologist Howard Carter and amateur archaeologist Lord Carnarvon. This find, which has reached us almost in its original form after more than three thousand years, is considered one of the most important finds in archaeology.
The tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings, where from the 16th century BC. e. to 11th century BC e. Tombs were built to bury the pharaohs - the kings of Ancient Egypt.
Luxor: King's Valley, Photographer: Peter J. Bubenik
The valley is located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Thebes (modern Luxor). The search for her took a long time. Archaeological expeditions have been working in the Valley of the Kings for a long time, which seemed to have dug up everything that was possible, and no new finds were expected. However, Carter was sure that Tutankhamun's tomb must be somewhere here. Scientists did not give up hope that, perhaps, they would be able to find the entire burial.
Patron and organizer of excavations Lord Carnarvon reading a book on the veranda of Carter's house in the Valley of the Kings. Around 1923
Carter had a reputation as a meticulous scholar, meticulously keeping records and caring for the safety of antiquities. He divided the valley into squares and began to methodically check them. For several archaeological seasons, Carter's expedition carried out excavations in the Valley of the Kings, but results achieved still left much to be desired.
In 1922, Lord Carnarvon, who had spent a fair amount of money on archaeological work and was discouraged by the failures, announced to Howard Carter his decision to curtail the search for the tomb in the area. And then Carter resumed excavations in an area he had previously neglected near a group of destroyed huts. And luck smiled on them.
On November 4, 1922, Carter's expedition discovered a small step carved into the rock, and by the end next day the entire staircase leading to the door was cleared of sand. Carter sent an urgent telegram to Lord Carnarvon, begging him to come immediately.
Photo at the entrance to the tomb. They don't yet know what awaits them there...
On November 26, in the presence of Lord Carnarvon, Carter made a hole in the corner of the door and, illuminating the resulting opening with a candle flame, carefully looked inside.
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker open the entrance to a massive sanctuary in the tomb's burial chamber and see Tutankhamun's sarcophagus for the first time. January 4, 1924
« At first it was impossible to see anything; the flame flickered slightly and fluctuated in the flow of warm air coming from the room. Only after some time, when my eyes got a little used to the light, the outlines of the room began to gradually emerge from the darkness, strange animals, statues and gold - the glitter of gold everywhere" Howard Carter
It took Carter a full eight years to ensure that every item in the varied and numerous grave goods was carefully documented and cataloged before the tomb was completely cleared. In total there will be about three and a half thousand different precious objects.
A ceremonial bed in the shape of a celestial cow, food supplies and other items in a room Carter dubbed the tomb's "anteroom." December 1922
Model boats in the room Carter dubbed the tomb's "treasury." Around 1923
A gilded bed in the shape of a lion, a chest for storing clothes and other items in the “hallway”. Statues guard the walled entrance to the pharaoh's tomb. December 1922
Under the lion-shaped bed in the "hallway" are several boxes and drawers, as well as an ebony and ivory chair made for the child Tutankhamun. December 1922
A gilded bust of the sky goddess Mehurt, depicted as a cow, as well as chests in the tomb's "treasury". Around 1923
Chests in the "treasury" of the tomb. Around 1923
Intricately carved alabaster vases in the “hallway”. December 1922
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and Egyptian workers remove the partition separating the "hallway" from the burial chamber. December 2, 1923
On February 16, 1923, a British expedition led by archaeologist Howard Carter found the main treasure of the pyramid: the stone sarcophagus of the pharaoh.
Inside the massive sanctuary in the burial chamber, a huge linen cloth with golden rosettes, reminiscent of the night sky, covers nested smaller arks. December 1923
Howard Carter, Arthur Mays, and an Egyptian worker carefully roll up the linen. December 30, 1923
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and Egyptian workers carefully dismantle one of the golden sarcophagi inside the burial chamber. December 1923
Carter examines the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. October 1925
When the sarcophagus was opened in February, a golden coffin containing his mummy was found inside. The sarcophagus was gold and contained more than 100 kg of pure gold, and the body of the pharaoh located there was mummified.
SARCOPHAGUS OF TUTANKHAMUN
1 - the first anthropoid coffin (wood); 2 — second anthropoid coffin (wood, gilding); 3 — third anthropoid coffin (cast gold); 4 — golden mask; 5 — Tutankhamun’s mummy; 6 — ark made of red quartzite
The room where the sarcophagus was located was filled with so many precious objects that it took five whole years to dismantle them. The sarcophagus containing Tutankhamun's mummy is left in its tomb in the Valley of the Kings. All the treasures found there are now kept in the Cairo Museum.
Restorers Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas study a golden chariot from the tomb of Tutankhamun outside the walls of the “laboratory” in the tomb of Pharaoh Seti II. December 1923
The pharaoh reigned for about 9 years, from approximately 1332 to 1323 BC (died at the age of 19).
Curse of Tutankhamun
The first victim was a bird that lived in a cage in Carter's Luxor house. After they found the tomb, it was eaten by a cobra - according to Egyptian mythology, an animal that slays the enemies of the pharaoh. The interpretation spread in the press that this was a bad omen for the excavation participants.
The mysterious deaths following archaeologist Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's intact tomb are now being blamed on mold. It turned out that the mold fungus Aspergillus niger lived in the tissues of the mummy's lungs, which can be fatal for people with weakened immune systems or with a damaged pulmonary system.
The first victim of “Tutankhamun,” the organizer and sponsor of the excavations, Lord Carnarvon, long before the discovery of the tomb, was in a terrible car accident in which he damaged his lung. He died of pneumonia some time after visiting the tomb.
Following him, another participant in the excavations died, Arthur Mace, who, by tragic accident, was seriously ill before the start of the excavations. His weakened immune system has become an ideal environment for the deadly properties of mold to manifest itself. But people associate their death with a curse.
Howard Carter himself (pictured), who, it would seem, was the first to fall victim to the “curse,” died 16 years after the opening of the tomb, at the age of 64, and the natural causes of his death are not denied by the adherents of the “curse.” But with the curse this whole story is more mysterious...
(WITH) different sources Internet
The story about the tomb of Tutankhamun, the world-famous ancient Egyptian pharaoh, is briefly summarized in this article. The report on the tomb of Tutankhamun can be supplemented with interesting facts.
"The Tomb of Tutankhamun" short message
Tutankhamun was the pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of the pharaohs of Egypt, and he ruled the kingdom from 1347-1337 BC. This young ruler became a symbol of ancient Egyptian civilization and the most famous pharaoh thanks to the discovery of his tomb. She was the only one in the Valley of the Kings that was practically untouched by robbers.
The tomb of the pharaoh was discovered in the Valley of the Kings. And this is the only tomb that reached researchers in its original form. This despite the fact that it was clearly hidden by thieves twice. The tomb was discovered in 1922 by two Englishmen - Egyptologist Howard Carter and amateur archaeologist Lord George Carnarvon. Here they discovered a lot of decoration, a sarcophagus made of gold with the body of a mummified pharaoh. But let's talk about everything in more detail.
The history of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb
The search for Tutankhamun's tomb began in 1916. The idea of archaeologist Carter and Lord Carnavon seemed utopian to everyone, because until that time the Valley of the Kings had been shoveled up and down. But the British stubbornly pursued their goal for 6 years. Having dug up all the areas, they did not touch a small part of the area where, in their opinion, there were huts of the tomb builders.
Under the first hut, Egyptologists discovered a step leading down. Having begun to clear the stairs, the archaeologists below saw the walled up door of the tomb. It was a sensation. The opening of Tutankhamun's tomb happened on November 3, 1922. The first stage of work was completed. Carter decided to wait for Lord Carnarvon, who was in London.
On November 25, 1922, they went down to the tomb. Having reached the door, Carter realized that Tutankhamun’s tomb had already been opened before him, more than once, since the entrance was not walled up and sealed. In the corridor of the tomb, Egyptologists noticed broken and whole jugs - another fact of the activity of robbers. But inside they were waiting for a real surprise-mystery: why did the pharaoh’s treasures remain untouched? The surprise of archaeologists knew no bounds. After doing numerous jobs, Carter reached a room full of various objects.
So what did they find in Tutankhamun's tomb? In the first two rooms, vases, a golden throne, caskets, writing instruments, lamps, a golden chariot, numerous gold jewelry, precious stones, household items, and sawn-up ships were found. Carter was particularly impressed by the black sculptures of the pharaoh standing opposite each other, wearing golden sandals and aprons, with staffs, maces and a sacred cobra on his forehead. He also saw a beautiful feather fan, which crumbled into dust when touched by his hands.
Archaeologists, when they came to their senses after seeing the amount of treasure, discovered that there was no sarcophagus in these rooms. This means there is also a burial room.
A sealed third chamber was discovered between the sculptures of the pharaoh. and Carter decides to mothball further research in order to carry out organizational work and negotiations with the Egyptian government. In December he returned to work and began to describe, preserve and transport the treasures from the tomb. On December 27, the first batch of finds was brought to light. It was not very easy to do this, because some things made of fabric, leather or wood had practically decayed.
Exploration of the burial room
The burial room was covered with upholstered gold plates and decorated with blue mosaics. It opened in mid-February. A case containing a sarcophagus was also discovered. On one side of the case there were folding doors, closed with a bolt, although without a seal. Behind them was another, smaller one, without a mosaic, but with a pharaoh's seal. A cover of linen fabric with glitter attached to wooden curtain rods. After the archaeologists dismantled the last case, the lid of a large sarcophagus made of yellow quartzite opened in front of the researchers. Lifting the lid, Carter discovered a huge gilded relief portrait of Tutankhamun. In fact, it was the lid of a two-meter coffin with the contours of a male figure.
The golden sarcophagus contained the mummy of Tutankhamun, darkened by time and petrified. His chest and face were covered with a mask of gold. Since that time, the world has learned about the great pharaoh of Ancient Egypt - the young and mysterious Tutankhamun.
Where are the items from Tutankhamun's tomb located?
Items from the tomb of the pharaoh are in various museums on our planet. Today most of the exhibits are located in the Great Egyptian Museum. The pharaoh's golden death mask and sarcophagus are on display in the Cairo Museum.
Tutankhamun's tomb: interesting facts
A CT scan of Tutankhamun's body in 2005 showed that the pharaoh was 180 cm tall and ate well.
Tutankhamun and his wife had no children, although Ankhesenpaaton suffered two miscarriages. The bodies of two stillborn baby girls were mummified and placed in small coffins in Tutankhamun's tomb.
There is a legend about the curse of Tutankhamun's tomb. A series of deaths of several researchers who studied the burial are associated with the tomb. The first among the researchers to die was Lord Carnarvon, who financed the excavations. He died almost five months after the opening of the tomb, on April 5, 1923.
Journalists counted 22 victims of the curse, 13 of whom were directly present at the opening of the tomb. And Howard Carter, who supervised all the work in the tomb, died last, in 1939 at the age of 66.
We hope that the report “The Tomb of Tutankhamun” helped you prepare for the lesson. And what you know about Tutankhamun’s tomb, you can leave through the comment form below.
Tombs of Archaic Period Rulers
At the end of prehistoric times there was no special places for burials, the dead were usually buried near settlements and villages. They were buried in the ground near the huts.
With the advent of copper tools and tools, more attention began to be paid to funeral rites and burial sites.
In Badari (Upper Egypt), the walls of graves began to be lined with mats, and in some graves a canopy was built over the body of the deceased. Graves, lined with bricks and consisting of several rooms, appeared for the first time in the Negad culture.
After the unification of the northern and southern lands, the pharaohs of the 1st and 2nd dynasties began to specifically emphasize their wealth and power. They built huge tombs and held magnificent funerals. High-ranking nobles followed the example of the pharaohs. Archaeologists have found and excavated royal burials of the archaic period in Saqqara, the “city of the dead” of the first capital of united Egypt, Memphis. The same graves were found in Abydos, in the area of the Upper Egyptian city of This. According to assumptions, symbolic graves and tombs of ancient rulers were located in Abydos. Both parts of the state, despite the fact that they were ruled by one pharaoh, were still quite independent, so the pharaoh had to be buried in two places - naturally, one of the burials was symbolic.
The “city of the dead,” like the city of the living, was located on the border of the desert and fertile land; even the tombs resembled residential buildings in their shape. The tombs at Abydos and Saqqara represent two main types of funerary structures. The difference between them is clearly visible in the example of the authentic tomb of Queen Merneth at Saqqara and her symbolic burial at Abydos.
The buildings were massive, had a block-like shape, the walls were smooth, as is customary in the south. They stood in a courtyard that was surrounded by a wall. Inside the tomb there was a central burial room, around which several chambers could be located. In the tomb of the northern type, the structure was decorated with flat blades with figured teeth. Inside the tomb, the pharaoh's tomb was surrounded by complex system cameras and premises. An example of this type of funerary structure is the tomb at Saqqara, which is believed to belong to the pharaoh Aha. Its underground part was divided into five separate chambers; the middle chamber probably contained the body of the pharaoh in a wooden sarcophagus. The remaining rooms could contain his personal belongings. A brick structure with 27 rooms rose above the burial chamber. In these rooms, hunting equipment was stored, there were vessels with wine and dishes with food, and there were other utensils that the pharaoh might need in afterlife. The outer part of the tomb and its above-ground building were separated by deep niches. It was surrounded by two low walls. It is possible that between the inner wall and the eastern wall of the tomb there was a place for sacrifices. Here relatives brought gifts and food for the occupant of the grave. The outside walls and the tomb building itself were decorated with stucco ornaments.
Of course, there is no clear boundary between these two main types of funerary buildings. The tomb of Pharaoh Meni, who united the country, in Negad is also divided by pillars.
The layout of burials of the archaic period in many cases predetermines the layout of tomb ensembles and burials Ancient kingdom: The ascent road led to the tomb building, next to which there was a sacrificial altar in the courtyard. Starting with the complex of the tomb of Pharaoh Ka, the last king of the 1st dynasty, another one was added to these elements - the prayer house of the cult of the deceased pharaoh.
Mastabas
As a result of the development of the form of graves and tombs of the rulers of archaic times, mastabas appeared. This is the most early type tombs of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom period. Mastaba has the shape truncated pyramid with several rooms inside and an underground burial chamber.
They built mastabas from unbaked bricks.
The valley located behind the tomb of Pharaoh Mentuhotep I became a permanent burial place for the pharaohs. Another valley located next to it became the burial place of members royal families and nobility.
Strabo visited Thebes and the burial place of the pharaohs, which today is called the Valley of the Kings.
He wrote that in this valley there are rock tombs of forty Egyptian pharaohs (today we know of 60 rock tombs of Egyptian pharaohs). These tombs are very interesting and worth seeing. As you can see, already in the times of the Roman Empire, these monuments of Egyptian architecture were considered places that attracted the attention and interest of travelers. Naturally, even then the tombs had long been robbed; only a few escaped this fate. It was in vain that the entrance to the tomb was carefully disguised.
Thutmose I was the first Egyptian pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. The tombs of the first pharaohs of the 18th dynasty are relatively small; The burial chamber in which the pharaoh's sarcophagus stands is decorated with pillars and has an oval shape. As a rule, at least one bend makes the path through the premises, and in some cases it is built along an irregular curve. In later times, the tombs became more extensive, and in late XIX dynasty, their layout again became linear. Some burials extended hundreds of meters underground. For example, the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut was 213 m long and went to a depth of 97 m. At the end of the tomb there is a burial chamber with a sarcophagus.
The vault of royal tombs was usually cylindrical in shape. The walls were decorated with colored bas-reliefs and paintings. They depicted life in the afterlife, the path of the deceased, the life of the gods. These wall paintings and bas-reliefs are beautiful monuments of ancient Egyptian fine art. The tomb symbolized the afterlife, through which the Sun travels every night. Because of this, each room and corridor of the tomb had its own name. In the tomb of Ramesses IX, the descent was called "the first corridor of the god." The deep shafts found in other tombs were probably also related to this symbol system. According to the results latest research these shafts were identified with the deep cave over which the boat of the Sun god was supposed to pass. The pharaoh's sarcophagus was made of pure gold, and the religious objects in the burial room were also made of gold. That's why it was called the "golden house." However, the entire royal tomb deserved such a name. Huge treasures were collected in it. If we judge this by the treasures that were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, small in comparison with other tombs, one can imagine what treasures the tombs of the great pharaohs kept.
The straightening of the internal layout of the tombs is associated with the strengthening of the cult of the Sun god; the first such tombs were built in Akhetaten, the capital of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The linear layout of the interior served to ensure that the rays of the Sun could penetrate as far as possible, reaching the most remote corners of the tomb, burial chamber and sarcophagus of the pharaoh. Since the entrance to the tomb was walled up, this had a purely symbolic meaning.
So, the pharaohs of the New Kingdom tried to hide the site of their tomb. But they haven't lost faith in divine power pyramid, its role was simply assigned to a mountain towering above the valley. The symbolism of the Sun continues to live. The pharaohs of the New Kingdom built their mortuary temples far from their tombs, on the border of the desert and fertile land.
After the New Kingdom collapsed, the rulers of Egypt stopped building rock tombs in the Theban Mountains. No matter how hard the pharaohs tried to disguise the entrance to their tombs, the robbers found it. Therefore, Egyptian kings, starting with the pharaohs of the XXI dynasty, began to build underground burial chambers on the territory of the Temple of Amun in new capital Tanise. This area was considered sacred and was surrounded by a wall. In Thebes, the so-called “houses of Ka” were simultaneously erected, following the example of the ancient symbolic tombs of the pharaohs in Abydos.
According to the general custom in ancient times, everything that was considered most valuable to him in life was placed in the grave of the deceased: for kings and nobles - signs of their dignity, for a warrior - his weapons, etc. But they all “took” with them almost everything collected in life gold and other items that cannot rot.
There were kings and rulers who took the entire state treasury with them to their tombs, and the people, mourning the king, also mourned the loss of all their property. So the ancient tombs were treasuries that hid untold riches. To protect them from theft, the builders built inaccessible unauthorized entrances; they arranged doors with mysterious locks that were closed and opened with the help of a magical talisman.
No matter how hard the pharaohs tried to protect their tombs from plunder, no matter how sophisticated they were in trying to resist the all-destroying time, all their efforts were in vain. The genius of their architects could not defeat the evil will of man, his greed and indifference to ancient civilizations. Countless treasures, which were supplied to the afterlife of deceased rulers, members of their families and important dignitaries, have long attracted greedy robbers. Neither terrible spells, nor careful security, nor the cunning tricks of architects (camouflaged traps, walled-up chambers, false passages, secret staircases, etc.) helped against them. Thanks to a happy coincidence, only the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun remained the only one preserved almost completely intact, although it was also plundered twice in ancient times. Its discovery is associated with the names of the English Lord Carnarvon and archaeologist Howard Carter.
Lord Carnarvon, heir to a huge fortune, was also one of the first motorists. He barely survived one of the car accidents, and since then he had to give up his dreams of sports. To improve his health, the bored lord visited Egypt and became interested in the great past of this country. For his own entertainment, he decided to take up excavations himself, but his independent attempts in this field were unsuccessful. Money alone was not enough for this, and Lord Carnarvon did not have enough knowledge and experience. And then he was advised to seek help from archaeologist Howard Carter.
In 1914, Lord Carnarvon saw the name of Tutankhamun on one of the earthenware cups found during excavations in the Valley of the Kings. He came across the same name on a gold plate from a small cache. These finds prompted the lord to obtain permission from the Egyptian government to search for the tomb of the pharaoh. The same material evidence also supported G. Carter when he was overwhelmed by despondency from a long but unsuccessful search.
Archaeologists searched for the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun for 7 long years, but in the end happiness smiled on them. Sensational news spread around the world at the beginning of 1923. In those days, crowds of reporters, photographers and radio commentators flocked to the small and usually quiet town of Luxor. From the Valley of the Kings, reports, messages, notes, essays, reports, reports, articles were rushing hourly by telephone and telegraph...
For more than 80 days, archaeologists reached the golden coffin of Tutankhamun - through 4 external arks, a stone sarcophagus and 3 internal coffins, until they finally saw the one who for a long time was for historians only a ghostly name. But first, archaeologists and workers discovered steps that led deeper into the rock and ended at the walled-up entrance. When the entrance was cleared, behind it there was a descending corridor, covered with fragments of limestone, and at the end of the corridor there was another entrance, which was also walled up. This entrance led to a front chamber with a side storage room, a burial chamber and a treasury.
Having made a hole in the masonry, G. Carter stuck his hand in with a candle and clung to the hole. “At first I didn’t see anything,” he later wrote in his book. — Warm air rushed out of the chamber, and the candle flame began to flicker. But gradually, when the eyes became accustomed to the twilight, the details of the room began to slowly emerge from the darkness. There were strange figures of animals, statues and gold - gold shimmered everywhere.”
Tutankhamun's tomb was indeed one of the richest. When Lord Carnarvon and G. Carter entered the first room, they were stunned by the number and variety of objects that filled it. There were chariots covered with gold, bows, quivers with arrows and gloves for shooting; beds, also upholstered in gold; armchairs covered with the smallest inserts of ivory, gold, silver and gems; magnificent stone vessels, richly decorated caskets with clothes and jewelry. There were also boxes of food and vessels of long-dried wine. The first room was followed by others, and what was discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun exceeded the wildest expectations of the expedition members.
The fact that the tomb was discovered at all was in itself an incomparable success. But fate smiled at G. Carter once again, and in those days he wrote: “We saw something that no man of our time has been awarded.” From the front chamber of the tomb alone, the English expedition removed 34 containers full of priceless jewelry, gold, precious stones and magnificent works of ancient Egyptian art. And when the members of the expedition entered the funeral chambers of the pharaoh, they found here a wooden gilded ark, in it another - an oak ark, in the second - a third gilded ark, and then a fourth. The latter contained a sarcophagus made from a single piece of the rarest crystalline quartzite, and in it there were two more sarcophagi.
The northern wall of the hall of sarcophagi in the tomb of Tutankhamun is painted with three scenes. On the right is the opening of the mouth of the pharaoh's mummy by his successor Ey. Until the moment of opening his lips, the deceased pharaoh was depicted as a mummy, and after this ceremony he already appeared in his usual earthly image. Central part The painting is occupied by the scene of the meeting of the revived pharaoh with the goddess Nut: Tutankhamun is depicted in the robe and headdress of an earthly king, in his hands he holds a mace and a staff. In the last scene, the pharaoh is embraced by Osiris, with his “ka” standing behind Tutankhamun.
As noted in previous chapters, the ancient Egyptians believed in the existence of several souls in humans. Tutankhamun had two "ka" statues, which were carried in a row of honor during the funeral procession. In the funeral chambers of the pharaoh, these statues stood on the sides of the sealed door leading to the golden sarcophagus. "Ka" Tutankhamun has a youthfully handsome face with wide-set eyes looking with the dispassionate stillness of death. Ancient sculptors and artists repeated it many times on chests, chests and arks. The dimensions of the statue of the spirit-double helped scientists determine the height of the pharaoh himself, since, according to the funeral tradition of the ancient Egyptians, these dimensions corresponded to the height of the deceased.
"Ba" guarded Tutankhamun wooden sculpture, depicting the pharaoh on the funeral bed, and on the other side the sacred mummy was overshadowed by a falcon with its wing. On the figurine of Tutankhamun, archaeologists saw carved words with which the pharaoh addressed the sky goddess: “Come down, Mother Nut, bend over me and turn me into one of the immortal stars that are all in you!” This sculpture was among those sacrifices that the courtiers presented to the already dead pharaoh as a promise to serve him in the afterlife.
To get to the sacred mummy of the pharaoh, archaeologists had to open several sarcophagi. “The mummy lay in a coffin,” writes G. Carter, “to which she was tightly stuck, since, having been lowered into the coffin, she was poured aromatic oils. Head and shoulders, right down to chest, the veil was covered with a beautiful golden mask, reproducing the features of the royal face, with a headband and necklace. It was impossible to remove it, since it, too, was stuck to the coffin with a layer of resin, which thickened into a mass as hard as stone.”
The coffin, which contained the mummy of Tutankhamun, depicted in the image of Osiris, was entirely made of massive gold sheet with a thickness of 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters. In its form it repeated the previous two, but its decor was more complex. The pharaoh's body was protected by the wings of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys; chest and shoulders - kite and cobra (goddesses - patroness of the North and South). These figurines were placed on top of the coffin, with each kite feather filled with pieces of gems or colored glass.
The mummy lying in the coffin was wrapped in many shrouds. On the top of them were sewn hands holding a whip and a staff; under them there was also a golden image of “ba” in the form of a bird with human head. At the places of the belts there were longitudinal and transverse stripes with the texts of prayers. When G. Carter unwrapped the mummy, he found a lot more precious jewelry, the inventory of which is divided into 101 groups. For example, on the body of the pharaoh, scientists found two daggers - bronze and silver. The handle of one of them is decorated with gold grain and framed with interlocking ribbons of cloisonné enamel. At the bottom, the decorations end with a chain of gold wire scrolls and a rope design. The blade, made of hardened gold, has two longitudinal grooves in the middle, topped with a palmette, above which there is a geometric pattern in a narrow frieze.
The forged mask that covered Tutankhamun’s face was made of a thick sheet of gold and richly decorated: the stripes of the scarf, eyebrows and eyelids were made of dark blue glass, the wide necklace shone with numerous inserts of gems. The pharaoh's throne was made of wood, covered with gold leaf and richly decorated with inlays of multi-colored faience, gems and glass. The legs of the throne in the shape of lion paws are topped with lion heads made of beaten gold; the handles represent winged snakes coiled in a ring, supporting the pharaoh's cartouches with their wings. Between the supports behind the back of the throne there are six uraei wearing crowns and solar disks. They are all made of gilded wood and inlaid: the heads of the uraei are of violet faience, the crowns are of gold and silver, and the sun discs are of gilded wood.
On the back of the throne there is a relief image of papyri and water birds, in front there is a one-of-a-kind inlaid image of the pharaoh and his wife. The lost gold decorations that connected the seat to the lower frame were an ornament of lotus and papyrus, united by a central image - the hieroglyph "sema", symbolizing the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt.
In Ancient Egypt there was also a custom of decorating the bodies of the deceased with wreaths of flowers. The wreaths found in the tomb of Tutankhamun did not reach us very long ago. good condition, and two or three flowers completely crumbled into powder at the first touch. The leaves also turned out to be very brittle, and scientists kept them in lukewarm water for several hours before starting their research. The necklace found on the lid of the third coffin was composed of leaves, flowers, berries and fruits, various plants, mixed with blue glass beads. The plants were arranged in nine rows, tied to semicircular strips cut from the core of papyrus. As a result of analyzing flowers and fruits, scientists were able to establish the approximate time of burial of Pharaoh Tutankhamun - it happened between mid-March and the end of April. It was then that cornflowers bloomed in Egypt, and the fruits of mandrake and nightshade, woven into a wreath, ripened.
In magnificent stone vessels, scientists also found fragrant ointments with which the pharaoh was supposed to anoint himself in the afterlife, as he did during life. Even after 3000 years, these perfumes emitted a strong aroma...
Now the treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun are exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and occupy 10 halls there, the area of which is equal to a football field. With the permission of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, studies were carried out on the mummies of famous pharaohs. During the work, the most modern technology, forensic doctors and even experts from Scotland Yard were involved in the case, who took up x-rays Tutankhamun's skull and found traces on the back of his head deep wound. And the English detectives came to the conclusion that the matter was criminal, and 3000 years ago the 18-year-old ruler of Egypt became a victim palace coup and died instantly from a strong blow.
The truth is always the same -
Pharaoh said this.
He was very smart
And for this they called him
Tutankhamun.
Ilya Kormiltsev
“Differentiated by the fact that he died”
In November 1922, in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, an Egyptologist Howard Carter and amateur archaeologist George Herbert Carnarvon discovered at the entrance to the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses VI the entrance to another burial. When the entrance was cleared, a unique picture appeared to the scientists’ eyes - they managed to find one of the few tombs of the pharaoh that had not been plundered over the past millennia.
A mummy was discovered in a turquoise-decorated pure gold sarcophagus. Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
At the entrance to Tutankhamun's tomb. Howard Carter with a colleague, 1922. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
From that moment on, Tutankhamun, in the minds of the general public, became perhaps the main figure in the history of Ancient Egypt. Even those who know nothing about the Land of the Pharaohs will probably remember the name of Tutankhamun.
Meanwhile, Howard Carter himself, who revealed the tomb of this ruler to the world, once remarked: “The only thing he distinguished himself with was the fact that he died and was buried.”
Indeed, until the beginning of the 20th century, Egyptologists knew little about Tutankhamun. Moreover, the very fact of his rule was questioned by many.
Entrance hall of Tutankhamun's tomb, Valley of the Kings, Egypt, November 1922. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Later studies showed that, most likely, the rulers who replaced him in a not entirely legal way tried to get rid of information about Tutankhamun and tried to get rid of information that was compromising them. Images of Tutankhamun were chipped or erased; the face, arms, legs and sides of his statues were knocked off. It was more difficult to destroy the tomb of Tutankhamun, and even blasphemous from the point of view of the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, so the entrance to it was simply filled up.
Removing Tutankhamun's mummy from the tomb. Twenties of the XX century. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Heir to the great reformer
Why did Tutankhamun, the pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom, displease his contemporaries?
Tutankhamun, or Tutankhaten, ruled in Ancient Egypt from 1332 to 1323 BC. He ascended the throne at the age of 10 and passed away before his 20th birthday.
Scientists do not have a unanimous opinion about the origin of Tutankhamun. Some believe that he was the son Pharaoh Akhenaten, others believe that Tutankhamun's father was Pharaoh Smenkhkare, son or brother Akhenaten.
This revolutionary reform was started by Akhenaten, relying on low-born service people with the goal of depriving the influential priestly caste of power.
Confrontation between the new and old faith turned out to be so furious that Akhenaten left Thebes, where the positions of the priests were strong, and ordered the construction new city, which was to become the new capital.
Statue of Pharaoh Akhenaten from the Temple of Aten at Karnak. Cairo Egyptian Museum. Egypt. Photo: wikipedia.org
The city of Akhetaten became the center of the spread of the new religion, which very soon had to wage a fierce struggle for existence. The reformer pharaoh found himself isolated and, although he never abandoned his plans, he was nevertheless unable to achieve victory over the old beliefs.
After the death of Akhenaten, the process of returning the Egyptians to their former faith began, stretching over the reign of several pharaohs.
One of these “intermediate links” was Tutankhamun, who originally bore the name Tutankhaten.
Death of a supporter of "centralism"
Having adhered to the faith of Akhenaten in the first years of his reign, Tutankhamun then returned to the old faith, as a sign of which he even changed his name.
At the same time, returning the rights to supporters of the old faith, Tutankhamun does not introduce persecution of the admirers of Aten, hoping to maintain peace in the kingdom.
Two experienced politicians had a great influence on Tutankhamun - dignitary Hey and commander Horemheb. In fact, all nine years of Tutankhamun’s reign passed under their tutelage, which the young pharaoh had no opportunity to get rid of.
The main one in this chain is Akhenaten, the reformer pharaoh who attempted to introduce monotheism in Egypt. From now on, the Egyptians had to worship the solar disk - Aten - and the pharaoh himself as the high priest of the new god.
The debate about the causes of Tutankhamun's death is very at a young age not finished. Scientists noticed that a wreath of blooming cornflowers and daisies was worn around the mummy’s neck. Since in Egypt these flowers bloom in March - April, and the mummification process lasted about 70 days, it was concluded that Tutankhamun died in December - January. This time was considered by the Egyptians to be the height of the hunting season, which led to the assumption that the fatal injury for the pharaoh was an injury received while hunting - perhaps a complex leg fracture.
Among alternative versions- death from malaria and even murder, organized by Ey and Horemheb, who decided to get rid of the “gasket” between them and the power that was the young monarch.
Fragment of a statue of Horemheb. Museum of Art History. Vein. Photo: wikipedia.org
Posthumously repressed
Ey and Horemheb actually managed to take turns becoming pharaohs of Egypt, and they tried to get rid of reminders of their young predecessor.
Horemheb was especially successful in this, setting a course for the complete destruction of the remnants of the cult of Aten. Moreover, he excluded four of his predecessors from the list of pharaohs of Egypt, including his “accomplice” Ey, declaring himself the heir of Amenhotep III, the last of the pharaohs of the “pre-Aten” era.
The “heretic pharaohs” were condemned to oblivion. The city of Akhetaten was destroyed, the tombs of the “wrong” rulers, as well as their entourage, were destroyed. Tutankhamun's tomb was the only one lucky enough to survive.
And it was this fact that three thousand years later allowed Tutankhamun to emerge from oblivion, becoming the “main star” of Ancient Egypt in the eyes of earthlings of the 20th-21st centuries.
Thus, thanks to English archaeologists, Tutankhamun’s “posthumous career” turned out to be much brighter and more eventful than his real life.
