Tag Archives: archaelogy

Remembering History:Carter Finds Door To King Tut’s Tomb (4 Nov 1922)

The Mask of Tutankhamun; c.?1327 BC
Image: Roland Unger (Wikimedia)

On 4 November 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter found steps near the entrance of King Ramses IV in the Valley of the Kings. By this time many of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered but not the little-known King Tutankhamen, who died at age 18. The discovery of the steps would lead Carter and his fellow archaeologist Lord Carnarvon to enter the interior chambers of the tomb finding them intact. It would start a large excavation process in which Carter explored the four-room tomb over several years and cataloguing its contents. The best known was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin (made of solid gold), was Tutankhamen’s mummy preserved for over 3,000 years. Since many royal tombs had been looted in the past, finding an intact tomb and its mummy was a rare archaeological find. The Cairo Museum houses the treasures from the tomb.

Sources:

“Entrance to King Tut’s Tomb Discovered.” HISTORY, 4 Mar. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/entrance-to-king-tuts-tomb-discovered.

Dorman, Peter F. “Tutankhamun | Biography, Tomb, Mummy, Mask, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Nov. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Tutankhamun.

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Remembering History:Carter Finds Door To King Tut’s Tomb (4 Nov 1922)

The Mask of Tutankhamun; c.?1327 BC
Image: Roland Unger (Wikimedia)

On 4 November 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter found steps near the entrance of King Ramses IV in the Valley of the Kings. By this time many of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered but not the little-known King Tutankhamen, who died at age 18. The discovery of the steps would lead Carter and his fellow archaeologist Lord Carnarvon to enter the interior chambers of the tomb finding them intact. It would start a large excavation process in which Carter explored the four-room tomb over several years and cataloguing its contents. The best known was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin (made of solid gold), was Tutankhamen’s mummy preserved for over 3,000 years. Since many royal tombs had been looted in the past, finding an intact tomb and its mummy was a rare archaeological find. The Cairo Museum houses the treasures from the tomb.

Sources:

“Entrance to King Tut’s Tomb Discovered.” HISTORY, 4 Mar. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/entrance-to-king-tuts-tomb-discovered.

Dorman, Peter F. “Tutankhamun | Biography, Tomb, Mummy, Mask, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Nov. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Tutankhamun.

Remembering History:Carter Finds Door To King Tut’s Tomb (4 Nov 1922)

The Mask of Tutankhamun; circa 1327 BC
Image: Roland Unger (Wikimedia)

On 4 November 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter found steps near the entrance of King Ramses IV in the Valley of the Kings. By this time many of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered but not the little-known King Tutankhamen, who died at age 18. The discovery of the steps would lead Carter and his fellow archaeologist Lord Carnarvon to enter the interior chambers of the tomb finding them intact. It would start a large excavation process in which Carter explored the four room tomb over several years and cataloguing its contents. The best known was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin (made of solid gold), was Tutankhamen’s mummy preserved for over 3,000 years. Since many royal tombs had been looted in the past, finding an intact tomb and its mummy was a rare archaeological find. The Cairo Museum houses the treasures from the tomb.

Sources:

This Day in History (History.com)
King Tut (National Geographic)
Tutankhamun (Britannica)