In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter found a ancient tomb in Egypt. A tomb is another name for a grave. Many tombs in ancient Egypt were built like stone houses. In ancient Egypt, anybody could build a tomb for themselves and their family. The custom was, long before they died, they began making things to place inside their tomb. These things were called grave goods. 

People loved making grave goods. It was a family activity. They would make dolls and baskets and jewelry and all kinds of things. Then, as a family outing, they would visit their tomb, and place the grave goods they had safely inside. Then they would go home, and as time and interest allowed, start making more grave goods, to be placed inside the next time they visited their tomb. By the time they died, their tomb was full of wonderful memories of their life in Egypt. That was the ancient Egyptian way.  

Pharaohs (kings) also had tombs. But a pharaoh's tomb was really big and really fancy. People from all over the country brought gifts to include in the pharaoh's tomb. The pharaoh himself (or herself) would order special things made for them. They paid for these goods. Creating grave goods for the pharaoh was a profitable industry. By the time a pharaoh died, his tomb was huge, and it was loaded with treasures. 

The people began building these special tombs the minute a pharaoh came to power. That way, hopefully the construction would be complete by the time the pharaoh died. Unfortunately, most of the ancient tombs of Egypt, especially the ancient tombs of pharaohs, were discovered hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years ago and were robbed.  

You can imagine Howard Carter's excitement when he realized he had found the tomb of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. This tomb was many thousands of years old. Robbers might have been there because a bag of gold rings was found on the floor, as if dropped in haste. But they did not take everything. Howard Carter and his team found many treasures inside the tomb. It was almost like entering a time machine.

Pictures of people at work and play were found inside the tomb, along with ancient writings. Archaeologists can read these writing called hieroglyphics. They knew who buried in this tomb. It was a young pharaoh named King Tunkhannock, King Tut for short. We even know what King Tut looked like because Howard Carter found a solid gold mask inside the tomb, designed like the pharaoh's face.  

King Tut was only nine years old when he became Pharaoh. He was only 18 years old when he died.  The people did not have a lot of time to build his tomb. King Tut's tomb was very small compared to the tombs of other pharaohs. Because it was so small, it was overlooked for thousands of years.

The artifacts in Tut's tomb told archaeologists and scientists a great deal about ancient Egyptian daily life. The discovery of a tomb full of treasures stirred the imagination of people all over the world. Many became interested in learning more about ancient Egypt and other ancient civilizations because of Howard Carter's incredible discovery - King Tut's Tomb. 

Grave Goods

Howard Carter and the Curse of the Mummy 

Who killed King Tut? 

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