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 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.
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.
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 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.
