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THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT'S TOMB
Tutankhamun’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 Tutankhamun's time.
This “humble” tomb had remained hidden for 3000 years and had eluded
tomb robbers and flash floods for many 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 was the first person to find items that led to the discovery of
Tutankhamun’s tomb. His first clue came from a famous cache (a group of
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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 Tutankhamun 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 Tutankhamun was found there too. In addition, there were other
clues that gave some insight to the existence of Tutankhamun's tomb in the
Valley of the Kings.
More clues were found inside a small pit in 1907. This pit provided seal
impressions of Tutankhamun along with many embalming materials such as
linen bags, natron, and broken pottery. These findings were overlooked and
sent to New York where they underwent examination.
Theodore also discovered 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 Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun (King Tut's wife) inlaid upon
it. These clues were disregarded by Davis. It wasn't until later an
Egyptologist, named Howard Carter, who worked with Davis during his
excavations found the items to be very interesting.
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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
Tutankhamun’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 Tutankhamun’s tomb and Carnarvon started to run low on funds.
Carnarvon was ready to give up and abandon the project. Carter persisted
that Tutankhamun ’s tomb had to be hidden, 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.
They began this project by digging close to Ramesses VI’s tomb. While
there, the workers were told to remove an Ancient workman’s hut. As they
took down this hut a step was found.
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 Tutankhamun and the necropolis.
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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 squeeze by and they all entered the
tomb. They stepped carefully down into the first 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 holding maces and staffs. With so
much excitement they all agreed to explore more of the remaining tomb the
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next day.
The next day, Callender came prepared with electric lights and they were
setup 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.