The Archaeological Discovery Of King Tut’s Tomb Started Over 100 Years Ago – And Continues Today

Updated January 3, 2024108.8K views13 itemKing Tutankhamun’s importance in life has been eclipsed by his passing – or, more accurately, by his burial. When Howard Carter found King Tut’s tomb in 1922, it led to the most substantial find of ancient Egyptian artifacts in history. Carter spent years detailing the contents of King Tut’s tomb, removing each item for future research and investigation. The discovery of King Tut’s tomb was so important that it continues to influence and shape historical understanding of ancient Egypt, the pharaohs, burial practices, and King Tut himself.

King Tutankhamun lived from roughly 1342 to 1325 BCE, becoming pharaoh when just a boy. He was son of Akhenaten (d. c. 1335 BCE), a ruler known for a massive religious reform during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. Akhenaten shifted Egypt toward worship of Aten, a sun god, rather than the traditional rites and practices – moving decidedly toward monotheism in the process. He also relocated the religious capital to Amarna from Thebes.

When he became pharaoh, Tutankhamun returned Egypt to its traditional polytheism and moved the capital back to Thebes, largely with the help of his advisors. Little else is known about King Tut and, until his tomb was opened, he was among the lesser-known pharaohs. Now, Tutankhamun is perhaps the most famous Egyptian king, forever connected to the artifacts that bear his name.

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An Archaeology Team Thought It Had Discovered King Tutankhamun’s Tomb In 1907

When archaeologist and financier Theodore M. Davis and his team found items with Tutankhamun’s name on them in 1907, they believed they had found the former pharaoh’s tomb. Headed by Edward R. Ayrton, the group opened tomb KV54 and were underwhelmed by the contents.

Davis was a trained lawyer who spent more than a decade excavating Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Sited along the Nile in Upper Egypt, the Valley was the burial site of most pharaohs from the 18th to the 20th dynasties (roughly 1540 to 1075 BCE).

Davis made numerous discoveries during his excavations but, once he located some of King Tut’s artifacts, he didn’t feel compelled to keep looking. Rather, Davis declared his task complete. Little did he know that he was only a few feet away from the real tomb.

British Archaeologist Howard Carter Explored The Valley Of The Kings Long Before Discovering KV62 In 1922

As Theodore Davis conducted excavations throughout Egypt, Howard Carter also spent his time in Thebes (now called Luxor). By the time  he was appointed the Chief Inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service (EAS) in 1899, Carter had participated in numerous excavations, working closely with archaeology pioneers like Egyptologist Flinders Petrie to hone his own skills.

Carter supervised numerous excavations while with the EAS, including those of Theodore Davis. In 1904, Carter was sent to lower Egypt, but the following year, he resigned from his position with the EAS.

It wasn’t until 1907 that Carter came under the employ of George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon. Lord Carnarvon would fund Carter’s extensive excavations in the Valley of the Kings (or, to view it another way, Carter headed all of Carnarvon’s searches) up to and including the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922.

In the 15 years leading up to finding King Tut’s tomb, Carter found several looted tombs and sepulchers with coffins, statuary, and other funerary items. During WWI, Carter and Carnarvon halted their excavations, only to resume them after WWI came to an end.

As Carter and Carnarvon teamed up again the Valley of the Kings in 1917, they had little in the way of discovery until 1922. In November of that year, Carter and his team entered King Tut’s burial chamber, dubbed KV62, for the first time.

The Tomb Was Found Beneath Abandoned Workmen’s Huts

The discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb was a fortunate accident, one that couldn’t have been better timed. As Howard Carter and his team were told their funding was running out, he returned to the site of an excavation near the tomb of Ramses VI. As Carter continued his dig, he cleared away ancient huts, ones that “were built upon the natural detritus, and were covered by an average of three metres of debris accumulated since their construction.”

In his diary, Carter noted that exploration under the huts would begin on November 4, 1922. On that morning, one of the waterboys unwittingly exposed a stair at the dig, one that led to sunken staircase.

As Carter and his workers cleared away sand, they realized the terminus of the staircase was a tomb located under that of Ramses VI. The tomb entrance and its seals appeared to be intact, with the latter indicating the tomb “belonged to somebody of high standing” – but at that time, Carter was still unsure exactly who was inside.

Carter Was Overwhelmed At What He Saw When He First Entered

In the three weeks between first discovering the staircase and opening the tomb (Carter had to wait for Lord Carnarvon to arrive from England) Carter and  his workers cleared as much debris as they could. Their efforts revealed a total of 16 stairs and an impression on the doorway that clearly read “Tutankhamun.” Carter could also tell that the tomb had been opened and reclosed at least twice at some point in time, indicating it had may have been used more than once.

Lord Carnarvon and his daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, made their way to Egypt, arriving in Cairo on November 20, 1922. Six days later, Carter, his benefactor, and a group of observers opened the door to the main burial chamber. In Carter’s words:

It was sometime before one could see, the hot air escaping caused the candle to flicker, but as soon as one’s eyes became accustomed to the glimmer of light the interior of the chamber gradually loomed before one, with its strange and wonderful medley of extraordinary and beautiful objects heaped upon one another….

Our sensations and astonishment are difficult to describe as the better light revealed to us the marvelous collection of treasures…. The first impression of which suggested the property-room of an opera of a vanished civilization. Our sensations were bewildering and full of strange emotion.

Although Portions Of The Tomb Had Been Robbed, Tutankhamun’s Tomb Was Significant Because The Items Inside Were Intact, Not Fragments

Once inside King Tut’s tomb, Carter, Carnarvon, and the team of workers began what would become an eight-year excavation. They would come to discover that the burial site was made up of numerous sections – a foyer, an antechamber, a burial chamber with adjacent treasury, and an additional annex.

While the majority of the items inside were in relatively good shape, it was clear that at some point, according to Carter, “the tomb…had been entered – by thieves!” The antechamber, which contained household wares, statuary, and items related to the funerary process, had clearly been compromised. The small annex, home to almost half of the contents of the tomb, experienced the most looting, while the burial chamber itself contained the elaborate coffin of the pharaoh.

Within the treasury, Carter found, “a large shrine-shaped chest, completely overlaid with gold, and surmounted by a cornice of sacred cobras. Surrounding this, free-standing, were statues of the four tutelary goddesses of the dead – gracious figures with outstretched protective arms, so natural and lifelike in their pose, so pitiful and compassionate the expression on their faces, that one felt it almost sacrilege to look at them.”

Even with signs of disturbance, Carter was thrilled at the prospect of having “found a royal burial little disturbed save hurried plundering at the hands of ancient tomb robbers.” Instead of smaller pieces and fragments of objects, Carter and his cohort found entire objects, much more representative of a royal burial and devoid of the lingering questions, confusion, and speculation that accompanied many excavations.

Among The Most Famous Items Found Were Tut’s Burial Mask, Chariots, And Three Nested Coffins, One Made Of Solid Gold

Alongside jars, jewelry, baskets, and a host of other items, Carter found noteworthy artifacts beyond his wildest dreams. Among the larger pieces were the parts required to construct six individual chariots. Presumably dismantled so they could be placed in the burial complex, two of the chariots were large and ceremonial in nature, while three were much smaller and likely intended for daily use. The remaining chariot was of medium size and featured elaborate decorations.

Tutankhamun’s chariots were, according to later scholars, “the earliest high performance machines.” Also noting, “The Ferrari of antiquity…they boasted an elegant design and an extremely sophisticated and astonishingly modern technology.”

Two years into the excavation, Carter and his team opened King Tut’s stone sarcophagus. Carter and his team pulled back the layers of each of the smaller coffins they found inside, noting a consistent pattern of feathers decorating each one. The innermost coffin was made of gold, the last barrier to the mummy of King Tut himself.

Upon that mummy was a burial mask, one of the most identifiable items to come out of King Tut’s tomb. The mask was made out of gold and featured gems, glass, a stylized striped headdress pattern, and a beard. The latter was separate from the mask when Carter found it in 1924, but was glued onto the mask in 1941 (only to fall off again in 2014).

Carter Used Harsh Methods Like Yanking Limbs Apart And Pouring Hot Wax On The Mummies To Remove Them

Throughout his long excavation of King Tut’s tomb, Carter kept meticulous notes, drew pictures, and detailed his findings with precision. That said, Carter wasn’t always gentle in handling the objects he found, nor did he apply a soft hand to his work on the body of the pharaoh.

Archaeology was making great strides as a science and as a profession, but, as Carter tried to remove Tutankhamun’s body from his nested coffin, he resorted to aggressive techniques. In order to melt away the resins holding the coffins together, Carter placed them into the hot sun. When that didn’t work, the excavation team lined up several paraffin lamps to try to dislodge the coffins, increasing the temperature around them to as much as 932° F.

The body of King Tut was in, according to Carter, “poor condition,” prompting him to instruct his colleague, Dr. Douglas Derry, to cover it in wax before cutting open the wrappings. Slowly, the archaeologist removed the bandages from the body but could not extricate the mask from the body. In the end, they, “used hot knives for the purpose,” an alternative to wielding “a hammer chisel to free it.”

Throughout this process, Carter removed amulets, jewels, and other items attached to the wrappings around King Tut’s body. By the time the archaeologists were done with the body; however, it had been picked apart, pulled into pieces at the joints, and the head had been removed.

The 1922 Discovery Fueled A New Interest In Ancient Egyptian History

The legend of the curse of King Tut’s tomb is well known, allegedly claiming its first victim when Lord Carnarvon died in 1923. The origins of the curse may come from Howard Carter himself, a story he put out to keep unruly media and spectators at bay as he spent years excavating the tomb.

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb did spark an immense amount of curiosity about all things Egypt. “Tut-Mania,” as it became known, inspired clothing trends, music, jewelry, and movie plots. People began to decorate their homes using Egyptian-style statues, columns, and even hieroglyphics.

In the United States, President Herbert Hoover named his dog King Tut, while Harry Von Tilzer penned his song, “Old King Tut.” The lyrics of the tune included the lines, “They opened up his tomb the other day and jumped with glee / They learned a lot about ancient history / His tomb instead of tears / Was full of souvenirs.”

New CT Scan Technology In the 2000s Revealed Additional Information – And Questions – About King Tut, Including His Numerous Ailments

In the decades since Howard Carter’s work on King Tut’s tomb, remains, and objects, there have been relatively few revelations brought forward about the young pharaoh by the scientific community.

During the initial autopsy on the body in 1925, researchers determined Tutankhamun was between 17 and 20 years of age when he died, something later scholars were able to pinpoint more precisely to 19 years of age after performing a CT on the body. In terms of size, King Tut was originally thought to be about 5 feet 6 inches tall, a height that was later revised to 5 feet 11 inches tall.

The real mysteries surrounding Tutankhamun, however, involve how he perished. The use of modern technology has allowed researchers to delve deep into this issue, taking into consideration theories from birth defects to malaria to an infection resulting from one of the many wounds found on his remains.

In 2005, a CT scan of Tutankhamun’s remains may have finally solved the mystery of how the pharaoh met his end. According to the test, King Tut had an infection in his body, perhaps something that arose in conjunction with his recently broken leg. More recently, DNA testing in 2010 indicated that Tutankhamun had malaria, perhaps a deadly ailment due to an immune system weakened by inbreeding.

The Tomb, Open To The Public, Was Recently Restored With A Complex Air Filtration System

In the decades after Howard Carter’s work on King Tut’s tomb, hundreds of thousands of visitors have traversed its passages and rooms in order to get a glimpse of its splendor. As one of the less impressive tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Tutankhamun’s burial site is relatively small and cramped, but it consistently draws visitors.

It wasn’t until 2009, however, that archaeologists and preservationists in Egypt and the United States joined forces to try to conserve the pharaoh’s final resting place. The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Getty Conservation Institute spent 10 years mitigating damage brought on by years of tourist activity, clearing out dust and treating the painted walls.

According to Neville Agnew of the Getty Conservation Institute, the project was marred by technical, scientific, and political challenges, the latter of which “frequently prevented us from coming here.” When they first arrived, conservators were surprised to find microbiological spots, but soon discovered they were present when Carter arrived in 1922.  Regardless, new barriers were put into to keep tourists from touching the walls, while an air filtration and ventilation system was installed to prevent damage from humidity and carbon dioxide

A New Museum In Egypt Will Display For The First Time All 50,000-Plus Objects Found In The Tomb

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is set to open in 2021 and will serve as the home to all of the artifacts that came out of King Tut’s tomb. The museum, announced in 1992, cost more than $1 billion and will also house items relocated from other museums and storage facilities throughout Egypt.

Deemed “the museum of the 21st century” by director general Tarek Tawfik, the GEM features 5.2 million square feet of space, with sections dedicated to each of the four era of ancient Egyptian history. Galleries that focus on the pre-dynastic and Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom and Greco-Roman periods will be further divided into thematic areas focused on religion, rulers, and society.

As the repository of all 50,000 items from Tutankhamun’s tomb – more than half of which have never been available for public viewing – the GEM is placed near the Giza Pyramid plateau, strategically located to bring together the modernity of Cairo and the heritage of ancient Egypt.

Much Of What Scientists Claim To Know About Tutankhamun Is Still Just Theory

Even though CT scans and DNA have offered some clarity into the life and death of Tutankhamun, there is still very little definitive information about the pharaoh. The 2005 CT scans, for example, revealed a clear leg break, one that was very recently obtained based on its “ragged rather than sharp edges, and…two layers of embalming material present inside.” The cause of that break remains the subject of speculation. It’s possible King Tut was involved in a hunting or chariot accident, especially since there were wounds on his chest as well.

King Tut’s frail body, likely caused by inbreeding (his father, Akhenaten, and his mother, simply known as The Younger Lady, were full siblings) featured a club foot, a bone disorder, and a cleft palate. For all of his life, Tutankhamun was likely in pain, always had a limp, and used a cane.” In fact, Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s senior archaeologist, pointed out, “130 canes were discovered in his tomb when it was unearthed.” King Tut had a weakened immune system, another factor that contributed to the severity of the malaria that may have claimed his life.

To add to the mystery, there were two mummified fetuses located in his burial chamber. Both females, they appear to have been daughters, stillborn at 5 and 7 months – perhaps offspring derived from the pharaoh’s marriage to his half-sister Ankhesenamun.

Photo:

Random House

Want More Ancient Egypt?

One of the oldest and most mythologized cultures in human history, Ancient Egypt has attracted the curious and the adventurous for millennia. The land has long been revered as a place of knowledge, mystery, and unparalleled beauty –  with archaeologists still uncovering its secrets to this day. If you want to delve deeper into Egypt’s history, the following books, media, and other Ranker lists are highly recommended.

A great place to start is Toby Wilkinson’s The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, an enthralling one-volume work that draws upon the author’s 40 years of archaeological expertise. The civilization is reviewed from its early beginnings to its ultimate fate as a vassal of the Roman Empire.

For those more interested in the mythology of the culture, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt is as thorough as its title promises.

When Women Ruled the World offers a unique perspective on Ancient Egyptian culture by examining the reigns of six female rulers, including Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra.

If you’re in the mood for a documentary, Egypt: The Series is a great tour through the New Kingdom and its lavish monuments.

With more than 300 photographs, many of them in color, The Art of Ancient Egypt pays homage to 3,000 years of glorious architecture, tombs, wall paintings, amulets, papyri, and objects traced to multiple Egyptian dynasties.

For those looking to add some epic flair to their home, this five-panel wall art installation offers a glimpse of the pyramids as they appear today.

For further reading on Ancient Egypt, Ranker’s editors have selected the following lists that dive into the truths and popular misconceptions about this fascinating culture:

Facts We Just Learned About King Tut That Made Us Say ‘Whoa’
The Creepiest Myths And Legends From Ancient Egypt
Myths About Ancient Egypt, Debunked