One of Davis’ discoveries in 1907, a small underground chamber filled with dried mud, an inscribed alabaster figure and a broken wooden box embossed with Tutankhamen’s name in gold leaf, suggested to Carter the boy king’s tomb was close by in the Valley of the Kings.
Davis also discovered a pit containing a dozen white pottery jars filled with linen, bags of chaff and natron, a small anthropoid mask of plaster and linen, bones of birds and animals, floral collars and two brooms all inscribed with the name of Tutankhamen. Initially thought insignificant, these items proved to be materials used by embalmers when mummifying the boy pharaoh’s body and during the customary funeral banquet.
These discoveries confirmed to Carter the forgotten tomb of Tutankhamen lay buried in the Valley of the Kings though his excavations were interrupted by the First World War and not resumed till 1917. After six seasons of laborious work and the removal of 200 000 tonnes of sandstone, nothing of importance was found. Lord Canarvon funded the last excavation, an area of huts used by the workmen constructing the tomb of Ramses VI and on November 4th 1922, a single step was discovered beneath the first hut. By the next day, twelve steps in total were excavated. The steps were only a few feet from where Carter’s excavations before the war had stopped and only 120 yards from the underground chamber discovered by Davis.
On November 23rd, Lord Canarvon and daughter Lady Evelyn reached Luxor and days later, the tomb entrance was uncovered. It was evident to Carter, the tomb had been entered by grave robbers of ancient times and resealed. The first door was opened revealing a sloping corridor filled with rubble. Once the rubble was cleared, a second door was discovered bearing the royal Tutankhamen inscription. On the 26th of November, Lord Canarvon, Lady Evelyn and assistant Mr Callender watched as Howard Carter peered through a hole in the door telling them of the ‘wonderful’ treasures only feet away.
The Tomb of Tutankhamen was found. The artifacts it contained once catalogued and restored by Carter and his team, proved generous in the information they provided about life in the time Tutankhamen thousands of years ago. His golden throne from the antechamber, clothes chest, jewelry, game board and mummy reveal much about domestic life, jewelry, craftsmanship, mummification processes and spiritual beliefs of ancient Egyptian times.
Domestic life in ancient Egypt differed greatly between the pharaoh and peasants. It is clear from a golden carving on the back of the boy pharaoh’s golden throne of Tutankhamen in an affectionate pose with wife Ankesenamun, the ancient Egyptians didn’t consider marriage to relations, namely a half sister, as strange or detrimental to the gene pool of the next generation. The carving also presents the two key components of ancient Egyptian marriages; affection and respect between partners.
This portrayal of Tutankhamen and his wife on the golden throne as well as the clothes chest found in the tomb antechamber reveals the dress of males and females as well as cosmetics and shoes worn by Egyptians.
The most common fabric used for clothes was linen. Men wore a light kilt, like robes found in the clothes chest and depicted on the throne’s back panel. Tutankhamen’s kilt has a large knot at the waist showing the high status of the pharaoh the knot is impractical for physical labour. Peasants wore poor quality linen cut roughly and tucked up between the legs leaving room for stretching and reaching during physical work.
The linen dress worn by Ankesenamun in the throne carving reveals her status as it is pleated and bleached white as the most expensive dresses of the time were. Everyday wear for peasant women was heavy, rough, unbleached linen.
Enclosed in the chest and depicted in the throne carving are sandals worn in ancient times. Peasant sandals were poor quality of woven grass and Pharaohs wore expensive sandals of fine leather and occasionally for decoration, gold.
It is also clear from the throne carving both sexes wore eye make up, lip paint and blush. Green eye shadow was made from the mineral malachite and black eye liner from a type of lead called galena. Men, on formal and festive occasions wore eye make up and wigs, as shown by the carving on the golden throne found in the antechamber of Tutankhamen’s tomb.
Like cosmetics, jewelry was worn by all Egyptians as it has been recovered from Tutankhamen’s tomb and wall pictures reveal women decorating themselves with various precious stones and substances. Glazed ceramic jewelry was worn by the wealthy whereas peasants wore beads of poorer quality. On formal occasions, wealthy women wore lotus flowers, rings, earrings, bracelets and anklets with men wearing collars, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Some bracelets and necklaces were also used to ward off evil.
The set of thirteen bracelets wrapped in Tutankhamen’s bandages bear carvings of the eye of Horus, the scarab beetle and the vulture goddess Nekhebet. The eye of Horus was believed to allow the pharaoh to see threats and dangers in the afterlife as well as protect the tomb from grave robbers. The scarab beetle represented the sun god Ra, as the beetle rolled dung across the sand like the sun ‘rolled’ across the sky. Ra was the bringer of a new day as well as the afterlife, thought to last for eternity. The vulture goddess Nekhebet appears on a bracelet and pendant necklace wrapped in Tutankhamen’s bandages, for protection of the pharaoh with its cloak like wings. This goddess was ruler of Lower Egypt proving with the serpent carvings of the god Wadjet, ruler of Upper Egypt, the country was united under the one pharaoh.
The presence of these three gods reveals society was no longer monotheistic worshiping the one god Aten, a revolution attempted Akhenaton.
For a soul to last forever, the body had to be in good condition meaning mummification. We now know the process of mummification as complete mummies like that of Tutankhamen reveal the custom. For it’s survival in the tomb, the body had to be completely dehydrated meaning the all internal organs were removed through an incision in the left side of the abdomen. The brain was drawn out through the nostrils and discarded whilst the heart remained in the body which was then wrapped in numerous layers of linen strips coated in resin. This was the process of mummification which the ancient Egyptians believed would ensure happiness for eternity in the afterlife.
To ensure happiness during life, the ancient Egyptians delighted in singing, dancing and feasts. However, most of what is known about Egyptian entertainment is derived from paintings and artifacts from tombs of the wealthy like Tutankhamen. Children play tug-of-war, leapfrog and catch brightly coloured balls though with adult Egyptians playing the board game of senet. It is thought Tutankhamen himself delighted in this game as five sets were discovered in his tomb. It is not known exactly how the game is played but throwsticks indicate a method of determining a player’s move on the checkered board.
A carving on the board’s side reads ‘the good god, lord of the two lands, beloved of all the gods. May he be healthy, living forever.’ This shows Tutankhamen was not a heretic like predecessor Akhenaton and was popular among everyday Egyptian society.
The range of materials used in the items from Tutankhamen’s tomb, reveal the ancient craftsman to be very skillful and experienced realizing different substances were best for different purposes. Gold, silver, ebony, alabaster, precious stones, glass and beads were all used in the construction of various items from the tomb of Tutankhamen like his golden throne, bracelets, vulture pendant of 253 glass pieces, ebony senet board game and stone statues.
It is clear then, British archaeologist Howard Carter was well facilitated for piecing together the mystery of the lost tomb of Tutankhamen due to his drawing abilities and knowledge of archaeological principles and methods. It required time, effort and perseverance from Carter to discover the first step that would lead to the sought after tomb on November 4th 1922.
The artifacts discovered in the tomb reveal the domestic life of the ancients, jewelry, spiritual beliefs and the art of mummification three thousand years ago. 1490 words
