Artifacts from Tutankhamun’s Tomb
Today, you can mainly see artifacts from Tutankhamun’s Tomb at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Tomb No. 62 is in the Valley of the Kings, on the Nile’s western bank in Luxor. The tomb gained immense global recognition for its wealth and valuables because archeologists believe it is the only tomb of an ancient Egyptian ruler that we have discovered with all its contents intact.
Howard Carter discovered the tomb in 1922. He found it under the ruins of workers’ cottages from the Ramesside period. An English nobleman named Carnarvon supported Carter’s expedition. The discovery of Tutankhamen’s cartouche near the site confirmed the tomb belonged to King Tutankhamun.
Archaeologists consider the King Tutankhamun collection significant because it is the first royal treasure they have ever discovered in its entirety. It includes 5,000 items, such as the famous golden mask and three human-shaped coffins. The tomb held all of King Tutankhamun’s belongings. These included his clothing, gold jewelry, textiles, numerous scarabs, sculptures, incense, furniture, seats, oil lamps, toys, and war chariots.
The most significant artifacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb:
1. Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask
Ancient Egyptian artisans composed Tutankhamun’s mask, also known as the king’s death mask, of solid gold, and it weighs roughly 10.23 kg. They inlaid it with valuable stones.
2. Tutankhamun’s Golden Shrine
King Tutankhamun’s shrine is one of the most significant items. Coated in gold, the shrine houses the four canopic jars that people used to preserve his inner organs.
A frieze of the ancient Egyptians’ sacred cobra snake’s golden heads adorns the highest section of this shrine. Four goddesses—Isis, Nephthys, Sekhmet, and Neith—surround the shrine. The four canopic jars inside hold the ingredients to preserve the intestines, liver, lungs, and stomach. The shrine follows the mummy to the other world. Each of the four alabaster bowls has a cover carved as one of the sons of Horus. Egyptians preserved the entrails inside them. Unlike other canopic jars, however, Tutankhamun’s jars are topped with his head.
3. King Tutankhamun’s Golden Coffin
Carter discovered the king’s mummy within a pure gold coffin. The coffin was inside two other wooden coffins. A granite sarcophagus held all of them, and four wooden coffins inlaid with gold foil enclosed it.
4. Statue of God Anubis
The god Anubis plays a part in burial ceremonies. A statue of Anubis in the shape of a seated jackal was discovered inside Tutankhamun’s tomb. The statue was tinted black and covered with a gold coating. It was connected to a movable chair box.
5. Ushabti Statues
(Uchabtis), which are instances of pharaoh’s slaves after death, and 400 tiny sculptures were discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb.
6. The Alabaster Casket
It is a casket made of alabaster with two strands of hair discovered within the tomb that belonged to King Tutankhamun.
7. Tutankhamun’s Chair
King Tutankhamun’s chair, crafted of ebony wood and inlaid with ivory.
8. Gloves of King Tutankhamun
A glove for the king was discovered, and the king’s fingers were covered with borrowed gold and silver fingers, as well as a clog (sandals) made of pure gold, all of which were rare artifacts for the dead, who was regarded as sacrosanct.
9. Tutankhamun’s Boats
They discovered 35 boats of all shapes and sizes, all pointing west, in the hopes that one of them would change into a genuine boat and take the departed on his trip to eternity.
10. Tutankhamun’s Black Leopard
King Tutankhamun’s golden statue was discovered on top of a black leopard crossing the land of death into eternity. This black leopard had golden eyes that allowed it to see in the dark and was a symbol of the other world.
11. Tutankhamun’s wishing Cup
Carter discovered the Wishing Cup first within the tomb. Shaped like an open lotus blossom, the cup is made of alabaster.
12. Tutankhamun walking sticks
Archaeologists discovered many walking sticks in Tutankhamun’s tomb. The walking poles have representations of Egypt’s enemies and slaves from the upper part of the stick. A stick of them serves as a pocket for the king’s sharp weapon. It’s worth mentioning that King Tutankhamun required the sticks due to an injury to his leg.
13. Tutankhamun’s Golden Throne
Archeologists consider his golden throne one of the most magnificent objects discovered in the tomb. They found a very detailed throne painted with a romantic depiction of the king and his wife. The two guardian women of Upper and Lower Egypt, a vulture and a cobra snake, hold the pharaoh’s names on the chair’s sides. We can see the Sema Tawi sign in the lower section of the chair’s sides and back. The design of the chair’s legs looks like a lioness’s legs, and the upper section of each side has a lioness’s head to protect the king.
14. Tutankhamun’s Golden Wreath
The lovely wreath of Tutankhamun. On the forehead of the wreath are the heads of the Vulture and the cobra snake to protect the king.
15. Tutankhamun’s Life-like Statues
We discovered two life-size sculptures of King Tutankhamun in his burial chamber. The sculptures show the monarch in a powerful stance to deter tomb robbers. The only difference between the two sculptures is the king’s headdress.
16. Tutankhamun’s Boomerang
We discovered King Tutankhamun’s Boomerangs with gold points at either end, indicating that Egyptians used them in the second millennium B.C.E.
17. Cow Goddess Head
Inside King Tutankhamun’s tomb, we discovered a gilded wooden head of a cow deity. This head most likely belongs to Hathor, the cow goddess. Some academics say this head belongs to another goddess named “Mehit Weret” since the sun disc that used to be on Hathor’s head has vanished.
