Tutankhamun: Epic Discovery of the Popular Boy Pharaoh Who Lives On
Did you know that the chances of you being dug up from your fantastically grand grave are low, but never zero?
It goes without saying that the urge to discover the unknown and dive deeper into them, is what drives humanity towards development. One of my favourite mind- boggling discoveries is that of the tomb of Tutankhamun. You and I could call him King Tut for the purpose of convenience ( I would like to unfortunately disclose to you that I did not give him that nickname. The guys who dug him up did: Archeologists, that is). Discovered in the Valley Of the Kings in Egypt, the young Pharaoh came with a bunch of surprises- from unconventional chambers and treasures to surprising DNA tests.
The Discovery
On the hot and sunny day of November 4, 1922, Archeologist Howard Carter and his team stumbled upon what seemed like stairs to an underground chamber. This was at The Valley of the Kings, in Luxor, Egypt. After almost 19 days of further digging, the team was in for a surprise: they had finally found a burial chamber. And it belonged to whom they had been searching for, all along- the last member of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. It was the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Tutankhamun
Tut Ankh Amun- translated to the ‘Living image of Amun’, was the only son out of seven children of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. The latter was infamous for being a heretic pharaoh [disruptor, in this sense]. This was because he had converted the polytheistic kingdom of Egypt to a monotheistic one. Under his rule, people were to stop the worship of the multiple Gods, especially that of Amun, and treat Aten as the primary and only deity. Akhenaten had also moved the capital from Thebes to Amarna, which was then to be known as The Valley of the Kings. The changes brought about by Tut’s father had disrupted Egypt in its entirety and was hence given the not-so-pleasant name by generations to come.
However, after his father’s demise, his son, Tutankhaten succeeded the throne at the ripe age of nine [1332 BC]. He married one of his half-sisters, Ankhesenamun, and ruled the kingdom till he was 18–19, after which he passed away. During his reign, he reversed the changes brought about by his father- relocated the capital to Thebes, and introduced the worship of Amun, once again. He thus changed his original name Tutankhaten, to Tutankhamun. Notice how the ‘Aten’ was changed to ‘Amun’.
Inside The Tomb
4 chambers, each around 18 feet wide, were discovered inside the tomb. About 6000 valuable treasures were found in these chambers- this included Shabtis [ dolls meant to play the roles of servants in the afterlife], canopic jars to store his heart and liver, his golden throne, beds and breastplate, the statue of Anubis, games, his 2 daggers and an uncountable collection of items made of gold and wood and inlaid with precious stones of variable colours.
The walls of the chambers were painted with depictions of Tut’s travel to the afterlife, on the sun boat of Ra. There were paintings of the baboon gods, each depicting Tut’s travel through the different worlds.
Of the most important findings in the tomb was the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. The mummy was within the innermost of 3 coffins, one inside the other. Made of gold, the innermost coffin depicted the pharaoh holding the customary crook and flail. He wore the iconic mask which contained spells from the Book of the Dead , which would help the pharaoh in the journey to afterlife. His diadem [headband that secured his wig onto his head, during processions and festivals] had the head of the vulture goddess, Nekhbet, and the cobra goddess, Wadget. The emperor also wore a gold Scarab brooch [a beetle]. Scarabs symbolised regeneration and were buried along with the pharaohs.
However, it was noticed that the mummification of Tut had been done untidily, unlike other mummies found in Egypt. This was strange, considering he was the last Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The chambers were also much smaller than that of the other kings. What was even more questionable, was that the spells engraved from the Book of the Dead consisted of only the primary ones, and not their complete set.
Another notable discovery from the tomb are the sarcophagi of 2 stillborn infants, found right next to Tutankhamun’s. Anatomical studies later proved that the stillborns were both girls. The younger one was 5 months into foetal development, and the older one, 7.
Upon anatomical study of Tut’s mummy, it was found that he had a peculiar build. He could have been afflicted with genetic diseases because of generations of inbreeding.
The Mystery of Tut
The discovery of Tut’s tomb turned out to be one of the most fruitful archaeological excavations in Egyptian archaeology. The tomb had provided extremely valuable insight on the same, as most other tombs in Egypt had been looted and plundered in the past. Tutankhamun’s tomb was one of the best preserved among them all. However, it introduced a whole new set of facts as well as questions to archaeologists. Some of them are given below.
- As stated above, his tomb was comparatively insignificant to that of the other Pharaohs. The wall paintings, the spells and the mummification were all done, as if in a haste. Moreover, his body was found to have physical anomalies.
So, could Tut have died of ailments?
Was his death so sudden, that the builders didn’t get time to build his tomb, or did someone purposely do so?
- Why were two premature infants buried with him? Were they related to him, or were they sacrificed?
Mystery Solved, Is it?
After decades and decades of anatomical, genetic and historical research, it has been found that Tutankhamun was affected by malaria at the time of his death and did indeed have an ailment on one of his legs. DNA reports suggest that his father, Akhenaten, had a genetic disease due to generational inbreeding. However, the exact cause of the former’s death cannot be pinpointed, as his ailments cannot be called serious enough to cause death.
Speaking about the chambers- the different styles of painting on different walls suggested that they had been done by multiple people, and swiftly, unlike the usual case. Under normal circumstances, the paintings were alike and were done without any visible paint splatters. This meant that the chambers were definitely prepared in a rush, the reason still unknown. New theories involve a half-brother of Tut, Smenkhare, who wanted to ascend the throne after the death of his brother. We could call it a typical story of competition for power.
The one mystery that has been successfully solved is that of the stillborns. Their DNA analysis proved that they were Tutankhamun’s premature daughters.
That wraps up the curious case of Tut.
Well, after almost a century of the discovery of the tomb, archeological surveys still carry on, and discoveries backed by science are made every day. We are still yet to excavate the entire tomb, and are yet to find solid evidence that could solve the curious case of Tutankhamun.
Until then, all we can do is speculate and be curious.
