TUT

Image of King Tutankhamun's mask at www.argonet.co.uk/users/harts/egypt/4a_plan.htm from Mike Owen, harts@argonet.co.uk, March 2000. Email message.

King Tut’s original name was not Tut.  They just called him that for short.  His real name is Tutankhamun or Tutankhaten.  King Tut is probably the most well known king because his tomb hadn’t been robbed like most Egyptian tombs and pyramids had when it was discovered in 1922.  
Howard Carter discovered Tut’s tomb about 600 years after Tut died.  Howard was on the search for Tut for ten years.  Howard was going to stop searching for Tut’s tomb until one of his workers found a new door that lead to Tut’s tomb.  Tut’s tomb was buried behind a layer of rubble and chips.  After Tut died they had forgotten about his tomb.  Cleopatra removed his name from the royal lists.  That is why his tomb was not robbed as much as other tombs were.
When Tutankhaten became king he was 9 years old.  He became king when his father died because he was the oldest boy.  He was king for 9 years then unexpectedly died from a head injury.  None of Tut’s children were still alive after Tut died, so they could not take his place in being king.  Instead, Tut’s brother became king after Tuts’ death.
King Tutankhaten had 4 coffins.  They were all made of wood, which was then heavily decorated on the outside with both paint and gold leaf.  One of Tut’s coffins was made partly of gold.  That was the coffin that they put Tut in when he died.  The head of that coffin was made of pure gold decorated with stones and colored glass.
Some things that were in the tomb were foods and drinks that Tut ate and drank.  There were also models of servants and guards.  There were models of them because the Egyptians thought that the point of an Egyptian’s burial is to have somebody help the dead person live again for millions and millions of years.  The Egyptians thought that if you carefully preserved a dead body you would also preserve their spirit (Ba & Ka) and give them everlasting life.  Another thing that was in Tut’s tomb is a chest that was painted on one side.  It was in his tomb because it showed Tut stepping on his enemies.  A statue of the goddess Hathor was also in Tut’s tomb to watch over Tut’s body.
Tut’s tomb was not fit for a king. It was more for an official.  But since Tut died at an early age he had have that tomb.  The rooms were changed to make it more fit for a king, but he didn’t have a pyramid like most Egyptian rulers.  Some items for Tut’s afterlife were just thrown into rooms of his tomb.
When they opened the coffin that Tut was in they found 15 rings of all sizes on his mummy fingers.  He had 15 rings because that is how many times it took to wrap his hands.  Tut also had 13 bracelets.  They also found 415 statues of servants complete with baskets and tools.
Howard Carter was disappointed when he found out that somebody was there before him.  In Tut’s tomb tomb they found a hole that lead to a room that had some things in it that represented Tut.  Some of those things were tools and painted boxes.  Howard soon found out that someone had robbed that room.  He knew someone had robbed that room because some things were stolen.  Now Howard was more mad because now he really knew that someone was already there.
They found another room that was filled with chariots.  A chariot is something like a carriage that horses pull.  The chariot was used for racing and in battles.

Image of Canopic Jars at http://www.dia.org/, William Peck, DIAPO.wpeck@mail.ci.detroit.mi.us, March 2000. Email message.

Howard still did not find Tut until they went back and cut a hole in the door.  In the hole through the door they saw a gold door.  Surely it was fit for a king.  The room that they entered was painted with colorful pictures and strong letters.  On the other side of the room there was another door.  As Howard entered the room he was sure that no person had been there before, not even robbers.  The room was Tut’s family burial room, but Tut was not there either. After looking around for a while Howard discovered another door that lead to a room with chests of solid gold that held Tut’s brain, liver, stomach, intestines, and lungs. The chests, or canopic jars, had 4 figures of the goddesses Isis, Nemphthys, Neit, and Selket.
Howard Carter finally found Tut.  It was not easy, but he did it.  The last coffin that they looked in was Tut’s.  Dr. Doudlas Derry, another scientist, carefully unwrapped the layers of cloth that were hiding Tut.  Each layer of cloth had been covered with gold and jewelry.  The body was now all unwrapped.
They believe Tut was known as a mean and harsh ruler. They knew this because they saw pictures showing Tut kicking people.
The reason why archeologists know more about King Tut than they know about other kings of Egypt is because Tut’s tomb had not of been robbed when it was discovered.  This lets us know a lot of information about the Ancient Egyptians.

Posted in: The pharaohs Kings