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Tutankhamun came to the throne at age nine and ruled until his death at about
age 18. During his reign he brought peace to his kingdom, by restoring
worship of the Egytian deity Amon. He was not an important king, but is so
well known because of the treasures of his tomb, which was found virtually
intact. Many other tombs fell to the graverobbers.
In November 1922, an excavation by Howard Carter and funded by Lord Carnarvon, uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun. When they poked a hole through the debris they could see gold statues, strange replicas of animals, chariots and furniture. All were in the tomb to accompany him on his journey in to the afterlife.
The final breakthrough to the 3000 year old plus burial chamber was on the
17th Feb 1923 in front of invited guests. When Carter and Carnavon reached this
chamber they were overwhelmed by the sight of so much gold.
King Tut's tomb had escaped graverobbers as others did not.
His body was elaborately dressed for a long journey and perfumed with spices
and surrounded with flowers, food and wine. Casts had been taken by
goldsmiths, so they could model the coffin, and sculptors worked on images of
the dead king.
His body was wrapped in gold tissue and he wore gold collars. Over his head he
wore a mask of red and white gold, and blue faience - tin glazed earthenware.
Eventually all the treasures of King Tut's tomb were moved to the Cairo
Museum, only the mummy of the boy king remained in the tomb. It was closed to
the public in 1991 because of deterioration.
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The Curse of King Tutankhamun
A curse on whoever disturbed the tomb of King Tutankhamun!!
These horror movies are largely derived form the the opening of Tut's tomb and the supposedly mysterious deaths and events. |
