One of my earliest memories of elementary school was working on a huge paper-mache sarcophagus for a King Tut display to be enjoyed during our much anticipated annual Fall Festival. The first and second graders of the little church school I attended were in the same classroom, so I don’t recall which grade I was actually in. It was a class project, but I do believe Tut got to come home with me after the event. My four older sisters and I probably took turns hiding him in each other’s beds in an attempt to scare one another. Perhaps it was all the hard work spent on him, the grand size of the finished project, or all the glittery gold paint, but somehow he sticks out as an important event in my somewhat foggy memory of that time in my life.
November 4th is now celebrated as King Tut Day, in honor of one of — and possibly the — most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century: the tomb of Tutankhamun.
On November 26th, 1922, lead British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team opened a 3,000 year old portal back into Egyptian history when they found the undisturbed tomb of the Egyptian ruler now world-renown as King Tut. Who was this Tut, and why is he still so famous some 3,000 years later?
Born in 1341 B.C.E, son to a powerful pharaoh named Akhenaten, he was given the name Tutankhaten (meaning “the living image of Aten”). Aten was an important Egyptian god during that period of time, and historically very different from other Egyptian gods because Aten was literally the sun, with no human qualities. Although Egypt is known as a polytheistic society, during his reign Akhenaten forbid the worship of any god other than Aten (essentially, declaring that the people could worship the sun, but no other deity). He was actually remembered as the “heretic king” because of this. According to Biography.com, historians believe that perhaps this strange decree was an attempt to lessen the control of the extremely influential Egyptian priests of the time, instead transferring power to a government run by administrators and military personnel. Naming his son “the living image of Aten” — the deity he had effectively declared the “one true god” of Egypt — shows us the kind of lofty aspirations Akhenaten had for his son.
Alas, it was not to be. Tut (led by advisors, military commanders, and a vizier named Ay) ascended the throne in 1332 B.C.E. as a mere child of nine years old, at which time he took the name Tutankhamun (which meant “living image of Amun” or “hidden, invisible one”). Amun was the god Egyptians considered the god of all creation. It hadn’t sat well with the people that Akhenaten had stripped Egypt of all but one of the gods they worshiped, and this was quickly reversed when Tutankhamun became king. The same year he took power, he married Ankhesenamun, his half-sister, daughter of the famous Egyptian queen Nefertiti. They were known to have had two daughters, but neither of them lived; it is thought they were stillborn.
Not much is known about Tut’s death, other than it came much too soon. He was only 19 when he died in 1323 B.C.E. Research, including a DNA test in more recent years, has revealed a bit more: it is now known that he had malaria at the time of his death, he was crippled to the point he walked with a cane, and the apparent cause of his untimely death was actually succumbing to a gangrene infection in his leg.
Tutankhamun’s actions when he became king remind me of King Josiah in the Bible. Both came to power as boys and made attempts to turn their people back to the god of their forefathers, and rebuild the places of worship in an attempt to gain favor with their respective deities. Yet Tutankhamun was never known for any great accomplishments. His grandiose name never afforded him the fame his father intended; his ticket to glory lies solely in the discovery of his forgotten tomb, discretely nestled in the Valley of the Kings.
A rare hidden gem, unique because it had not been raided by tomb robbers, the tomb of King Tut was indeed a spectacular discovery. Never before had the world been exposed to such an unspoiled wonder of ancient Egyptian treasures. It took Carter’s team 17 years to fully excavate this archaeological gold mine. Murals depicting Tut’s death and journey to the afterlife were found painted on the interior walls, and thousands of priceless artifacts were carefully collected and preserved to share with a fascinated world. Among the treasures found in the tomb: some of Tut’s childhood toys, jewelry, oils and perfumes, gold and ebony statues, and most importantly of all, a stone sarcophagus containing three nesting coffins with the inner one made entirely of gold. Inside was Tut’s perfectly preserved mummy, with a death mask of gold and jewels weighing a whopping 22 pounds!
This photo was taken in 1925, at the archaeological site, when the inner coffin — containing Tutankhamun’s mummy and death mask — was first opened:
(Notice the 3-strand necklace in the above photo, which is usually not displayed with the mask. It is made of discs of glazed blue ceramic and gold, with clasps in the shape of a cobra, “a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt.“)
Some of the artifacts from the tomb have been exhibited around the world, while others have been housed in Egyptian museums ever since their discovery.
If you would like to see them in person (without actually traveling to northern Africa), treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun are currently in the middle of what is supposed to be their last world tour before being permanently housed in the new Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids, opening in 2021. Many artifacts in this tour had never before left Egypt. The tour kicked off in January 2018 in Los Angeles, California, before moving on to Europe, where it was displayed in Paris last March. It is currently scheduled to be in London, England, from November 2019 through May 2020. (The tour is also supposed to make appearances in Japan, Canada, and South Korea, but those dates are not yet confirmed.)
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