E Howard Carter's expedition found the stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Since ancient times, the high culture of Egypt has aroused enthusiastic surprise among the peoples of the world. Scientists and philosophers from Greece came to Egypt in search of knowledge. Sick people were brought to the Nile Valley, as Egyptian doctors were considered the best healers of human ailments. But Egypt - a country of stone wonders - beckoned with its incomparable monuments of art. There are many interesting photos from the excavations in this post under CAT...
Tutankhamun's tomb, the only unlooted tomb, was discovered in 1922 by two Englishmen, Egyptologist Howard Carter and amateur archaeologist Lord Carnarvon. This find, which has reached us almost in its original form after more than three thousand years, is considered one of the most important finds in archaeology.
The tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings, where from the 16th century BC. e. to 11th century BC e. Tombs were built to bury the pharaohs - the kings of Ancient Egypt.
Luxor: King's Valley, Photographer: Peter J. Bubenik
The valley is located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Thebes (modern Luxor). The search for her took a long time. Archaeological expeditions have been working in the Valley of the Kings for a long time, which seemed to have dug up everything that was possible, and no new finds were expected. However, Carter was sure that Tutankhamun's tomb must be somewhere here. Scientists did not give up hope that, perhaps, they would be able to find the entire burial.
Patron and organizer of excavations Lord Carnarvon reading a book on the veranda of Carter's house in the Valley of the Kings. Around 1923
Carter had a reputation as a meticulous scholar, meticulously keeping records and caring for the safety of antiquities. He divided the valley into squares and began to methodically check them. For several archaeological seasons, Carter's expedition carried out excavations in the Valley of the Kings, but the results achieved still left much to be desired.
In 1922, Lord Carnarvon, who had spent a fair amount of money on archaeological work and was discouraged by the failures, announced to Howard Carter his decision to curtail the search for the tomb in the area. And then Carter resumed excavations in an area he had previously neglected near a group of destroyed huts. And luck smiled on them.
On November 4, 1922, Carter's expedition discovered a small step carved into the rock, and by the end of the next day the entire staircase leading to the door was cleared of sand. Carter sent an urgent telegram to Lord Carnarvon, begging him to come immediately.
Photo at the entrance to the tomb. They don't yet know what awaits them there...
On November 26, in the presence of Lord Carnarvon, Carter made a hole in the corner of the door and, illuminating the resulting opening with a candle flame, carefully looked inside.
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker open the entrance to a massive sanctuary in the tomb's burial chamber and see Tutankhamun's sarcophagus for the first time. January 4, 1924
« At first it was impossible to see anything; the flame flickered slightly and fluctuated in the flow of warm air coming from the room. Only after some time, when my eyes got a little used to the light, the outlines of the room began to gradually emerge from the darkness, strange animals, statues and gold - the glitter of gold everywhere" Howard Carter
It took Carter a full eight years to ensure that every item in the varied and numerous grave goods was carefully documented and cataloged before the tomb was completely cleared. In total there will be about three and a half thousand different precious objects.
A ceremonial bed in the shape of a celestial cow, food supplies and other items in a room Carter dubbed the tomb's "anteroom." December 1922
Model boats in the room Carter dubbed the tomb's "treasury." Around 1923
A gilded bed in the shape of a lion, a chest for storing clothes and other items in the “hallway”. The statues guard the walled entrance to the pharaoh's tomb. December 1922
Under the lion-shaped bed in the "hallway" are several boxes and drawers, as well as an ebony and ivory chair made for the child Tutankhamun. December 1922
A gilded bust of the sky goddess Mehurt, depicted as a cow, as well as chests in the tomb's "treasury". Around 1923
Chests in the "treasury" of the tomb. Around 1923
Intricately carved alabaster vases in the “hallway.” December 1922
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and Egyptian workers remove the partition separating the "hallway" from the burial chamber. December 2, 1923
On February 16, 1923, a British expedition led by archaeologist Howard Carter found the main treasure of the pyramid: the stone sarcophagus of the pharaoh.
Inside the massive sanctuary in the burial chamber, a huge linen cloth with golden rosettes, reminiscent of the night sky, covers nested smaller arks. December 1923
Howard Carter, Arthur Mays, and an Egyptian worker carefully roll up the linen. December 30, 1923
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and Egyptian workers carefully dismantle one of the golden sarcophagi inside the burial chamber. December 1923
Carter examines the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. October 1925
When the sarcophagus was opened in February, a golden coffin containing his mummy was found inside. The sarcophagus was gold and contained more than 100 kg of pure gold, and the body of the pharaoh located there was mummified.
SARCOPHAGUS OF TUTANKHAMUN
1 - the first anthropoid coffin (tree); 2 — second anthropoid coffin (wood, gilding); 3 — third anthropoid coffin (cast gold); 4 — golden mask; 5 — Tutankhamun’s mummy; 6 — ark made of red quartzite
The room where the sarcophagus was located was filled with so many precious objects that it took five whole years to dismantle them. The sarcophagus containing Tutankhamun's mummy is left in its tomb in the Valley of the Kings. All the treasures found there are now kept in the Cairo Museum.
Restorers Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas study a golden chariot from the tomb of Tutankhamun outside the walls of the “laboratory” in the tomb of Pharaoh Seti II. December 1923
The pharaoh reigned for about 9 years, from approximately 1332 to 1323 BC (died at the age of 19).
Curse of Tutankhamun
The first victim was a bird that lived in a cage in Carter's Luxor house. After they found the tomb, it was eaten by a cobra - according to Egyptian mythology, an animal that slays the enemies of the pharaoh. The interpretation spread in the press that this was a bad omen for the excavation participants.
The mysterious deaths following archaeologist Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's intact tomb are now being blamed on mold. It turned out that the mold fungus Aspergillus niger lived in the tissues of the mummy's lungs, which can be fatal for people with weakened immune systems or with a damaged pulmonary system.
The first victim of “Tutankhamun,” the organizer and sponsor of the excavations, Lord Carnarvon, long before the discovery of the tomb, was in a terrible car accident in which he damaged his lung. He died of pneumonia some time after visiting the tomb.
Following him, another participant in the excavations died, Arthur Mace, who, by tragic accident, was seriously ill before the start of the excavations. His weakened immune system provided the perfect environment for the mold's deadly qualities to manifest itself. But people associate their death with a curse.
Howard Carter himself (pictured), who, it would seem, was the first to fall victim to the “curse,” died 16 years after the opening of the tomb, at the age of 64, and the natural causes of his death are not denied by the adherents of the “curse.” But with the curse this whole story is more mysterious...
(C) various Internet sources
Howard Carter worked on the search for Tutankhamun's tomb with his companion Lord George Carnarvon. In 1923, Lord Carnarvon died suddenly in a hotel in Cairo. The official cause of death was not precisely determined, since the level of development of medicine in Egypt at that time was still weak. It was either pneumonia or blood poisoning from a razor cut.
It was after this death that the press began to actively “trumpet” about the “curse of Tutankhamun.” Talk began about some mythical fungi and microorganisms that the priests left to destroy the robbers. And then Hollywood picked up the idea.
Of course, these are nothing more than fables. Lord Carnarvon was not a 20-year-old boy; he was already 57 years old at the time of his death. Pneumonia and blood poisoning were deadly diseases in those days, since antibiotics had not yet been invented.
Howard Carter himself died in 1939 at the age of 64. Logically, if the curse exists, it should have affected him first.
Another version says that there is no mysticism in the deaths of some expedition members. They were allegedly killed by Egyptian intelligence services to hide the falsification. This version is more realistic, we will talk about it in detail.
Allegations of falsification
There is an opinion that these excavations and the entire tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun are a fake. Allegedly, Carter and the Egyptian authorities built a fake tomb. This makes some sense, since Egypt made a lot of money from the sale of treasures.
Fans of this theory give the following arguments:
Firstly, at the time of Carter’s discovery, the entire Valley of the Kings had already been dug up, and it was no longer possible to find anything new there.
This argument can be immediately rejected. How is this impossible? Archaeologist Otto Schaden found another tomb here in 2005. And they will probably find more.
Second argument. Carter carried out excavations for a very long time - about 5 years. Allegedly, he spent this time building a fake.
This argument also means nothing. They can dig for 5 years, maybe 10, what’s surprising?
Third, some items look brand new. This is also possible, some items are better preserved, some worse.
Fourth, the coffin lid was split. Allegedly, this was done on purpose, since she did not fit through the door of the tomb. This argument is very dubious - the lid of the coffin split, what's surprising?
And there are a lot of similar arguments that cast a shadow of doubt, but do not prove anything.
Let's think rationally. These people claim that Carter spent 110 kilograms of gold to make a sarcophagus from it, and another 11 kilograms of gold for the mask. Found or produced approximately 3,500 artifacts.
He carved a tomb in the rock and produced two stone sarcophagi. I found somewhere an ownerless mummy of a man about 20 years old. Then he packed it all into the tomb and announced the discovery.
Read it all! He had to do all this undetected! Do you believe this is possible? Where do gold and money come from? How could this be done in secret? This is just unreal.
The museums that purchased these exhibits conduct examinations of the items in their collections. If Carter and the Egyptian government had carried out such a scam, it would have been exposed scientifically long ago.
November 1922 went down in history as a significant day of the discovery of one of the great world press on November 30 with intriguing headlines: “The search was crowned with success...”, “Egyptian treasure”. It was reported that Lord Carnarvon and Mr. Carter had made the greatest discovery of the century - the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the heretical Egyptian king.
Lord Carnarvon had long been in love with Egypt and deeply studied history. In 1916, with the support of the famous explorer Howard Carter, he began work on finding the tomb of the pharaoh, which lasted for six years. A group of scientists faced an almost impossible task. The Valley of the Kings had long been dug up, and the tombs of other Egyptian kings were plundered. Tutankhamun's tomb was found during the last winter of excavations under what were once builders' huts.
The reign of the young man was not marked by significant revolutions. He ascended the throne after the mysterious death of Amenhotep IV, the pharaoh who rejected the cult and proclaimed himself the sole ruler of Egypt. The reign of Amenhotep IV left behind devastation, Egypt was practically destroyed. After the death of the madman, his body was torn to pieces and thrown away.
9-year-old Tutankhamun comes to power during this difficult period and tries to restore the former greatness of the state and gain the favor of the gods. Despite the fact that a great future was prophesied for the young pharaoh, Tutankhamun dies at the age of 18 and is buried in a hastily constructed modest tomb, which was found three millennia later.
The tomb of Tutankhamun is a living legend, its discovery is the greatest day for Egyptologists and scientists who have not previously been able to touch the history of the burial of the pharaohs. And only in 1922 were exciting facts obtained that became direct evidence of the luxury of burial of the rulers of ancient civilization.
Descending the steps of the stairs leading into the dungeon, the expedition discovered on its way walled up entrances with traces of ancient seals, the last of which was the door to the legendary tomb.
The tomb of Tutankhamun, photos of which were subsequently presented to the press, was a crypt filled with gilded chariots, statues of kings, caskets and chests. The jewelry that was found in the tomb took five years to be sorted out - so great was their quantity.
In one of the rooms of the tomb, a sarcophagus was found with three gilded coffins, the last of which contained the mummy of Tutankhamun; his face was covered with a golden mask of amazing work. Judging by the contours, the young pharaoh was captivating and handsome. Of course, the mummy, like other artifacts in the tomb, was strewn with gold jewelry. However, among the treasures, the most touching was a bouquet of withered flowers, apparently left by a young man. Scientists claim that since Tutankhamun was buried in such luxury, one can only imagine what wealth the tombs of other kings contained.
The tomb of Tutankhamun, however, bore traces of robbers having been in it. The thieves probably visited the tomb shortly after the burial, but for unknown reasons they stole little and never returned. The entrance to the crypt was blocked over time, and then completely forgotten.
Any discovery always has a mysterious trail. The curse of Tutankhamun's tomb is a mystery that captures the imagination of even contemporaries. After opening the tomb, about 20 members of the expedition died in a short time under strange circumstances. Lord Carnarvon died in 1923 from a mosquito bite. The press widely covered all the unusual deaths that befell many scientists and visitors to the tomb. It is believed that by 1930 he was the only one left alive among those members of the group who were directly involved in the excavations.
Mysteries have always attracted humanity. And how many of them are still hidden and not revealed to the world. Perhaps riddles are revealed to people when their time comes.
On February 16, 1923, Howard Carter opened the last door on the way to Tutankhamun and his untold riches. The archaeologist managed to discover his tomb among the sands of the “Kingdom of the Dead” and reveal the secret of the unknown pharaoh.
When Carter came up with the idea of searching for Tutankhamun, he was already a recognized archaeologist who had lived in Egypt for a long time and was very famous for his other equally important finds - he was the one who dug the famous Temple of Hatshepsut, and also inspected the work of the American archaeologist Theodore Davis. In general, the Valley of the Kings by this time was a dug-out pit, most of the tombs, especially of large pharaohs, had already been found, and the ancient cemetery of the pharaohs did not promise new surprises. Only unknown pharaohs, whose name “did not thunder” in history, could give hope. One day, while working in Cairo on one of the Egyptian stelae, Carter came across a mention of a certain Tutankhamun, the successor of the scandalous Akhenaten, who revived the cult of Amon Ra and then died suddenly. The main thing is that no one had heard anything about the tomb of Tutankhamun; it was not on the list of open burials in the Valley of the Kings.
last try
In 1906, Carter met the wealthy Lord Carnarvon, to whom he was introduced by the director of the Cairo Museum, Gaston Maspero. This meeting turned out to be very opportune for Carter, who was absorbed in his discovery. Lord Carnorvon, an ardent collector of antiquities, agreed to sponsor the search for an unknown tomb - he believed in his star. But there was no quick triumph; twelve years passed, with a break for the First World War, archaeologists had already dug up the entire Valley of the Kings, but found no traces of Tutankhamun. The scientific community was skeptical about the search for the ephemeral ruler of the 18th dynasty, and Carnarvon himself no longer believed in the success of the enterprise. But after a long search, Carter already knew where to dig.
Once, while working with Theodore Davis, Carter discovered a faience goblet and a broken wooden casket near the tomb of Ramses VI. Both objects had the name of Tutankhamun inscribed on them. Perhaps these items did not belong to the tomb of Ramses, but were once forgotten here by the priests during the funeral of an unknown ruler. We only need “one more season.” In 1922, Lord gave Carter one last try. And she was crowned with success. On November 4, 1922, his shovel hit something hard. It turned out to be a sealed door.
First disappointment
Stunned by his discovery, Carter telegraphed to the lord that he had found an unknown, unopened tomb, promising to temporarily stop work until he arrived. Carnarvanon immediately left London and was in place within two weeks. The tomb was dug up, this time to the end. At the bottom of the walled entrance there were seal impressions with the name... Tutankhamun.
It was a real success! Carter not only found an unknown tomb, but also proved that Tutankhamun was not his invention, but a truly historical ruler. But at that moment, those present were overcome with anxiety - there were signs of forced entry on the door, the tomb had already been opened, twice.
"The most wonderful day of my life"
The first door was followed by a hallway, followed by the next door. By the morning of November 26, the passage to it was cleared. The door was also walled up and sealed with the seals of Tutankhamun and the royal necropolis. And here there were traces of an autopsy.
The decisive moment had arrived - Carter punched a hole, held a candle, and saw something that no Egyptologist had been able to see before, and perhaps would never be able to see again. The archaeologist was speechless. This is how he later described his impression in his diary: “The impression was grandiose, vague, overwhelming... we had never even dreamed of anything like that. In front of us was a room, a real museum hall... full of all kinds of objects. Some seemed familiar to us, others were completely like nothing, and they were all piled on top of each other in inexhaustible abundance. It was my most wonderful day of my life.”
Vault or tomb?
However, the sarcophagus was nowhere to be found. Therefore, having recovered from the first impression, the scientists decided that they were mistaken - this is not a tomb, but just a hiding place. But when we looked more closely at the right wall of the room, where the black statues of the pharaoh stood facing each other - images of his Ka, we noticed another walled up door between them. The researchers now have hope - maybe there will be new treasures and, of course, the pharaoh himself.
Further searches had to be temporarily stopped. To begin with, it was necessary to record what had already been found: sketch, draw, make an inventory of objects. The work took a year - it was considerably complicated by the hype that arose around the new discovery. Journalists did not allow passage, and in Paris there was even a women’s toilet “Tutankham-style”.
Ghost of Tutankhamun
On February 16, 1923, they began to open the door that could lead to the burial chamber, but at the last moment the archaeologists sensed something was wrong: “At that moment we lost all desire to open these seals, because we suddenly felt that we were invading forbidden possessions; this oppressive feeling was further intensified by the linen coverings that fell from the inner ark. It seemed to us that the ghost of the deceased pharaoh had appeared before us, and we must bow before him,” Howard Carter later recalled. But don’t stop halfway - the seals were broken, and behind them stood a huge golden sarcophagus, and countless treasures lay.
They say that archaeologists, blinded by the golden glitter, did not immediately notice a sign with a threatening inscription: “The pitchfork of death will pierce the one who disturbs the peace of the pharaoh.” Lord Carnanvon was the first to enter the tomb. A few months later he suddenly fell ill and died.
Was there a curse?
After the lord's death, rumors began to circulate about the curse of the mysterious pharaoh. This is not to say that they were founded out of nowhere; the Egyptians indeed always left signs with curses in case of uninvited guests. The inscription found in the tomb of Tutankhamun was no exception. But not a single opened burial entailed as many deaths as the notorious tomb of Tutankhamun, to which as many as 22 victims are attributed. Supporters of the “curse” version talked about the sudden and mysterious death of the pharaoh himself, who died at the age of 19, allegedly falling from a horse; about the chaos that was happening in the tomb itself - after all, usually everything in a burial is left in order, but in this case all things were scattered. What also seemed inexplicable was the fact that, despite the opening of the tomb by robbers, which occurred a couple of decades after the funeral itself, the looters did not take away even half of it. The things prepared for removal remained there. Something caught the attackers in the act.
95 years ago the brightest archaeological discovery of the 20th century was made
On November 4, 1922, British artist and archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the first traces of the previously unknown tomb of Tutankhamun during excavations in Egypt.
In the 4th century AD, the last emperor of the unified Roman Empire, Theodosius I, ordered the closure of all pagan temples in the country. This led to the fact that in Egypt - at that time a Roman province - hieroglyphic writing finally died out.
The last inscription in Egyptian cursive writing has reached us from the 5th century. Since then, there has been no one left who could read or write in ancient Egyptian. Thus ended the incredibly long - more than four thousand years - history of the civilization of Ancient Egypt.
It was not remembered for several centuries, until in 1801 Napoleon returned to France from the Egyptian campaign, in which scientists also participated. They brought with them a large number of historical artifacts, which were sent for storage to the Egyptian Institute, created shortly before.
Real Egyptomania began - Europe discovered a huge ancient civilization: with pyramids, sphinxes and pharaohs. Explorers, travelers, artists and adventurers flocked to Egypt.
In 1822, the orientalist François Champollion, using bilingual Greek-Egyptian inscriptions, deciphered the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on the famous Rosetta Stone, becoming the founder of Egyptology as a separate field of scientific knowledge.
Since England, Germany and France continued their political rivalry over the redistribution of colonies, including Egypt, they were interested in studying it. Collecting Egyptian antiquities became fashionable among the elite. Acquaintance with one of these collections prompted Howard Carter to go to Egypt.
He spent several seasons on expeditions, working in the ancient residence of Pharaoh Akhenaten and the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. He was soon appointed chief inspector of antiquities in Upper Egypt.
Photo: General view of Howard Carter's excavations in the Valley of the Kings. © Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In this position, he participated in various activities for the excavation and conservation of historical monuments, including the site that made him famous - the Valley of the Kings. He lost his post after a brawl between rowdy French tourists and Egyptian sentries guarding the monuments. Carter sided with the Egyptians (or even the monuments).
For the next few years, he again worked as an artist, until in 1909 he met another wealthy British antiquities lover, Lord Carnarvon. Tom managed to obtain permission for large-scale excavations in the Valley of the Kings, and after a delay caused by the First World War, Carter began work.
The excavations continued for several years, but were completely fruitless; Lord Carnarvon lost patience and was ready to close the project, but the stubborn Carter insisted on one last effort. It was a success when, finally, on November 4, 1922, in the desert rocks of Deir el-Bahri, an Egyptian water boy hired by Carter noticed a step carved into the rock.
Photo: View of the newly discovered tomb of Tutankhamun. It was in this state that it was discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carvarnon. © The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images
The next day, workers cleared the entrance to the tomb, which was given the number KV62. It was located at the entrance to the tomb of another pharaoh - Ramesses VI. His tomb was “younger”, and, apparently, during its construction, the entrance to the “older” tomb was filled up.
The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb was a huge breakthrough due to the fact that it remained almost intact. It contained jewelry, seals with the name of Tutankhamun, flower wreaths, skeins of linen fabric, a special substance for mummification, painted vases and gilded funeral masks, including the most famous one - about 5 thousand items in total. The main find, of course, was a turquoise-encrusted pure gold sarcophagus containing the mummified body of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Photo left: Howard Carter and the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. Photo: Harry Burton Photo right: Howard Carter at Tutankhamun's sarcophagus (colorized photograph) © Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Journalists entered the tomb a week after the researchers. An endless stream of tourists from all over the world flowed there, which began to interfere with the excavations. Eventually, Carnarvon, wanting to improve his financial affairs, sold exclusive rights to cover the excavations to The Times newspaper for £5,000 and 75% of the proceeds from the sale of articles worldwide. Journalists from other publications were furious, but Carter's team breathed more freely - the flow of journalists into the tomb decreased.
In April 1923, less than six months after the discovery of the tomb, Lord Carnarvon died suddenly from blood poisoning and pneumonia, apparently caused by the bite of an infected mosquito in Cairo. Shortly before this, the popular novelist Marie Corelli sent a letter to the editors of the New York World magazine in which she warned of dire consequences for anyone who disturbs the peace of Tutankhamun's tomb. Why she did this is unclear. Corelli died a year later without explaining anything to anyone. Nevertheless, the news of the “curse of Tutankhamun” was picked up by the press. Journalists attributed the early and unnatural deaths from the curse to three dozen people who had any connection with the tomb. An inscription allegedly carved on the wall of the tomb roamed the pages of newspapers: “Those who enter this sacred tomb will soon be visited by the wings of death.” Of course, it's fictitious.
Photo: Unopened seal on the door to Tutankhamun's tomb. Photo: Harry Burton
In 2002, epidemiologist Mark Nelson of Monash University in Australia examined historical evidence and traced the fate of the Europeans Carter mentioned as members of the Egyptian expedition that found Tutankhamun's tomb. It turned out that only 25 people could have been exposed to the harmful influence of the mummy, since they were present during key work in the tomb: the opening of the inner sanctuary, the opening of the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun, the opening of the three golden coffins placed in it and the examination of the pharaoh's mummy. The average age of death for this group turned out to be 70 years - and after the opening of the tomb, they lived, again on average for the group, about 21 more years. Those who also collaborated with Carter during the opening of the tomb, but were not present at any time (11 people), lived about five years longer... but were on average the same five years younger. Thus, Nelson concluded, none of the members of Carter’s archaeological team suffered a terrible and sudden death, and there can be no talk of any curse from the pharaoh. True, there were also Egyptians in the detachment, but it was not possible to trace their fate and life expectancy. In any case, it was lower than that of Europeans, and Nelson did not include them in the study, which he published in the British Medical Journal.
Thus, the curse of the mummy turned out to be nothing more than “media hype.” The sinister image of the avenging mummy, however, was so loved by the public that it became part of world pop culture, and - along with Dracula and Frankenstein - the hero of numerous books, films, games and comics. The film “The Mummy” with Boris Karloff has become a classic of world cinema.
Following the opening of the tomb, a period of study began. Having made Howard Carter a world celebrity, the pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty of the New Kingdom, Tutankhamun, or, as he is called in English literature, Tut, himself became one of the most famous kings of Ancient Egypt. But scientists have not been able to find out much about his life. From the inscription on the tomb it is known that he was the son of the eccentric pharaoh Amenhotep IV, who amazed both his contemporaries and archaeologists by the fact that - 1300 years before Christianity! - proclaimed the monotheistic cult of the single sun god Aten in the pagan state and took the name Akhenaten in his honor. The cult, however, died out with the death of the ruler. Akhenaten's wife Nefertiti was apparently not Tutankhamun's mother. According to the ancient tradition of the rulers of Ancient Egypt, he himself was married to the daughter of Akhenaten, that is, to his half-sister.
Tutankhamun ascended the throne in 1343 BC. at the age of 9−10 years. His domestic political activities are known from the inscription on the so-called Restoration Stele. It follows from it that Tutankhamun refused to continue his father’s “monotheistic revolution” and began to restore the sanctuaries of the ancient gods, led by Amon. He also left his father's residence - Amarna, and it fell into disrepair.
The young pharaoh apparently led quite successful military campaigns abroad - in Nubia and Syria. At least in the tomb of his commander Horemheb there are inscriptions of gratitude for good service.
Photo: Painting from ~1327 BC depicting Tutankhamun defeating his enemies. Photo: Yann Forget
In the second half of the 20th century, the tomb did not provide scientists with any serious new knowledge, since it was impossible to access it when it was returned to the Valley of the Kings after exhibitions. Finally, in 2007-2009, a team of scientists led by Doctor of Archeology and former Minister of Antiquities of Egypt Zaha Hawass conducted a comprehensive anthropological, genetic and radiological study of the mummies of the pharaoh and his relatives.
The study showed that Tutankhamun lived poorly, but not for long. He had a cleft palate (congenital cleft of the hard palate and upper jaw), clubfoot, and Köhler's disease (deformations and tissue necrosis caused by impaired blood supply to individual bones of the foot). Before his death, he apparently suffered a fractured hip, which never healed. In addition, the causative agent of malaria was found in the pharaoh’s brain tissue. Tutankhamun suffered from malarial encephalitis, and complications caused by the disease apparently caused his death.
At the same time, studies did not confirm that the pharaoh had diseases of the endocrine system and Marfan syndrome, due to which the limbs and fingers lengthen disproportionately, although this was suspected. Numerous images and reliefs of his father, Akhenaten, show his clearly feminine figure and probable gynecomastia. Scientists assumed that these were hereditary characteristics, and they could also appear in the son, but studies did not confirm this. A tomograph scan of the mummy allowed scientists to suggest that Tut died at the age of approximately 19 years.
Photo left: G. Carter and A. Callender systematizing finds from the tomb of Tutankhamun © Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Photo right: Treasures discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb © Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Nicholas Reeves concluded that the strange depictions of Akhenaten are simply a tribute to the tradition of depicting pharaohs as different from their subjects, in order to emphasize their divine status.
Eleven of his relatives were buried in the tomb along with Tutankhamun, including his sister-wife Ankhesenamun and six other ancestors. However, among them was not the most obvious and most interesting mummy - the wife of King Akhenaten, the beautiful Nefertiti.
From 1998 to 2002, Nicholas Reeves, who today can apparently be considered one of the most obsessive researchers of the tomb, continued to work in it. He noticed that Tutankhamun’s tomb was much smaller than the tombs of other pharaohs, which means it could have been built for the queen. Perhaps the pharaoh ended up there only because of his sudden death and the lack of a more suitable burial place. Then the queen herself must obviously lie somewhere nearby. Reeves shared this assumption with the former Minister of Antiquities of Egypt, Mamdouh al-Damati, and received permission to conduct georadar studies of the tomb.
Photo: Render of Tutankhamun's tomb. Image: Naeblys/PHOTODOM/Shutterstock
In 2000, radar revealed that there was indeed a cavity 14 meters outside the walls of Tutankhamun's burial chamber, as well as likely objects of bone, wood and metal. Reeves gave this cavity the name KV63, thereby classifying it as part of the tomb complex (the burial chamber, for example, is called KV62). Since then, there have been ongoing disputes between archaeologists and the Egyptian authorities about whether there really is another burial chamber in the rock, whether there is anything worthwhile in it and whether excavations need to begin.
In the meantime, violating the integrity of the burial is strictly prohibited, so for now particularly impatient researchers are forced to resort to “secondary sources.” For example, study copies of the tomb. Fortunately, some of them are very, very accurate: for example, the same Reeves closely examined a full-size replica of the tomb, created as part of a philanthropic project in 2014. Its creators made a “3D impression” of the KV62 by scanning the room with a laser. Having studied the data obtained, Reeves saw traces of two previously unknown doorways behind the wall ornaments. They, in his opinion, are nothing more than entrances to other rooms of the tomb, and it is there that Nefertiti awaits the visit of archaeologists.
Reeves outlined his thoughts on this matter in a 2015 article. In it, he also provided images of what the doorway discovered behind the wall might look like, and also suggested that some of the drawings on the walls of the tomb depict Akhenaten’s wife.
Other researchers also joined the study of the tomb, in particular the Japanese radar scanning specialist Hirokatsu Watanabe. He examined the western wall of the main tomb and reported that with a 90 percent probability there was something there. But whether Nefertiti's sarcophagus is there still remains a mystery, and the scientific community continued to remain skeptical about this idea. The director of the Center for Egyptological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sergei Ivanov, then suggested that the “secret room” was in fact just an unfinished tomb, the entrance to which was blocked as unnecessary. Watanabe's methods also raised doubts among his colleagues - the researcher was criticized for using outdated radar scanning methods and their interpretation.
Since then, a story about the cavity in Tutankhamun’s tomb and the possible presence of Nefertiti there has surfaced in the media with enviable regularity, but there is no fresh news from the tomb. Scientists and Egyptian officials are skeptical of Reeves' ideas. Breaking into the walls of the burial room is still prohibited.