In 1922, after seven years of searching, Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tutankhamun who had been buried for over 3,000 years. Inside the tomb were priceless riches in the form of idols, food and treasure, not to mention Tut's own sarcophagus. It took Carter 10 years to catalog and record all of the items found in Tut's tomb.
Tut's Coffin and Death Mask
Tut's coffin was made of solid gold, his death mask is one of the most recognizable images of ancient Egypt. Although Tut only reigned for 10 years and died at age 19, he is well known in modern times for his virtually undisturbed burial chamber. The death mask of Tut is the bust of a young man. It too is made of gold and is also resplendent with inlaid semi precious stones that indicate the traditional head dress of the Pharaohs and traditional beaded neck piece. On the mask, Tuts eyes are open wide and rimmed with black Kohl, another ancient Egyptian custom. The head of two snakes writhe out of the top of Tut's head dress and from his chin is the long conical shape Egyptians used to represent a beard.
Clothing and Walking Sticks
The Egyptians believed that after death a person lived on in the afterworld. And according to one's station they provided their dead with any and every time they thought the person would enjoy and need in the after life. For Tut, he was provided with clothing, food, lamps and writing equipment. There were 50 garments cut and sewn into tunics, kilts, gloves, scarves and headdresses. One interesting set of artifacts are walking sticks, 139 of them to be exact. The walking sticks were made of ebony, ivory, silver and gold.
Idols and Statues
The ancient Egyptians were polytheistic, meaning they believed in many gods. Each god in ancient Egypt represented a different aspect of creation and daily life, not unlike Ancient Greek gods. The Egyptian gods were related to one another and some of them were referred to as a combination of one or more. They were often depicted as humans who had the head of an animal such as Anubis who had the head of a jackel. Anubis was a god associated with burial and watching over the dead. Many idols that could fit in the palm of your hand, depicting Gods were found in the tomb. A few large statues, including one of a Anubis was also discovered.
Other Items
Anything that Tut was likely to use or enjoy in his life on earth was also included in his tomb. There were games, fans, food, perfume ornaments and musical instruments. There were also items meant to bribe the gods of the underworld and offer protection to Tut, should he need it. There were copious amounts of jewelry, daggers, swords and shields. There were six chariots that were mostly likely to be used by Tut to transport himself and his treasures to the underworld. He was also equipped with chairs, couches and two thrones.
