King Tut's Tomb

Before You Read:

1. Pharaoh - The name given to kings in ancient Egypt
2. Artifacts - Objects made by human beings a long, long time ago
3. Archaeology - The study of history by looking at artifacts
4. Archaeologist - Someone who studies archaeology. 
5. Tomb - A large vault where people are buried after they die
6. Sarcophagus - A special coffin covered with inscriptions
7. Mummy - A person preserved and wrapped in fabric after they die

King Tut's Tomb:

1. King Tut

• In 1922, a tomb was found in Egypt. This tomb was filled with great treasures and had belonged to Pharaoh Tutankhamen
• Tutankhamen, also known as King Tut, was an Egyptian king. He became king at age 9 and remained king till he died, when he was 19.
• Not much is known about King Tut, except that he was very young when he became king. 
• Historians think that for the first few years of King Tut's rule his advisers controlled what happened.
• King Tut died through infection from a broken foot.
• He was buried in the Valley of the Kings, a place where many Egyptian kings were buried.
• Tutankhamen was very young and only served for a short time. Had it not been for the discovery of his tomb, King Tut might have been lost to history forever.

2. The Tomb

• King Tut remains famous for his elaborate tomb. The tomb contained over 3,000 treasures decorated with gold. Some of these treasures included boats, weapons, musical instruments, and clothing.
• The tomb even contained a mask made of 22 pounds of gold! (It's the mask you see at the top of the page!)
  
• The Ancient Egyptians believed that tombs filled with treasures would accompany a Pharaoh to the afterlife, where he would be able to enjoy them.
• The insides of the tomb were also painted. One of the chambers were painted with images of King Tut's funeral and about his journey to the after-world.
• The tomb also contained a sarcophagus, which contained the mummy of King Tut.
• The mummy was made by removing King Tut's organs, preserving it with salt, and then wrapping his body in linen (a fabric).
• The Egyptians made mummies of their pharaohs (and sometimes their pets too!) because they believed it preserved the body for the afterlife. The mummy protected the body and its spirit for the afterlife.

3. Discovering the Tomb

• The tomb was discovered by a British archaeologist named Howard Carter
• Carter first came to Egypt in 1891 and spent many years exploring the country to find the tombs of pharaohs. At the time, many of the tombs had already been found, except for the tomb of King Tut.
• Howard Carter had been searching for many years and was running out of money to fund his expeditions. Carter even had to beg for just one more year of funding -- in that last year, he found the tomb!
• Carter's expeditions were funded by a man named Lord Carnarvon.
• When Carter dug away at the first steps of the tomb, he sent a message to Carnarvon in England. Carnarvon traveled from England and the two opened the tomb together!

4. Legacy of the Tomb

• Once news of this discovery went public, the world became obsessed with King Tut and Ancient Egypt. Some called the craze for Egyptian history, "Egyptomania".
• Some said there was a curse surrounding King Tut's tomb, but these are mostly just rumors.
• Today, many of the treasures from King Tut's tomb can be found in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, Egypt.