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?
