KING TUT

The Early Years

 King Tutankhamun was the son of the pharaoh
Akhenaten (ah ke nat en) but it is uncertain who his
mother is. She may have been Queen Kiya, one of
Akhenaton’s wives.
 His original name was Tutankhaten, which means
“living image of Aten.” (Aten was the sun god)
 Each Egyptian king had 5 names. One was given at
birth and the rest were given when he came to the
throne. About two years after he became king, he
changed his name to Tutankhamun. Before, the
names of the king and queen had honored Aten.
Now they honored Amun.
 King Tutankhamun In Power

 When Tut was 5, his father died of unknown causes

and one of his wives, possibly Nefertiti, became ruler
for a couple of years.
 King Tut came to the throne when he was only about 8
or 9 years old.
 He needed help ruling because he was so young, so
Horemheb became is regent. Another important
official who helped him was a man named Ay.
 When he came to power, he may have already been
married Ankhsepaaten, (An ke sep atten)his half sister.
 King Tut’s Death
 King Tut died around the age of 19.
 The cause of his death is still unknown but
some possible causes include:
• Disease: he was generally very healthy
• Murder: marks on the back of his head show he
may have been murdered, but these have been
disproven by medical professionals
• Accident: he may have fallen off of a chariot and
injured his knee which led to infection
• Battle Wounds: He was injured in battle which
lead to infection
 Tut’s Mysterious Death
 http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/k
ing-tuts-tomb?gc=%
2Fvideo%2Fhistory-civilization
 Finding King Tut
 Before November 4, 1922, very little was known
about King Tutankhamun. His name did not
appear on any of the lists of kings made by the
Egyptians, but did appear on some statues.
 King Tut is most famous because his tomb was
found mostly intact.
 The treasures found there gave us a glimpse at
what life was like for a king in Ancient Egypt.
King Tutankhamun’s Tomb
 The Players

Howard Carter: a
British archeologist
Lady Evelyn: who first came to
Daughter of Lord Egypt to copy the
Carnavon, first hieroglyphics found
Lord Carnavon: woman to enter the in tombs.
Financial backer for the tomb.
King Tut excavation.
 The Players
 Howard Carter: a British archeologist who
first came to Egypt to copy the
hieroglyphics found in tombs.
 He then went on to work with other
archaeologists and learned how to excavate
 Carter worked in Egypt for many years
before meeting Lord Carnarvon, a wealthy
Englishman who moved to Egypt.
 Carter convinced Carnarvon to fund the
finding of King Tut.
 The Players
 Carter worked for a few years in the Valley
of the Kings trying to find King Tut’s tomb,
but could not. Carnarvon almost stopped
funding the dig, but eventually agreed to
give Carter a few more months.
 Carter decided to continue looking in the
Valley of the Kings and one day, a worker
was digging and found a step under the
sand.
 They then cleared out the entire stairway
that led to a blocked door.
 Into the Tomb

 The door was sealed and stamped with the

ancient cemetery gods as well as the name,
Tutankahmun.
 Carter made a small hole in the door and
put a candle inside to look around before
entering the tomb.
 Lord Carnarvon asked “What do you see?”
Carter replied, “Wonderful things!”
 In the Tomb
 There were four chambers in the tomb.
 Each chamber was filled with objects
including; gold, wood, precious stone,
pottery and more.
 More than 5,000 objects were in the tombs,
tangled in heaps.
 The mummy of king Tut was in the burial
chamber, inside his nest of coffins and
shrines.
 Tomb layout of King Tut

This supports the theory

The layout of his tomb suggests that the
that his death was an
tomb was not intended for him. The tomb
accident, so there was
was much smaller than what kings
not time to build a proper
typically had.
tomb.
 Tomb of Ramses II
This is what the tomb of a king typically looked like. It was larger, had more
detail and more rooms.
 THE TOMB OF
KING TUTANKHAMUN
 Antechamber:
 Contained: chariots,
food, funeral
couches, thrones, two
black guardian
figures.
 This area was seen
first by Carter.
 TUTS TOMB
 Antechamber
 Life sized statues: 2 stood
guard by the sealed door
to burial chamber
 made of wood, painted
with black resin and
overlaid with gold in parts.
 They depict the pharaoh
 TUTS TOMB
 Antechamber
 Golden Throne:
 Scene from back of
throne
 Made of wood covered
with sheet gold, and
adorned with
semiprecious stones
and colored glass
paste.
 Treasures From Tut’s Tomb
Benches/
Chairs

Canopic Jars
Senet Board Game
Guardians of the tomb
 TUTS TOMB
 Burial Chamber
 Gold/Wood Shrines
 Covered with thick gold
foil, set on a wooden
sledge
 4 Shrines one inside
the other
 TUTS TOMB
 Outer Sarcophagus
 Weight 1 ¼ tons
Nesting Coffins
 TUTS TOMB
 Arrangement of Coffins:
 (1)First Coffin
 It is made of Cypress wood
overlaid with gold foil

 (2)Second Coffin
 This coffin of finer workmanship
than the preceding, was also made
of wood covered in gold foil

 (3)Third Coffin
 It is made of solid gold and
weights 243 pounds.

 (4)The Mummy
 It was decorated with near 150
amulets, jewels and the superb
golden mask inlaid with wonderful
glass
King Tutankhamon’s Death
Mask
 TUTS TOMB
 Burial Chamber:
 Burial Mask: Made of solid gold, placed
directly upon the pharaoh's mummy.
Function: protection.
 Weight: 24 lbs.
 On the forehead of the mask are a royal
uraeus and a vulture's head:
 symbols of the two deities of Lower and
Upper Egypt: Wadjet and Nekhbet.
Archaeologist, Howard Carter
(1922)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9u3or9
Eedw
King Tut’s Curse?
 "Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to Him
Who Disturbs the Peace of the King.“
 A cobra swallowed Carter’s pet canary on the
day the tomb was opened. In ancient Egypt, a
cobra symbolized royal power

 A sandstorm appeared as the last man climbed

from the tomb into the sunlight.

 A hawk appeared, heading west-the spirit of

the pharaoh cursing those who violated his
tomb.
 Five Europeans and many local Egyptians died
soon after the opening of the tomb
A few months after the tomb was open, Lord
Carnavon became ill from a mosquito bite. He was
there when they opened the tomb. A few months
later, he died. Rumor said a mark similar to the
mosquito bit was found in the exact same position on
King Tut's cheek.
All the lights in Cairo went out the instant Carnarvon
died for no apparent reason.
At the same time in England, Carnarvon’s beloved
pet dog, Susie, howled and dropped dead
Howard Carter, the man who discovered King Tut's
tomb, lived to be 65. He died of natural causes. He
never believed in a curse.
 The Egypt Song…
 https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=960mk5JRSBk