King Tut

The Discovery

On November 26th, 1922, the British Egyptologist Howard Carter and his employer Lord Carnarvon opened the tomb of the Egyptian king Tutankhamun for the first time in over three thousand years. The discovery is credited for bringing worldwide attention to the science of Egyptology, as well as bringing rumours of an ancient curse to the press. Howard Carter cracked open the tomb with a chisel his grandmother had given him for his seventeenth birthday. By the light of a candle, Carter was able to peer inside the tiny crack he had made. When Lord Carnarvon asked him if he could see anything, Carter replied with the famous words, "Yes, wonderful things."

Who Was King Tut?

In order to understand the importance of what the discovery of this ancient tomb means, one must know who the pharaoh Tutankhamun, nicknamed "King Tut", really was. Tutankhamun lived from 1341 to 1323 B.C., during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. The name Tutankhamun means "Living Image of Amun", as Amun was one of the chief Egyptian gods, along with Osiris. Tutankhamun ascended the throne at the age of nine or ten, reigning for only ten years, and married his half-sister, Ankhesenamun. They had two daughters who both died during birth. Tutakankhamun's reign was notable for bringing the god Amun, his namesake, back to supremacy in the Egyptian pantheon. He was also responsible for moving the capital of Egypt back to the city of Thebes. There is no record of what caused King Tut's death, although the presence of malaria in his body and a broken leg are believed to have contributed to it.

Howard Carter

Howard Carter first went to Egypt at the age of 17 in the year 1891. He worked as an artist, copying tomb decorations and wall reliefs. Carter was first employed by Lord Carnarvon in 1907 but was interrupted by World War I until 1917, when major work resumed. Carter was 48 years old when Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered.

The Tomb

The size of Tutankhamun's burial chamber was relatively small, considering his status as a pharaoh. Experts believe that this may be because his death occurred unexpectedly, before a grander tomb could have been built, as Egyptians only allowed seventy days between the death of a person and their burial.

The location of Tutankhamun's tomb was lost over the passage