Egyptian Artefacts Found In The Tomb Of Tutankhamun
Significant artefacts found in kings Tuts tomb
The wealth of artefacts found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, has increased our knowledge of the ancient Egyptian society, culture, religion and what roles the Pharaohs played in the society. The Tomb of Tutankhamun was described by Howard Carter as being in a state of ‘organised chaos’. It contained around 700 items, some for decoration, some because they belonged to the king, some to tell stories of the king and some for protection and guidance into the afterlife.
One of the first artefacts that Carter noticed when he entered the antechamber were, 3 gilded couches. The sides of the couches were carved into monstrous animals, attenuated in form. The strange beasts resembled, a lion, a cow and a Typhon, part hippo, part crocodile. These couches were used for ceremonial reasons. These objects tell us a lot about the nature of the Egyptian society, they were very well made, which signifies that the craftsmanship was excellent. The fact that they look such like beasts and monsters shows that they might have been for protection of to resemble a god. They also show the great respect they had …show more content…
for animals by the way they have been portrayed as powerful and strong. Because they were used for ceremonial purposes, they might have been used for important people to sit on, including Pharaohs. This shows that the Pharaohs were well respected because the nature of the couches is exquisite and would only be made for the best and that they were very powerful because they could be seen to of been sitting upon such strong beastly creatures. The beasts carved onto the couches might resemble a god they believed in, which gives us an insight to the culture and religion. It shows that a lot of their gods were animals of had some animal form. But because they look so monstrous it also shows that their gods might have been the same. These creatures seem very unreal, so they might have existed in real in the afterlife. They might of believed such beastly creatures lived in the afterlife but were not harmful and therefore carving them into couches means that after death the could help guide you into the afterlife.
Another object found in the antechamber was a painted casket. In was about 2 feet long and the lid curved in a gentle arch. The paining on the lid depicted Tutankhamun’s enemies, hundreds of them. They were fleeing in panic before the king in his Chariot of war. The Pharaoh was far larger than his enemies and he stood upright and strong as he launched arrows at his foes, as opposed the fearful bodies of his enemies which very twisted and hunched over in defeat. The contents of the casket included, rush and papyrus sandals and a linen robe decorated with thousands of beads. The painting on the casket tells us that they weren’t scared of fighting and they were well equipped for war and that they were a powerful society and its contents tells us a lot about how they dressed and that obviously it was quite hot because of the nature and material of the robe and sandals. In the painting on the casket, the Pharaoh has been portrayed as much bigger and powerful that everyone else. This tells us a lot about how much power the Pharaohs really did have and it also tells us that they fought too. In many societies the leader or kings would sit back and have their men fight for them but his painting clearly shows that the Egyptian Pharaohs would fight alongside there men and where very powerful and strong when doing so. By looking at the picture there isn’t a lot that it tells us about their religion or the belief of the afterlife, other than on the kings chariot there are 2 vulture looking birds that might of been believed to have given the chariot strength or to lift the chariot up high then the enemies.
One of the most magnificent objects found in the tomb was Tutankhamun’s Golden Throne. It had the figures of Tutankhamun and his Queen, Ankesenamun, depicted on the back, in lapis lazuli and carnelian. Just looking at this image, you can feel the affection between the king and the queen. The queen is standing in front of the King, who is seated on the throne, bending her supple young body toward him, lovingly reaching out to touch his shoulders. The other parts of the throne have been decorated with such fine detail, it would of taken a huge effort to make. The throne can tell us a lot of things about the Egyptian society. Obviously they were quite wealthy and had access to quite a lot of gold, otherwise they wouldn’t of been able to make the throne the way it is. Again it shows that the level of craftsmanship was extremely high, not only in fine detail to the art on the throne but the general construction of it. The Pharaoh was very well respected and worshiped, we know this because the effort and care that has gone into this throne wouldn’t have been this big if it wasn’t for someone that was well liked. We can also tell this by what they are both wearing in the image, they are decorated in jewels, big head dresses and elaborate clothing, this shows that they had much wealth and were found of dressing up. You can see the love between the king and queen, so the importance of love might have been quite high in the society. The throne doesn’t give us a lot of information about the afterlife but it could show us a little insight into another part of their religion. Because the king is sitting down and the queen is bending over to him, men might have been the dominate gender and women just there to serve and take care of them.
Another significant object that was found in the antechamber was 2 life sized black sculptures facing each other like sentinels, they were dressed in gold kilts, wearing golden sandals and carrying staffs and maces of gold. One of the statues depicted Tutankhamun wearing the Nemes head cloth and the other represented his ka wearing an Afnet headdress. These statues were placed at the door that lead to the burial chamber. They might have been there to protect the door or to signify that the door was there because from the outside it just looked like a plastered wall. The statues don’t tell us much about the general society but they do show us another representation of what the King looked like and what his body shape was, because they are life sized. Again it shows that had a lot of wealth by the amount of gold used on the statues. The fact that one of the statues was Tutankhamun’s ka, it can tell us a lot about their religion and belief of the afterlife. The ka statue was intended to provide a resting place for the sprit which the ancient Egyptians referred to as the ka, of the person after death. After death, the ethereal aspects of the soul were believed to be released from the body and could go where ever they pleased, but they required a physical body or a surrogate, such as the ka statue to return to as a permanent home. Many ka statues, in particular this one, were painted to look the same as the owner, this was to reinforce the spiritual connection and preserve the persons memory for eternity. This is why the 2 statues looked the same.
4 golden chariots were found in the tomb. 2 In in the antechamber and 2 in the shrine. Chariots were originally intended for ceremonial use but quickly developed into another weapon used during war. One of the chariots found was richly decorated and the wheels were fixed to the axels by linchpins and secured with leather things to provide better suspension. Because the chariots were originally used for ceremonies, it tells us that the Egyptian society in general took great pleasure in ceremonies because of how well the chariots were built and how much fine detail went into them. As they were developed for war they would have become better equipped and would have been more practical as opposed to having delicate art and decorations on them. In the picture that was depicted on the casket found, the Pharaohs chariot is much larger and more magnificent than the others, this is because the Pharaohs got the best because they were well respected and had a lot of power over their society. The chariots don’t tell us much about the religion or belief of the afterlife other than some of the images that may have been depicted on them when used for ceremonial use that could have represented a god or spirit that they believed in.
A lot of jewellery was found in the tomb. Some including, bracelets, anklets, buckles, amulets, pendants, pectorals, necklaces, earrings, collars, ear studs and rings. One of the necklaces was a shape of a vulture flying through the air. This necklace would have only been worn by someone very special and because it was in Tutankhamun’s tomb it was more than likely his. The shape of the necklace was one like a vulture, vultures are very strong independent and come over come harsh conditions. The king might have worn the necklace to help him empower some of these features. The amount of jewellery found tells us that as a whole the Egyptian society valued their appearance and the way you looked showed what ‘level’ of society you were in. The more jewellery you wore, the higher up in society you were. In all of the images of the Pharaoh and all of the sculptures found of him, he is wearing a lot of jewellery, headdresses and his clothing was covered in jewels and beads. This is a far cry of what our society is like today, men don’t tend to wear a lot of jewellery, if not any at all. You can see how the stereotype of jewellery being for women hasn’t always been so. Many of the jewellery that was worn might have been for a spiritual or religious reason. It might have been for protection or empowerment. Many of the gods are seen to of worn some form of jewellery, so it might have been worn to resemble their gods. Face masks used to cover the mummies are a form of jewellery, so jewellery was used for ceremonial purposes, and played a part in guiding the dead into the afterlife.
Many weapons were found in the tomb. Weapons were used both for war and ceremonial purposes. Some of the weapons found consist of, swords, axes, scimitars, single and double bows, slings, arrows, spears, sticks, shields, chariots, maces, knives, daggers and trumpets. The vast extent of weapons shows us that the society was quite equipped when it came to war. The Pharaoh most likely had his own personal set of weapons and armour that he used. The weapons might have been decorated with images of gods of war or protection or images that they believed gave them power.
As Cater made his way onto the first shrine, he was comforted with many for artefacts. These ones seemed more personal to the king and seemed to be there for a purpose as opposed just for decoration. In one of the tall black shrines, were two nearly identical wooded, golden, statuettes of the king standing upon the backs of fierce black leopards. Because there were two, one could have been a statue of the king and other again of his ka, because they were both designed to look like each other. Carter didn’t know what the statue meant but he guessed that the statues had to have something to do with the nightly passage of the king through the underworld. This statue tells us that the Egyptian society respected and admired the power and fierceness of some animals even to the extent that they would trust them to lead their king into the afterlife. The black leopard looks intensely fierce so the Pharaoh would have to be powerful and strong to be able to tame it. This shows what some of the characteristics that the Egyptian Pharaohs had. Carters guess on what he thought the statues meant can give us an insight into their religion and their belief of the afterlife. The black leopard might have been chosen because of its colour, black, it is dark and fierce which could represent the underworld. The leopard could have also been selected because it could have been a form of protection for the king as he entered the afterlife.
9 wooded oars were found lying on the floor.
Carter explained that they were intended to help the king navigate into the world of eternity, in what was first thought to have been a corridor. Carter described the oars to have been systematically placed, and looked like magical foot prints captured on the surface of a still river. This tells us that obviously the Egyptian society did have and did use boats, because they would probably only have oars if they had boats to use them with. The fact that the king needed guidance from oars and other objects suggests that the afterlife isn’t that easy to find. This is why so many objects where found that were believed to have helped with this process. The Egyptian society must have known a lot about the afterlife and the underworld to have known what objects could help you find it after
death.
In the treasury, there was a statue of the jackal god, Anubis, lying upon an elevated pedestal, guarding the entry. Its head was held high, watching with an intense gaze and listening with erect ears. It had a linen shroud hanging down to the floor from its high thin neck. It was 118cm high, 270cm long and 52cm wide. It was made from wood and was covered in black paint, however, the insides of the ears, eyebrows, rims of the eyes, the collar and the band knotted around the neck are worked in gold leaf. The claws are in silver, which was believed to have more value than gold. The statue was placed on a sledge which had two carrying poles attached to it. The Anubis shrine was therefore more than likely used in the funerary procession of the Pharaoh and final placed in front of the canopic chest in the store room. We can learn more about their beliefs of the afterlife by the direction the statue has been placed, it was placed facing towards the west, and this is the direction that the Ancient Egyptian society believed was the afterlife. This suggests that the role of the god Anubis was to protect the Theban Necropolis. We can tell this by a small brick of unfired clay that was found, known as a magic brick. There were 5 magic bricks found in Tutankhamun’s tomb but usually there is only 4, this suggests that Tutankhamun was a very special Pharaoh to the Egyptian society.
Behind the Anubis statue a shrine shaped chest about 8 feet high was found. I was completely overlaid with gold and surmounted by a cornice carved with images of the sacred cobra. Surrounding the shrine on each side were 4 statues of the goddesses of the dead. They were about 3 feet high and had their arms held out protectively around the shrine. This shrine was more than likely the so called canopic chest, which enclosed 4 jars holding the mummified remains of the vital organs of the king, the heart, lungs, liver and viscera. According to ancient rituals of mummification, these were always stored outside of the sarcophagus. This can start to give us more of an insight to what their rituals were and what the process of mummification entailed. They removed these vital organs as a means to preserve the soul of the dead so they could therefore move onto the afterlife. This process wasn’t done to everyone, only important people. This suggests that the society wanted the best for their Pharaohs and for them to have a safe journey into the afterlife.
The most significant and wonderful object found in the tomb was Tutankhamun himself. The 2 tonne rose coloured granite sarcophagus held 3 other coffins inside. The first coffin had a wreath of withered flowers placed around the royal cobra surmounted on the crown. The second coffin was covered with thick gold foil and inlaid and engraved with red jasper, lapis and turquoise. The king we depicted on both of these coffins as Osiris. The third coffin was made of solid gold and decorated with the most exquisite reliefs of the goddesses Isis and Nepthys and the winged figures of Nekhbet and the snake Buto. It was inlaid with semiprecious stones and cloisonné work of glass and faience. The body of Tutankhamun was bound up by a corselet of gold and inlay. The upper portion of his body was covered with a golden funeral mask. We can tell by all of the riches used in just this one coffin that the Valley must have contained great riches. We can learn a lot about their gods from the images depicted on the third coffin. And through greater research we can see what the mummification process involved and what was done to preserve the bodies in such way. Later studies have been taken out on the mummy, including x-rays done in 1968 to give a better look at the internal structures of the mummy and to better determine the age and cause of death. A CT scan was taken out in 2005 to allow for forensic reconstruction of his body and face as well as further evidence of the cause of death. DNA testing was taken out on Tutankhamun’s mummy along with 11 other royal mummies, to determine if any familial or pathological diseases caused his death.
Over all we can learn a lot about the Egyptian society from Tutankhamun’s mummy and a lot of the objects found in his tomb. Some give us a great insight into the general society and some into the culture, religion and their beliefs. Even more subscriptions were found that gave us even more information about this ancient society and even today scientists are learning more and more.
Bibliography
Websites visited: http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.element.about.text&story_id=3&module_id=62&language_id=1&element_id=60370 http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/tutankhamun-tomb2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_statue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis_Shrine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun%27s_mummy
Books read:
Ancient History preliminary course booklet. Written by Pamela Bradley, Edited by Kim Drummond. – Tutankhamun part 1.
The wealth of artefacts found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, has increased our knowledge of the ancient Egyptian society, culture, religion and what roles the Pharaohs played in the society. The Tomb of Tutankhamun was described by Howard Carter as being in a state of ‘organised chaos’. It contained around 700 items, some for decoration, some because they belonged to the king, some to tell stories of the king and some for protection and guidance into the afterlife.
One of the first artefacts that Carter noticed when he entered the antechamber were, 3 gilded couches. The sides of the couches were carved into monstrous animals, attenuated in form. The strange beasts resembled, a lion, a cow and a Typhon, part hippo, part crocodile. These couches were used for ceremonial reasons. These objects tell us a lot about the nature of the Egyptian society, they were very well made, which signifies that the craftsmanship was excellent. The fact that they look such like beasts and monsters shows that they might have been for protection of to resemble a god. They also show the great respect they had …show more content…
for animals by the way they have been portrayed as powerful and strong. Because they were used for ceremonial purposes, they might have been used for important people to sit on, including Pharaohs. This shows that the Pharaohs were well respected because the nature of the couches is exquisite and would only be made for the best and that they were very powerful because they could be seen to of been sitting upon such strong beastly creatures. The beasts carved onto the couches might resemble a god they believed in, which gives us an insight to the culture and religion. It shows that a lot of their gods were animals of had some animal form. But because they look so monstrous it also shows that their gods might have been the same. These creatures seem very unreal, so they might have existed in real in the afterlife. They might of believed such beastly creatures lived in the afterlife but were not harmful and therefore carving them into couches means that after death the could help guide you into the afterlife.
Another object found in the antechamber was a painted casket. In was about 2 feet long and the lid curved in a gentle arch. The paining on the lid depicted Tutankhamun’s enemies, hundreds of them. They were fleeing in panic before the king in his Chariot of war. The Pharaoh was far larger than his enemies and he stood upright and strong as he launched arrows at his foes, as opposed the fearful bodies of his enemies which very twisted and hunched over in defeat. The contents of the casket included, rush and papyrus sandals and a linen robe decorated with thousands of beads. The painting on the casket tells us that they weren’t scared of fighting and they were well equipped for war and that they were a powerful society and its contents tells us a lot about how they dressed and that obviously it was quite hot because of the nature and material of the robe and sandals. In the painting on the casket, the Pharaoh has been portrayed as much bigger and powerful that everyone else. This tells us a lot about how much power the Pharaohs really did have and it also tells us that they fought too. In many societies the leader or kings would sit back and have their men fight for them but his painting clearly shows that the Egyptian Pharaohs would fight alongside there men and where very powerful and strong when doing so. By looking at the picture there isn’t a lot that it tells us about their religion or the belief of the afterlife, other than on the kings chariot there are 2 vulture looking birds that might of been believed to have given the chariot strength or to lift the chariot up high then the enemies.
One of the most magnificent objects found in the tomb was Tutankhamun’s Golden Throne. It had the figures of Tutankhamun and his Queen, Ankesenamun, depicted on the back, in lapis lazuli and carnelian. Just looking at this image, you can feel the affection between the king and the queen. The queen is standing in front of the King, who is seated on the throne, bending her supple young body toward him, lovingly reaching out to touch his shoulders. The other parts of the throne have been decorated with such fine detail, it would of taken a huge effort to make. The throne can tell us a lot of things about the Egyptian society. Obviously they were quite wealthy and had access to quite a lot of gold, otherwise they wouldn’t of been able to make the throne the way it is. Again it shows that the level of craftsmanship was extremely high, not only in fine detail to the art on the throne but the general construction of it. The Pharaoh was very well respected and worshiped, we know this because the effort and care that has gone into this throne wouldn’t have been this big if it wasn’t for someone that was well liked. We can also tell this by what they are both wearing in the image, they are decorated in jewels, big head dresses and elaborate clothing, this shows that they had much wealth and were found of dressing up. You can see the love between the king and queen, so the importance of love might have been quite high in the society. The throne doesn’t give us a lot of information about the afterlife but it could show us a little insight into another part of their religion. Because the king is sitting down and the queen is bending over to him, men might have been the dominate gender and women just there to serve and take care of them.
Another significant object that was found in the antechamber was 2 life sized black sculptures facing each other like sentinels, they were dressed in gold kilts, wearing golden sandals and carrying staffs and maces of gold. One of the statues depicted Tutankhamun wearing the Nemes head cloth and the other represented his ka wearing an Afnet headdress. These statues were placed at the door that lead to the burial chamber. They might have been there to protect the door or to signify that the door was there because from the outside it just looked like a plastered wall. The statues don’t tell us much about the general society but they do show us another representation of what the King looked like and what his body shape was, because they are life sized. Again it shows that had a lot of wealth by the amount of gold used on the statues. The fact that one of the statues was Tutankhamun’s ka, it can tell us a lot about their religion and belief of the afterlife. The ka statue was intended to provide a resting place for the sprit which the ancient Egyptians referred to as the ka, of the person after death. After death, the ethereal aspects of the soul were believed to be released from the body and could go where ever they pleased, but they required a physical body or a surrogate, such as the ka statue to return to as a permanent home. Many ka statues, in particular this one, were painted to look the same as the owner, this was to reinforce the spiritual connection and preserve the persons memory for eternity. This is why the 2 statues looked the same.
4 golden chariots were found in the tomb. 2 In in the antechamber and 2 in the shrine. Chariots were originally intended for ceremonial use but quickly developed into another weapon used during war. One of the chariots found was richly decorated and the wheels were fixed to the axels by linchpins and secured with leather things to provide better suspension. Because the chariots were originally used for ceremonies, it tells us that the Egyptian society in general took great pleasure in ceremonies because of how well the chariots were built and how much fine detail went into them. As they were developed for war they would have become better equipped and would have been more practical as opposed to having delicate art and decorations on them. In the picture that was depicted on the casket found, the Pharaohs chariot is much larger and more magnificent than the others, this is because the Pharaohs got the best because they were well respected and had a lot of power over their society. The chariots don’t tell us much about the religion or belief of the afterlife other than some of the images that may have been depicted on them when used for ceremonial use that could have represented a god or spirit that they believed in.
A lot of jewellery was found in the tomb. Some including, bracelets, anklets, buckles, amulets, pendants, pectorals, necklaces, earrings, collars, ear studs and rings. One of the necklaces was a shape of a vulture flying through the air. This necklace would have only been worn by someone very special and because it was in Tutankhamun’s tomb it was more than likely his. The shape of the necklace was one like a vulture, vultures are very strong independent and come over come harsh conditions. The king might have worn the necklace to help him empower some of these features. The amount of jewellery found tells us that as a whole the Egyptian society valued their appearance and the way you looked showed what ‘level’ of society you were in. The more jewellery you wore, the higher up in society you were. In all of the images of the Pharaoh and all of the sculptures found of him, he is wearing a lot of jewellery, headdresses and his clothing was covered in jewels and beads. This is a far cry of what our society is like today, men don’t tend to wear a lot of jewellery, if not any at all. You can see how the stereotype of jewellery being for women hasn’t always been so. Many of the jewellery that was worn might have been for a spiritual or religious reason. It might have been for protection or empowerment. Many of the gods are seen to of worn some form of jewellery, so it might have been worn to resemble their gods. Face masks used to cover the mummies are a form of jewellery, so jewellery was used for ceremonial purposes, and played a part in guiding the dead into the afterlife.
Many weapons were found in the tomb. Weapons were used both for war and ceremonial purposes. Some of the weapons found consist of, swords, axes, scimitars, single and double bows, slings, arrows, spears, sticks, shields, chariots, maces, knives, daggers and trumpets. The vast extent of weapons shows us that the society was quite equipped when it came to war. The Pharaoh most likely had his own personal set of weapons and armour that he used. The weapons might have been decorated with images of gods of war or protection or images that they believed gave them power.
As Cater made his way onto the first shrine, he was comforted with many for artefacts. These ones seemed more personal to the king and seemed to be there for a purpose as opposed just for decoration. In one of the tall black shrines, were two nearly identical wooded, golden, statuettes of the king standing upon the backs of fierce black leopards. Because there were two, one could have been a statue of the king and other again of his ka, because they were both designed to look like each other. Carter didn’t know what the statue meant but he guessed that the statues had to have something to do with the nightly passage of the king through the underworld. This statue tells us that the Egyptian society respected and admired the power and fierceness of some animals even to the extent that they would trust them to lead their king into the afterlife. The black leopard looks intensely fierce so the Pharaoh would have to be powerful and strong to be able to tame it. This shows what some of the characteristics that the Egyptian Pharaohs had. Carters guess on what he thought the statues meant can give us an insight into their religion and their belief of the afterlife. The black leopard might have been chosen because of its colour, black, it is dark and fierce which could represent the underworld. The leopard could have also been selected because it could have been a form of protection for the king as he entered the afterlife.
9 wooded oars were found lying on the floor.
Carter explained that they were intended to help the king navigate into the world of eternity, in what was first thought to have been a corridor. Carter described the oars to have been systematically placed, and looked like magical foot prints captured on the surface of a still river. This tells us that obviously the Egyptian society did have and did use boats, because they would probably only have oars if they had boats to use them with. The fact that the king needed guidance from oars and other objects suggests that the afterlife isn’t that easy to find. This is why so many objects where found that were believed to have helped with this process. The Egyptian society must have known a lot about the afterlife and the underworld to have known what objects could help you find it after
death.
In the treasury, there was a statue of the jackal god, Anubis, lying upon an elevated pedestal, guarding the entry. Its head was held high, watching with an intense gaze and listening with erect ears. It had a linen shroud hanging down to the floor from its high thin neck. It was 118cm high, 270cm long and 52cm wide. It was made from wood and was covered in black paint, however, the insides of the ears, eyebrows, rims of the eyes, the collar and the band knotted around the neck are worked in gold leaf. The claws are in silver, which was believed to have more value than gold. The statue was placed on a sledge which had two carrying poles attached to it. The Anubis shrine was therefore more than likely used in the funerary procession of the Pharaoh and final placed in front of the canopic chest in the store room. We can learn more about their beliefs of the afterlife by the direction the statue has been placed, it was placed facing towards the west, and this is the direction that the Ancient Egyptian society believed was the afterlife. This suggests that the role of the god Anubis was to protect the Theban Necropolis. We can tell this by a small brick of unfired clay that was found, known as a magic brick. There were 5 magic bricks found in Tutankhamun’s tomb but usually there is only 4, this suggests that Tutankhamun was a very special Pharaoh to the Egyptian society.
Behind the Anubis statue a shrine shaped chest about 8 feet high was found. I was completely overlaid with gold and surmounted by a cornice carved with images of the sacred cobra. Surrounding the shrine on each side were 4 statues of the goddesses of the dead. They were about 3 feet high and had their arms held out protectively around the shrine. This shrine was more than likely the so called canopic chest, which enclosed 4 jars holding the mummified remains of the vital organs of the king, the heart, lungs, liver and viscera. According to ancient rituals of mummification, these were always stored outside of the sarcophagus. This can start to give us more of an insight to what their rituals were and what the process of mummification entailed. They removed these vital organs as a means to preserve the soul of the dead so they could therefore move onto the afterlife. This process wasn’t done to everyone, only important people. This suggests that the society wanted the best for their Pharaohs and for them to have a safe journey into the afterlife.
The most significant and wonderful object found in the tomb was Tutankhamun himself. The 2 tonne rose coloured granite sarcophagus held 3 other coffins inside. The first coffin had a wreath of withered flowers placed around the royal cobra surmounted on the crown. The second coffin was covered with thick gold foil and inlaid and engraved with red jasper, lapis and turquoise. The king we depicted on both of these coffins as Osiris. The third coffin was made of solid gold and decorated with the most exquisite reliefs of the goddesses Isis and Nepthys and the winged figures of Nekhbet and the snake Buto. It was inlaid with semiprecious stones and cloisonné work of glass and faience. The body of Tutankhamun was bound up by a corselet of gold and inlay. The upper portion of his body was covered with a golden funeral mask. We can tell by all of the riches used in just this one coffin that the Valley must have contained great riches. We can learn a lot about their gods from the images depicted on the third coffin. And through greater research we can see what the mummification process involved and what was done to preserve the bodies in such way. Later studies have been taken out on the mummy, including x-rays done in 1968 to give a better look at the internal structures of the mummy and to better determine the age and cause of death. A CT scan was taken out in 2005 to allow for forensic reconstruction of his body and face as well as further evidence of the cause of death. DNA testing was taken out on Tutankhamun’s mummy along with 11 other royal mummies, to determine if any familial or pathological diseases caused his death.
Over all we can learn a lot about the Egyptian society from Tutankhamun’s mummy and a lot of the objects found in his tomb. Some give us a great insight into the general society and some into the culture, religion and their beliefs. Even more subscriptions were found that gave us even more information about this ancient society and even today scientists are learning more and more.
Bibliography
Websites visited: http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.element.about.text&story_id=3&module_id=62&language_id=1&element_id=60370 http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/tutankhamun-tomb2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_statue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis_Shrine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun%27s_mummy
Books read:
Ancient History preliminary course booklet. Written by Pamela Bradley, Edited by Kim Drummond. – Tutankhamun part 1.