November 4, 1922.
“Look, look, a step!” A worker called out.
“Where?” Howard Carter asked. He ran towards the excited worker. In front of him was a step carved from the bedrock protruding from the sand. “Hurry, get some more shovels!” Carter called, he grabbed a shovel near his feet and started digging furiously. He was soon accompanied by some more of his workers. They had finally uncovered sixteen stone steps. The entranceway at the bottom of the steps was still sealed, much to the joy of Carter. The door was sealed with the cartouche of Tutankhamen. Carter could tell that it had been re-sealed on part of the door. This was exactly was Carter had been looking for. The door was taken down to reveal a rubble-filled corridor. Carnarvon was wired of the news in England. When he arrived the clearing of the passageway began. By November 26th it was all removed and they were faced with another sealed door, which had also been re-sealed. Carter started to break a hole in the door. When it was big enough for him to see through, he stuck his candle through the door. The flame flickered as the ancient air wafted from the chamber. When it was steady Carter couldn’t say a word, he was so amazed. “What do you see?” lord Carnarvon asked. Carter finally managed to say “Wonderful things, everywhere is the glint of gold!”
What did Carter see? When the door to the Antechamber was removed they discovered Disassembled Chariots, couches, chairs, wooden boxes, statues, alabaster vases, Shabtis (Small mummy-shaped statuettes that were intended to come to life in the Afterlife to work for the deceased Pharaoh, the word Shabti means ‘Answerer’) and weapons. There were even two life-sized statues of the young king guarding the entrance to the Burial Chamber.
When the Burial Chamber was opened they fond a large quartzite sarcophagus containing three coffins that fit inside each other like Russian nesting dolls. The first was made of wood gilded with gold. The second, also made of wood and gold, was inlaid with semi-precious stones. It looked so much different than the other two that Carter thought it had been intended for a different person. It was covered with a shroud of red linen woven as well as linen is made today. The third coffin was made from 2.5-3 Cm. Thick sheet gold inlaid with semi-precious stones. Inside of this coffin was the mummy of the deceased Pharaoh, also covered with a shroud. When this was removed they saw the most amazing thing ever discovered in all of the treasures of the tomb. The solid-gold mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, inlaid with semi-precious stones and colored glass. It weighed 22 ½ pounds.
Was there really a curse involved with the opening of the tomb?
Yes, it is true that Lord Carnarvon died less than six months after the opening of the tomb, but, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, it was because of the “Elementals,” Not a curse “Created by Tutankhamen’s Priests”. Lord Carnarvon died from and infected mosquito bite. The Press were the ones who thought up the idea of a curse, saying there was an inscription in the tomb that said “Death will come on swift wings to he who disturbs this tomb.” Of course, there was no such thing. For years after the tomb was discovered the Press would say something about a curse every time someone that was connected to the opening of the tomb died. Would any of this make sense, though, if the doctor who autopsied the mummy of Tutankhamen lived for decades after the opening of the tomb?
If it would have never happened:
1. There wouldn’t have been a “Mummy Craze” in the twenties.
2. There wouldn’t have been a Mummy Movie made in 1932 or any of the ones made after that.
3. We wouldn’t have known how wealthy the Pharaoh’s were.
4. Howard Carter wouldn’t be so famous.
5. We wouldn’t have known to what extent the Egyptian’s went to bury their dead with all of those burial provisions.
Some good books if you wish to learn more:
The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen. By Howard Carter and A.C. Mace with 105 illustrations.
The Murder of Tutankhamen, a true story. By Bob Brier, Ph.D.
Rulers of Ancient Egypt. By Russel Roberts.
The Complete Valley of the Kings. By Nicholas Reeves and Richard H. Wilkinson, with 532 illustrations.
The Complete Tutankhamen. By Nicholas Reeves.
What life was like on the banks of the Nile. Published by TIME LIFE BOOKS.
Lost Civilizations, Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs. Published by TIME LIFE BOOKS.
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