Tutankhamun’s tomb, discovered by archaeologists in the Valley of the Kings on November 4, 1922, is full of treasures. Some of those artifacts, like his death mask, are widely known. But other items, such as an effigy that may have been what the king chose to wear, are less well known but offer insight into King Tut’s life.
Here are 10 fascinating artifacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb and what they reveal about the iconic ancient Egyptian pharaoh 100 years after his remains were discovered.
Burial vault of King Tutankhamun, near Luxor, Egypt.
1. Death mask
King Tutankhamun’s golden mask is displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo after its restoration, on December 16, 2015.
The death mask is perhaps the most famous artifact found in his tomb. The ornate 53-centimeter mask is made primarily of gold inlaid with precious stones and colored glass pools and weighs up to 10 kilograms, said Galal Ali Hassaan, an emeritus professor at Cairo University’s Department of Mechanical Design, Egypt wrote in a 2016 article published in the International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Technology.
“The eyes are made of obsidian and quartz,” Hassaan wrote, noting that the mask depicts King Tutankhamun with a long beard and a hat in the shape of a cobra and a vulture.
On the back of the death mask is an incantation from the “Book of the Dead”, written in hieroglyphs, suggesting that the mask most likely resembles the face of the deceased, Marianne Eaton-Krauss , a senior fellow at the Center for American Studies in Egypt, wrote in his book “Tutankhamun, the Unknowns” (Bloomsbury, 2016). She noted that the third innermost coffin in which Tutankhamun was buried had the same incantation on it.
2. Iron Dagger
King Tut’s two daggers, one of gold, the other of iron, were found in his tomb.
King Tutankhamun was buried with two daggers – one of iron and one of gold
King Tutankhamun was buried with two daggers – one of iron and one of gold. Both daggers were found wrapped in various layers of pharaoh’s mummy bandages, according to the book “Iron from Tutankhamun’s Tomb” (American University in Cairo Press, 2022).
The researchers note in the book that a dagger with an iron blade was placed in Tutankhamun’s right thigh. The iron used in the dagger was out of this world, crafted from a meteorite, and the dagger was made of rock crystal and a golden handle with intricate patterns carved on it. there. The dagger with a golden blade, also with a gold handle with intricate carvings, was found above Tutankhamun’s belly, the researchers wrote.
Both daggers show signs of wear, Katja Broschat, a conservator at the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum and co-author of “Iron from Tutankhamun’s Tomb”, wrote that it was uncertain whether the dagger was used in a hunt or some other activity.
3. Game table
The gaming table found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, from the 14th century BC, was made of ebony veneer and inlaid with ivory.
Tutankhamun’s grave found a gaming table indicating that there were at least four games on it, according to the book “Ancient Egyptians at Play: A Cross-Border Board Game” (Bloomsbury, 2016).
Some of the game pieces found in the tomb were made of ivory and the boards appear to have been designed for the game of twenty pieces.
Both rules of the game are ambiguous. The Grand Egyptian Museum notes that the chessboard is played with a board of 30 squares, and that the goal is to safely navigate all the pieces while preventing your opponent from doing the same.
Fashion dummy
A bust of Tutankhamun, possibly an effigy for the king’s clothes or jewelry, that archaeologists found in Tut’s tomb.
One of the lesser-known treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb is an effigy used to help select, adjust, and store the king’s wardrobe and jewelry.
“Of course, Tut is a very stylishly dressed person with a huge wardrobe, for life and afterlife,” said Laura Ranieri Roy, founder and director of Ancient Egypt Alive, a educational institution, said.
Ranieri Roy notes: “There are hundreds of clothes – 12 sumptuous robes, dozens of pairs of sandals, underwear, socks, even King Tut’s baby clothes. This dummy can be hung. , displaying ornate robes and jewelry, perhaps even letting servants make and prepare costumes, modifying the king’s robes”.
5. Golden sandals
King Tut’s golden sandals appear to have been worn when he died, not when he was alive.
Tutankhamun’s mummy was found wearing golden sandals. Andre Veldmeijer, director of the Ancient Egyptian Footwear Project, said that King Tutankhamun may not have worn these sandals when he was alive. Sandals like these may have been specially made for burial when he died.
“The gold sandals will be cut from a plate of gold and embossed, possibly on a soft surface protected by a leather and forged into shape and ornament,” says Veldmeijer.
6. King Tut .’s coffin
One of King Tutankhamun’s solid gold coffins on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, photographed on October 22, 2007. This is the third and innermost coffin containing the royal mummy.
Tutankhamun was placed in three interlocking coffins. This combined coffin weighs about 1.3 tons, Joyce Tyldesley, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Manchester in the UK, wrote in her book: “Tutankhamun: The Quest for the King of Egypt” (Basic Books) , 2012). The large size of the coffins, coupled with the relatively small size of Tutankhamun’s tomb, made them very difficult to open, Tyldesley noted.
All three coffins show Tutankhamun with a long beard and holding a crook. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities notes that the outer coffin is made of gilded wood and has blue and red glass on the crook and its shards.
Tyldesley said the second coffin was also made of gilded wood and was found with several plants – including dying lotus flowers – on it.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities noted that the third and innermost coffin was made of solid gold and was found wrapped in linen. Tutankhamun was laid to rest inside this innermost coffin, with a death mask and other items on his body.
7. The throne of King Tut
King Tut .’s throne
King Tutankhamun’s “throne” was made mainly of wood and covered with gold and silver, semi-precious stones, enamel and colored glass. It shows the sun disc Aten shining down on Tut and his queen Ankhesenamun.
Eaton-Krauss said two thrones were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. One was made of ebony, and because of its resemblance to a bishop’s chair, Carter called it “the throne of the church”, although there is no evidence that it had a special religious purpose.
The other throne, sometimes called the “throne”, has a depiction of Tutankhamun and his wife, Ankhesenamun, Tyldesley as such in his book. In his note, Carter wrote that Ankhesenamun appeared to be applying ointment or perfume to Tutankhamun.
This throne is about 1 meter high and is upholstered in linen. It was a wooden chair with a firm, slightly sloping back, Tyldesley wrote, with arms, side panels, and four legs carved to resemble a lion’s foot. The chair is upholstered in gold and silver foil and inlaid with colorful stone, glass and glazed ceramics.
Tyldesley writes: “Like most of the ancient Egyptians, the chair was a luxury item, representing not only wealth but also power.”
8. Chariots
The golden chariot was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. In this 2019 photo, the chariot awaits restoration at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.
According to research published in 2020 in the journal Comité international pour l’égyptologie (translated from French for “International Commission on Egyptology”), Carter calls two of the most complex chariots as “state war chariot”. group notes in their paper. The researchers deeply analyzed and restored one of the chariots and found that it had a canopy above it that could provide shade for the riders in it.
The chariot also has images of six foreign prisoners on its right side, as well as hieroglyphs with the names of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. It also features a falcon with outstretched wings and a hieroglyphic inscription that says the falcon represents Horus, an Egyptian god associated with the sun.
“This whole design can be understood as the appearance of the royal couple revered by the Egyptians, ensuring the life and stability of the king and queen under the sun god hovering above and protect them,” the team wrote in their paper.
9. Trumpet
Two trumpets – one made of silver and the other of gilded bronze – were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb and are among the oldest surviving labrosones, according to the book “Science of Use”. brass instrument”.
It is unclear whether it could have been played in Tutankhamun’s time, the researchers note.
10. The statue of the dog-headed god
A statue of Anubis, an ancient Egyptian god whose jackal head was associated with mummification, was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. It is made of wood and gold.
