Tomb Discovery
King
Tut’s tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings and is by far
the best preserved royal tomb ever discovered. The tomb, which was thought
to be left intact, was believed to be robbed twice. Even though this
tomb revealed treasure beyond our imagination, it was modestly furnished
compared to the pharaohs before and after his time. This “humble” tomb
had remained hidden for 3000 years and had eluded tomb robbers and flash
floods throughout the centuries. With the odds stacked against finding
this tomb, the discovery of this tomb was brought to light through Theodore
M. Davis who was an American business man.
Davis found items that led to King Tut’s discovery. The first clue was
a famous cache (a group of royal funerary objects from Tell el Amarna that
were brought to Thebes to escape destruction). These items were hidden in a
safe tomb and according to the clay sealing of the cache it was done by King
Tut himself. Some Egyptologists believe this royal cache was probably stored
by tomb robbers who hoped to find the treasure later. Among these treasures,
furniture that belonged to Tutankhamen was found. In addition, there were other
clues that gave way to the existence of this pharaoh’s tomb in the Valley
of the Kings.
Another clue was found inside a pit in 1907. This pit provided seal impressions
of Tutankhamen along with embalming materials such as: linen bags, natron,
and broken pottery. These findings were overlooked and sent to New York where
they underwent examination.
Another clue that led to the existence of King Tut’s tomb was a faience
cup with King Tut’s name upon it. Close to this cup and under a large
piece of stone, Mr. Davis found fragments of gold foil with Tutankhamen and
Ankhesenamun inlaid upon it. These clues were disregarded by Davis although
an Egyptologist (Howard Carter) who worked with Davis during his excavations
found the items to be very interesting.
After studying and examining these items, Carter was convinced that King Tut’s
tomb lay inside the Valley of the Kings. Howard Carter quickly went to Lord
Carnarvon, his long time friend, to finance his search for King Tut’s
tomb. Carnarvon reviewed the evidence and agreed that the tomb might still
be there. They were given the concession to dig in 1914 but had to abandon
the dig due to World War I.
After the war had died down, they resumed the dig. Like Davis they turned up
without King Tut’s tomb and Carnarvon started to run low on funds. Carnarvon
was ready to give up and abandon the project. Carter knew King Tut’s
tomb had to be hidden in that location, so he pleaded for one more season of
digging. He promised Carnarvon if nothing turned up, he would pay for the dig
himself. Carnarvon agreed and digging began again on November 1, 1921.
Carter quickly ordered the steps to be cleared of sand and debris and by noon the next day the doorway was revealed. This door was stamped with the seal of the royal necropolis. The Necropolis seal depicted Anubis standing above five defeated enemies. Carter quickly sent a telegram to Carnarvon which said, “At last have made wonderful discovery in valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations.”
Carnarvon and his daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, quickly left for Egypt to arrive in Alexandria on November 23rd. Once they reached the Archeological spot, they were met by Howard Carter and his assistant, A. R. Callender. They quickly removed the ruble from the 16 steps to show Carnarvon and his daughter the discovery. Both Lady Evelyn and Lord Carnarvon saw the royal stamp of Tutankhamen and the necropolis.
The
next day Cater started to drill a hole into the plaster door. In the foreground,
Carter, Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn, and Callender waited anxiously. Carter made the
hole in the upper left-hand corner and started to chip away at the opening. As
the hole became larger, it allowed him to peer inside. Carter held the candle
into the darkness and permitted his eyes to adjust to the warm ancient air that
exited the tomb. This air made the candle flicker.The gold furniture became illuminated by the small candle. Carter stood frozen and looked with amazement. Lord Carnarvon who waited anxiously for any news quickly exclaimed, “Can you see anything?” Carter replied with, “Yes, wonderful things.”
They made the hole large enough to just squeeze by and entered the tomb. They stepped carefully down into the room. The air was warm and a faint smell of perfume and oil filled the air. To them, the tomb looked as if it had remained intact as the day it had been sealed. Carter held up the candle that flickered frantically as they moved about the tomb viewing all the objects. As the candle lit the room to a small glow, three animal couches were visible. As they searched about, Lady Evelyn turned her light to the left and a pile of broken chariots littered the room. Carter explained that tomb robbers had most probably thrashed the chariots in search of gold. At the end of the room and to their right two statuesque guards could be seen. They were life-sized statues of the king that holding maces and staffs. With so much excitement they all agreed to explore more of the remaining tomb the next day.
The next day, Callender came prepared with electric lights and those were set up inside the tomb. This allowed the four of them to explore the tomb more freely. The tomb was eventually excavated and heavily photographed and this excavation consumed many years of Carter’s life. He eventually died in 1939. Now its contents lay inside the Cairo Museum. The treasure toured the world during the 1970’s and the second tour began in 2005.