Learning Goal I will be able to explain the important events and people involved in the discovery of King Tut’s tomb and why its discovery is so important to our understanding of ancient Egypt. I will also form an opinion about the so-called curse associated with the discovery of Tut’s tomb. (Pssst…..you will be reflecting on your learning using the Egypt Reflection and Scale.)  Ready? Here we go…..

Tut’s Tomb in The Valley of the Kings

How would Tut’s body have gotten to it’s final resting place in the Valley of the Kings? It would have been transported up the Nile in a boat such as this. Most pharaohs were buried with their royal ships close to their tombs so they could also use it in the afterlife.

Who Were the People Involved in the Discovery of Tut’s Tomb? In 1907, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter, was introduced to a wealthy British aristocrat named Lord Carnarvon. Both men were very interested in ancient Egypt and had been their entire lives. Lord Carnarvon agreed to pay for Carter’s expenses to go and live in Egypt for 10 years (!) so Carter could search for the tomb of a little-known boy pharaoh named Tutankhamen, whose tomb had not yet been discovered. If found, they would share the glory.

But What Led Them to Meeting But What Led Them to Meeting? In 1891, at the young age of 17, Howard Carter’s father found him a job in Egypt where he would get paid by the Egyptian government to use his artistic talents to copy wall scenes and paintings from inside tombs and palaces. (What a great job, right?) He was later promoted to “Inspector-General of Monuments” in Upper Egypt, but quit his job a few years later over an argument with his boss. Luckily for him he was soon introduced to Lord Carnarvon (in 1907) and together they made their historical agreement. Carter would lead the excavations, and Carnarvon would supply the money. The world had heard of King Tut and read hieroglyphs explaining his existence, yet his tomb had never been found. History was about to be made…..

After ten years of finding little, Lord Carnarvon became restless and unhappy with Carter’s lack of results. But in 1922, when he was just about to give up, he informed Carter that he would only provide him with enough money for one more year to search for Tut’s tomb (or anyone’s tomb) in the Valley of the Kings.

THE DAY ARRIVES! Saturday, November 4th, 1922 A young water boy working with the crew felt something strange under the heel of his shoe when taking a rest in the hot sun. As he cleared the sand around the rock he sat on, he noticed the rock was flat, almost like a step. The men were called over and after clearing off the sand, another step was found, and another, then another, until an entire flight of steps came into view. The steps led down to a sealed door made of brick and plaster. Carter knew they were in luck when he noticed that the stone doorway contained a special stamp or seal that was only used on royal tombs. This meant that the door would lead to the tomb of a very important person. He believed it was Tut’s tomb.

Quote from Howard Carter’s Diary: Sunday, November 4th, 1922 “Towards sunset we had cleared down to the level of the 12th step, which was sufficient to expose a large part of the upper portion of a plastered and sealed doorway. Here before us was sufficient evidence to show that it really was an entrance to a tomb, and by the seals, to all outward appearances that it was intact.“

Carter Waits for Lord Carnarvon to Arrive As excited and as anxious as Carter was to open the tomb, he chose to wait for Carnarvon to arrive from England, so he too could witness the opening of the tomb. It was nearly 3 weeks after finding the first steps, that Carter was able to proceed. On November 23rd 1922, Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert arrived, and together with Howard Carter they removed and opened the sealed doorway on November 25th.

The Long Awaited First Look On November 26th, 1922, with Lord Carnarvon and his daughter with him, Carter made a tiny opening in the top left hand corner of the doorway, using a chisel that his grandmother had given him for his 17th birthday. He was able to peer in by the light of a candle and see that many of the gold treasures were still in place.

Carnarvon’s first question to Carter was, “Can you see any anything Carnarvon’s first question to Carter was, “Can you see any anything?” Carter’s simple reply was, ‘Yes, many beautiful things.’ Here are some of those beautiful things. Pretty nice, aren’t they?

The Supposed “Curse” People have said these words were written in hieroglyphs across the door of King Tut’s tomb, however there has never been any prove of its existence and Howard Carter or Lord Carnarvon never mentioned it. Even so, as newspapers around the world announced their wonderful discovery, people spoke of and warned of ‘the curse.’ “Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to He Who Disturbs the Peace of the King.”

Tut’s Tomb was Very Small for a Pharaoh

Tut’s Burial Chamber Tut’s mummy was enclosed in not one, but three golden sarcophagi, because pharaohs were not to be disturbed in the afterlife.

King Tut became pharaoh when he was only 9 years old King Tut became pharaoh when he was only 9 years old. He reigned from approximately 1332-1323 B.C. His family was Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. His father was the great pharaoh Akhenaten. Very little is known about his life because he reigned for such a short time and not much survives or has been written about his life. Most experts agree Tut must have died a sudden death at about the age of 18 or 19. However we don’t know if he was murdered, died in a chariot accident, died of an illness, or a combination of these things. Tut is far more famous for his death than for his life, because his tomb was completely intact when it was discovered and because of this, we finally had a clear picture of how pharaohs were buried. Who was King Tut anyway?

Let’s get back to the supposed ‘curse. ’ Facts Let’s get back to the supposed ‘curse.’ Facts? Random (strange) happenings? Coincidence? Rumor? Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter entered Tut's burial chamber on February 17, 1923. On or about March 6, Lord Carnarvon was bitten by a mosquito on his cheek and became ill. The mosquito bite became infected, he got blood poisoning, and on April 5, he died---just over a year from discovering Tut’s tomb. He was only 56 years old. The bite was in the same spot on his cheek as a scar found on the mummy of Tut. At the same time Carnarvon died, all the electricity in Cairo went off. In fact, some say the lights in the hospital went off almost to the second that he died. O_o At the same hour Carnarvon died, Carnarvon’s pet terrier, Susie, howled and dropped over dead. On the same day that the entrance of Tut’s burial tomb was opened, Carter’s pet canary was eaten by a cobra. Cobras are very rare in Egypt and especially in winter. In ancient times they were regarded as the symbol of royalty. Coincidence? Carter did have a canary, but he gave it to a friend about a year before the discovery, so technically it wasn’t his pet any longer. No one has ever proven the ‘cobra’ story. Several of the Egyptian workers who were present when the tomb was opened died within a year. 6 out of the 26 workers connected with the excavation of Tut’s tomb were dead within 10 years.