Howard Carter, an English archaeologist and Egyptologist, began to take part in archaeological expeditions in Egypt at the end of the 19th century. In 1906, Carter met an amateur archaeologist and collector of antiquities, Lord Carnarvon, who generously provided funds for archaeological research. In subsequent years, they excavated in different parts of the Theban necropolis, but only in June 1914 they received a concession to excavate in the Valley of the Kings.
Although many researchers were convinced that everything had already been dug up in the Valley, and it was impossible to find anything new there, Howard Carter was sure that Tutankhamun's tomb had not yet been discovered and that it should be located near the center of the Valley of the Kings. Excavations were scheduled to begin in the winter season of 1914/15, but the First World War broke out and confused plans for a while.
The real work in the Valley began in the autumn of 1917. Mountains of rubble thrown out during previous excavations cluttered the entire surface of the Valley of the Kings. Carter set about clearing the triangle formed by the tombs of Ramesses II, Merneptah and Ramesses VI. In one season, archaeologists removed a significant part of the upper layers in this area and reached the entrance to the tomb of Ramesses VI, where they came across work huts that stood on the basis of a mass of flint fragments, which in the Valley usually indicates the proximity of the tomb. They wanted to continue excavating in the same direction, but then access to the tomb of Ramesses - one of the most popular tombs among visitors in the Valley - would be closed. Therefore, it was decided to wait for a more favorable opportunity.
Work on this site was resumed in the autumn of 1919. That season, it was planned to completely clear the entire triangle of rubble. For this, a significant party of workers was hired. When Lady and Lord Carnarvon arrived in the Valley in March 1920, all the rubble of the upper layers had already been removed and it was possible to go deeper into the soil, untouched by excavations. Soon a small cache was found with thirteen alabaster vessels, on which were the names of the pharaohs Ramesses II and Merneptah.
With the exception of a small area under the work huts, the entire cleared triangle was explored by archaeologists, but the tomb was never found. This place has been temporarily abandoned. For the next two seasons, Carter was busy excavating in the small adjoining valley where the tomb of Thutmose III is located.
2 Finding the entrance to the tomb
Finally, Howard Carter decided to proceed to the site cluttered with granite debris and work huts at the foot of the tomb of Ramesses VI. It was decided to start the excavations early so that, if necessary, close access to the tomb of Ramses VI, to do it at a time when there are not so many visitors in the Valley yet.
Carter arrived in Luxor on October 28, 1922. By November 1, all the workers were gathered, it was possible to start work. Previous excavations have been suspended at the northeast corner of the tomb of Ramesses VI. From here, the workers began to dig a trench in a southerly direction. It took several days to remove the ancient workers' huts from the site. By the evening of November 3, the cleaning work was completed.
Arriving at the excavation site on the morning of November 4, Howard Carter was struck by the extraordinary silence. Work has been suspended. “I realized that something extraordinary had happened, and soon I heard with joy: under the very first removed hut, a step carved into the rock was found. This news was too good for me to believe. However, a quick additional clearing convinced me that we had indeed found the beginning of a rock-cut descent, which was some four meters below the entrance to the tomb of Ramesses VI and at the same depth from the present surface of the Valley, ”wrote Carter in his diary.
The excavations continued all day and all the next morning. However, it was not until the afternoon of November 5 that the pile of rubble blocking the entrance was removed. Step after step was exposed, and when the twelfth in a row was cleared, the upper part of the doorway appeared, blocked with stones, walled up and sealed. "Sealed door! So it's true! At last we have been rewarded for all the years of patient labor. As far as I remember, my first impulse was to thank fate that my work in the Valley did not remain fruitless. With feverishly rising excitement, I began to examine the seal impressions on the walled-up door to ascertain who lay in that tomb. But I did not find the name of its owner. The only legible prints were the well-known prints of the seal of the royal necropolis: a jackal and nine prisoners,” Carter recalled.
The archaeologist made a small hole under the lintel so that an electric flashlight could be inserted through it. Behind the door, the entire gallery up to the ceiling was littered with stones and rubble. The time was already late. Carter ordered the door to be filled up, chose the most honest workers and instructed them to guard the tomb throughout the night.
Lord Carnarvon was at this time in England, further work was postponed until his arrival. November 23 Carnarvon with his daughter Lady Evelina Herbert, his faithful assistant in all work in Egypt, arrived in Luxor. On November 24, in the afternoon, the stairs were completely cleared - all sixteen steps. Now it was possible to carefully inspect the entire door. On its lower part, the prints of the seals turned out to be much clearer, among them the name Tutankhamun was repeated many times. Now that the entire door could be carefully inspected, it became obvious that part of the walled passage had been opened twice in succession and then resealed. Previously discovered seals with a jackal and nine captives stood on the newly bricked up part of the wall, while the untouched lower part was covered with impressions of the seal of Tutankhamun, which was originally used to seal the tomb. Therefore, the robbers still visited here. But judging by the huts built over the tomb, they were robbers who lived no later than the reign of Ramesses VI.
On the morning of the twenty-fifth of November, all the seals on the wall were carefully sketched and photographed. Then they began to dismantle the door. It consisted of unhewn stones that covered the entire passage from floor to ceiling. Then began going down, but without steps, a gallery about 2.5 m high. It began to be cleared of stones and rubble.
On November 26, the clearing of the gallery continued in the morning. The work went slowly. In the afternoon, at a distance of 10 meters from the outer entrance, a second immured and sealed entrance was discovered. “With trembling hands, I made a small hole in the upper left corner of the immured wall. The darkness and emptiness into which the probe went freely for its entire length indicated that behind this wall there was no longer a blockage, as in the gallery we had just cleared. Fearing a buildup of gas, we first lit a candle. Then, expanding the hole a little, I put a candle in it and looked inside. Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn, and Collender stood behind me anxiously awaiting the verdict. At first I didn't see anything. Warm air rushed out of the room and the candle flame flickered. But gradually, when the eyes got used to the semi-darkness, the details of the room began to slowly emerge from the darkness. There were strange figures of animals, statues and gold - gold shimmered everywhere! For a moment—that moment seemed like an eternity to those behind me—I was literally speechless with amazement. Unable to contain himself any longer, Lord Carnarvon asked me excitedly, "Do you see anything?" The only thing I could answer him was: “Yes, wonderful things!” Then, expanding the hole so that it was possible for two of us to look into it, we put an electric lantern inside, ”Carter described this most important event in his life.
On November 27, 1922, the tomb was connected to the Valley's lighting network. Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelina, Collender, and Carter entered the discovered room and proceeded to examine it in detail. Later this hall was called the front room.
There were three large gilded boxes in the hall. The sides of each bed were sculpted figures of monstrous beasts. Their bodies were therefore unnaturally stretched to the full length of the bed, and their heads were carved with startling realism. To the right, against the wall, stood two statues, full-length black sculptures of the pharaoh. In golden aprons and golden sandals, with maces and staves in their hands, with sacred guardian ureas on their foreheads, they stood opposite each other. There was a walled passage between them.
Also, many other things were piled up in the room: chests with the finest painting and inlay, alabaster vessels, black arks, beautiful carved chairs, a throne inlaid with gold, canes and staves of various shapes and patterns, chariots sparkling with gold and inlays, a portrait statue of the pharaoh, etc. d.
In mid-December, work was in full swing in the front room. It was necessary to take detailed photographs of the premises. Then came the painstaking work of parsing artifacts that were very crowded in the room. Some of them were in excellent condition, but many valuables required immediate restoration. Some things, without pre-treatment, simply could not be picked up - they immediately crumbled. The dismantling of the items in the front room took a total of seven weeks. By mid-February, all things were transferred to the laboratory, with the exception of two guard statues left on purpose, every centimeter of the floor was swept and the dust was sifted so that not a single bead, not a single piece of inlay remained in it.
On February 17, 1923, an operation was scheduled to open the sealed door. By two o'clock in the afternoon, the invitees - about twenty people in all - had gathered at the tomb. Everything in the front room had been prepared beforehand. To protect the statues from possible damage, they were sheathed with boards, and a small platform was erected between the statues so that from it it was easy to reach the upper edge of the doorway. It was decided to start opening the door from above, since this order of work was the safest. The demolition of the walled passage took two hours. Even during the disassembly, it became clear that this was nothing more than the entrance to the tomb of the pharaoh.
In the burial chamber rose a huge gilded ark, built to protect and preserve the sarcophagus, inside which the pharaoh himself rested. The dimensions of this ark were so large (5 × 3.3 meters with a height of 2.73 meters) that it filled almost the entire cubic capacity of the tomb. On all four sides, it was separated from the walls by a narrow space - about 0.65 meters, and its roof with a ridge and a stucco cornice almost touched the ceiling. The whole ark was covered with gold from top to bottom, plates of sparkling blue faience were embedded on the sides, and on them images of the same magical symbols were endlessly repeated, which were supposed to preserve and strengthen the last abode of the pharaoh. Around the ark, right on the floor, lay a lot of funerary emblems, and at the northern end of the tomb - seven magical oars; they should have been needed by the pharaoh in his crossing the waters of the underworld.
The walls of the tomb, in contrast to the front room, were decorated with colorful images and inscriptions. Their execution was somewhat hasty. There was a low door in the eastern wall of the tomb, and behind it was another small room. The entrance to this room was neither walled up nor sealed, but at the same time, the most valuable treasures of the tomb were stored in it.
In the 1923/24 season, work began on opening the sarcophagi. There were four outer sarcophagi and one more inner (quartzite) sarcophagus in the tomb. The researchers opened the sarcophagi one by one, this work was difficult and slow. Finally, the quartzite sarcophagus was opened. The golden image of the young king, executed with exceptional skill, filled the entire interior of the sarcophagus. It was the lid of a marvelous anthropoid coffin about 2.25 meters long, resting on a low litter decorated with images of lion heads. It was an outer coffin containing several more. The winged goddesses Isis and Neith embraced the coffin. They were made in low relief technique, while the head and hands of the king were extremely fine and elegant works of round sculpture made of solid gold.
In subsequent seasons, work was carried out to open the coffins. There were three of them. The third coffin, 1.85 meters long, was made of solid gold. The mask of this golden coffin was given a portrait resemblance to the king, but his features, although conditional, since they symbolized Osiris, were more youthful than on other coffins. The coffin was decorated with a “rishi” ornament and the figures of Isis and Nephthys - the plots of the first coffin. They were complemented by the winged figures of Nekhebt and Buto. These figures of guardian goddesses - the emblems of Upper and Lower Egypt - stood out sharply on the engraved ornament that generously adorned the coffin, as they were magnificent massive overlays of cloisonné enamel. Images of the goddesses were inlaid with semi-precious stones. Under the lid of this coffin lay the mummy of the pharaoh.
The interest of mankind in antiquities as historical monuments, which took shape in the science of archeology, was born from much more base motives. In the second half of the 18th century, those who went to excavate antiquities dreamed of finding not unique evidence of past eras, but gold and jewelry for personal enrichment.
Treasures of the Valley of the Kings
But in the 19th century, the situation gradually begins to change, and archaeological excavations become the work of enthusiasts who are ready to spend time and money on their hobby, in return dreaming of glorifying their own name.
One of the most attractive points for archaeologists was Egypt, whose rich ancient history was not a secret.
Expeditions flocked to the Valley of the Kings, where dozens of tombs of the pharaohs, as well as high-ranking representatives of the nobility of Ancient Egypt, were located in a rocky gorge.
The problem, however, was that the archaeologists who explored the tombs were not the first "guests" there. Despite all the stories about the “superstitious fear of the ancient Egyptians before the wrath of the gods,” the tombs were mercilessly robbed back in the era of the pharaohs, so that the researchers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries got only what the robbers for some reason disdained.
Professional and amateur
Howard Carter, the son of an English artist from Norfolk, came to Egyptology at the age of 17, joining the British Organization for the Archaeological Research of Egypt. Fellow Egyptologists celebrated Carter after he made a number of interesting discoveries while exploring the Djeser Djeseru - built in the 15th century BC. e. terraced mortuary temple and rock tomb at Deir el-Bahri.
Howard Carter. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Becoming a famous archaeologist, Carter was for several years the inspector general of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities, inspecting the work of the American archaeologist Theodore Davis. During these works, the tombs of Thutmose IV, Horemheb, Ramses Saptah,
Carter dreamed of a revolutionary discovery - the discovery of an untouched tomb. In 1906 he found a companion, an amateur archaeologist and collector of antiquities. Lord Carnarvon. The lord was not just sick of Ancient Egypt, he dreamed of finding the tomb of Tutankhamen, the ruler of the XVIII dynasty, whose very existence was questioned by historians.
Joint excavations by Carter and Carnarvon began in 1914, and managed to open the tomb of Amenhotep I and the burial places of several queens of the XVIII dynasty.
Then the expedition had to be curtailed due to the First World War, but after it ended, Carter convinced the lord to return to the search.
Secret under a pile of rubble
But time passed, but there was no result. Lord Carnarvon was ready to give up the senseless waste of money, but now Carter insisted on continuing the search. In the course of work in other tombs, he accidentally managed to find objects with the name of Tutankhamun. This meant that the pharaoh was a real figure and not a legend.
Lord Carnarvon. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
In 1922, Lord Carnarvon announced to Carter that he was funding the last season of excavations, and if the result is not now, then it will not be at all.
In November 1922, workers from the Carter expedition were tearing down the walls of the barracks, left by the archaeologists themselves five years earlier. At the same time, they removed a meter-long layer of rubble that was under them.
On November 4, 1922, work stopped. Carter, looking into the hole dug by the workers, found a step carved into the rock.
Apparently, the workers who once built the nearby tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses VI filled up the path leading to the entrance to the already existing tomb. So they accidentally mothballed it for millennia, hiding it from the eyes of robbers.
Excavations continued with redoubled energy. At the bottom of the stairs, a door was found, blocked with stones, walled up and equipped with a double seal.
Carter was delighted to discover that he was dealing with the royal seal, which was used to wall up the tombs of the pharaohs. It seems his dream is finally coming true!
Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) discovered by Carter. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
“Strange animals, statues and... gold began to emerge from the twilight.”
The archaeologist sent a telegram to England to Lord Carnarvon: “At last you have made a wonderful discovery in the Valley: a magnificent tomb with intact seals is again closed until your arrival. Congratulations".
On November 23, the lord arrived at the excavations. When they continued, Carter discovered that one of the seals was not royal, but priestly. This happened if the tomb had to be closed again after the discovery of the theft by grave robbers.
This fact upset Carter, but the very presence of the seal indicated that the tomb had not been completely cleaned out.
November 26, 1922 managed to clear the passage to the interior. This is how Howard Carter described the historic moment: “With trembling hands, I made a narrow gap in the upper left corner of the masonry. There was a void behind it, as far as I could determine with an iron probe ... they made an air test for a candle flame, for the accumulation of dangerous gases, and then I widened the hole a little, put a candle in it and looked inside. Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn Herbert and Egyptologist Callender stood nearby and anxiously awaited my verdict. I couldn't see anything at first because the hot air from the tomb was blowing out the candle. But gradually my eyes got used to the flickering light, and strange animals, statues and ... gold began to appear in front of me from the semi-darkness - gold sparkled everywhere! For a moment - to those who stood next to me, it seemed like an eternity! “I was dumbfounded.”
Tutankhamen on a chariot. Image from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Pharaoh's Golden Hall
The room, which was opened in November 1922, will later be called the Front Room. Treasures here were not located in the order that was originally intended. Apparently, the robbers were preparing to carry out valuables, but were taken by surprise. The priests also did not restore everything in its original form, having sealed the tomb.
Statue of Tutankhamen. A photo: Frame youtube.com
More than six hundred objects were found in the Front Room, which were carefully described and sketched. After completing this work, archaeologists were ready to open the burial chamber.
This happened on February 16, 1923. The "Golden Hall" turned out to be completely untouched by the robbers. Among the various valuables, which numbered in the thousands, was found the sarcophagus of the pharaoh, and in it his mummy with a death mask. Today, the death mask of Tutankhamen, made of 11.26 kg of pure gold and many precious stones, is considered one of the main treasures that have ever been discovered by Egyptologists.
The discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb, the first unlooted tomb in the Valley of the Kings, caused a worldwide sensation. Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon entered the history of science forever.
"Pitchfork of death": the truth about the "curse of Tutankhamun"
Like any sensation, especially related to Ancient Egypt, the story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen could not help but acquire legends, the main of which, of course, is the “Curse of the Pharaoh”.
Carter himself threw firewood into the fire when he told about what happened at the time of opening the burial chamber: “At that moment, we lost all desire to open these seals, because we suddenly felt that we were invading forbidden possessions; this oppressive feeling was further intensified by the linen covers that fell from the inner ark. It seemed to us that the ghost of the deceased pharaoh appeared before us, and we should bow before him.
The legend says that those who disturbed the peace of Tutankhamun suffered an untimely death. The inscription in the tomb warned about this: “The pitchfork of death will pierce the one who disturbs the peace of the pharaoh.”
The first "victim of the curse" was Lord Carnarvon, who died on April 5, 1923 from pneumonia. The 56-year-old enthusiast died at a time when the study of the found values was just beginning.
Supporters of the reality of the "curse" have more than 20 victims of the "wrath of Tutankhamen", including Howard Carter himself.
The archaeologist died in March 1939 in London, at the age of 64, from cancer. Already here it is felt that the "curse" is far-fetched - one of the two main "defilers" lived after the opening of the tomb for 16 years.
As for the inscription threatening death, such were present in almost all the tombs, which did not prevent the robbers from taking out everything that had at least some value.
The best evidence that the "curse" is a real "linden" is the statistics. A study of the biographies of the members of the Carter expedition shows that their average life expectancy was 74.4 years. Perhaps the most anecdotal example is the presence in the list of "victims" author of the Middle Egyptian grammar Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner. The scientist died in 1963 at the age of 84!
But it just so happened that people are attracted by mysticism, and not real science. So it was under Tutankhamen, so it continues now.
Tutankhamun (Tutankhaton) - the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt from the XVIII dynasty of the New Kingdom, reign, approximately 1332-1323. BC e.
According to the general custom in ancient times, the deceased was put in the grave of everything that was considered the most valuable for him during his lifetime: the kings and nobles - signs of their dignity, the warrior - his weapons, etc. But they all "took" with them almost everything collected for his life, gold and other objects that do not rot. There were such kings and rulers who took the entire state treasury with them to the tombs, and the people, mourning the king, mourned the loss of all their property.
So the ancient tombs were treasuries in which untold riches were hidden. To protect them from plunder, the builders built entrances inaccessible to outsiders; arranged doors with secret locks, which were closed and opened with the help of a magical talisman.
Whatever efforts the pharaohs did not make in order to protect their tombs from looting, no matter how sophisticated they were in trying to resist the all-destroying time, all their efforts were in vain. The genius of their architects was not able to defeat the evil will of man, his greed and indifference to ancient civilizations. Countless riches, which were supplied to the deceased rulers, members of their families and important dignitaries, have long attracted greedy robbers. Neither terrible spells, nor careful guards, nor cunning tricks of architects (camouflaged traps, immured chambers, false passages, secret stairs, etc.) helped against them.
Due to a happy coincidence, only the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun remained the only one that was preserved almost completely intact, although it was plundered twice in ancient times. The discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb is associated with the names of the English Lord Carnarvon and the archaeologist Howard Carter.
Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter
Lord Carnarvon, heir to a huge fortune, was also one of the first motorists. In one of the car accidents, he barely managed to survive, and after that the dream of sports had to be abandoned. In order to improve his health, the bored lord visited Egypt and he was interested in the great past of this country. For his own amusement, he decided to do the excavation himself, but his independent attempts in this field were unsuccessful. Money alone was not enough for this, and Lord Carnarvon did not have enough knowledge and experience. And then he was advised to seek help from archaeologist Howard Carter.
1914 - Lord Carnarvon saw on one of the faience goblets discovered during excavations in the Valley of the Kings, the name of Tutankhamen. He met the same name on a gold plate from a small cache. These findings prompted the lord to obtain permission from the Egyptian government to search for the tomb of Tutankhamun. The same material evidence also supported G. Carter when he was overcome by despondency from a long, but unsuccessful search.
Tutankhamen's tomb found
Archaeologists have been looking for the tomb of the pharaoh for a long 7 years, but in the end they were lucky. Sensational news spread around the world in early 1923. In those days, crowds of reporters, photographers and radio commentators flocked to the small and usually quiet town of Luxor. Every hour reports, messages, notes, essays, reports, reports, articles rushed from the Valley of the Kings by telephone and telegraph ...
For more than 80 days, archaeologists traveled to the golden coffin of Tutankhamen - through four outer arks, a stone sarcophagus and three inner coffins, until in the end they saw the one who for a long time was only a ghostly name for historians. But first, archaeologists and workers discovered steps that led into the depths of the rock and ended at the walled entrance. When the entrance was vacated, behind it was a descending corridor, covered with limestone fragments, and at the end of the corridor - another entrance, which was also walled up. This entrance led to an anterior chamber with a side storeroom, a burial chamber and a treasury.
Having made a hole in the masonry, G. Carter put his hand with a candle in there and clung to the hole. “At first I didn’t see anything,” he later writes in his book. - Warm air rushed out of the chamber, and the flame of the candle began to flicker. But gradually, when the eyes got used to the twilight, the details of the room began to slowly emerge from the darkness. There were strange figures of animals, statues and gold - gold shimmered everywhere.
In the tomb
Tutankhamun's tomb was actually one of the richest. When Lord Carnarvon and G. Carter entered the first room, they were stunned by the number and variety of objects that filled it. There were gold-studded chariots, bows, quivers of arrows, and shooting gloves; beds, also upholstered in gold; armchairs covered with tiny inserts of ivory, gold, silver and gems; magnificent stone vessels, richly decorated chests with clothes and jewelry. There were also crates of food and vessels of long-dried wine. The first room was followed by others, and what was discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamen exceeded the wildest expectations of the expedition members.
Tutankhamen's golden sarcophagus weighing 110 kg
The fact that the tomb was found at all was in itself an incomparable success. But fate smiled at G. Carter again, in those days he wrote: "We saw something that no man of our time was awarded." Only from the front chamber of the tomb, the English expedition took out 34 containers full of priceless jewelry, gold, precious stones and magnificent works of ancient Egyptian art. And when the members of the expedition entered the burial chambers of the pharaoh, they found here a wooden gilded ark, in it another - an oak ark, in the second - the third gilded ark, and then the fourth. The latter contained a sarcophagus made of a single piece of the rarest crystalline quartzite, and there were two more sarcophagi in it.
The northern wall of the sarcophagus hall in Tutankhamun's tomb is painted with three scenes. On the right is the opening of the mouth of the pharaoh's mummy by his successor Aye. Until the opening of the mouth, the deceased pharaoh was depicted in the form of a mummy, and after this rite, he already appeared in his usual earthly image. The central part of the painting is occupied by the scene of the meeting of the revived pharaoh with the goddess Nut: Tutankhamun is depicted in the robe and headdress of an earthly king, he holds a mace and a staff in his hands. In the last scene, Osiris hugs the pharaoh, his “ka” stands behind Tutankhamun.
The ancient Egyptians believed that humans had multiple souls. Tutankhamun had two statues of "ka", which were carried in the honorary row during the funeral procession. In the burial chambers of the pharaoh, these statues stood on the sides of the sealed door leading to the golden sarcophagus. The “ka” of Tutankhamen has a youthfully handsome face with wide-set eyes, looking with the impassive immobility of death.
Ancient sculptors and artists repeated it many times on chests, chests and arks. The dimensions of the statue of the twin spirit helped scientists to establish the growth of the pharaoh himself, since according to the burial traditions of the ancient Egyptians, these dimensions corresponded to the growth of the deceased.
"Ba" of Tutankhamun was guarded by a wooden sculpture depicting the pharaoh on the burial bed, and on the other hand, the sacred mummy was overshadowed by a falcon with its wing. On the figurine of the pharaoh, archaeologists saw carved words with which the pharaoh addressed the goddess of the sky: “Come down, mother Nut, bend over me and turn me into one of the immortal stars that are all in you!” This sculpture was among those sacrifices that the courtiers presented to the already deceased pharaoh as a promise to serve him and.
Pharaoh's mummy
In order to get to the sacred mummy of the pharaoh, archaeologists had to open several sarcophagi. “The mummy was lying in a coffin,” writes G. Carter, “to which it was tightly glued, since, having lowered it into the coffin, it was filled with aromatic oils. The head and shoulders, down to the chest, were covered with a beautiful golden mask, reproducing the features of the royal face, with a headband and a necklace. It could not be removed, since it was also glued to the coffin with a layer of resin, which thickened into a mass as hard as a stone.
The coffin, which contained the mummy of Tutankhamen, depicted in the image of Osiris, was entirely made of a massive gold sheet with a thickness of 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters. In its form, it repeated the two previous ones, but its decor was more complex. The body of the pharaoh was protected by the wings of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys; chest and shoulders - kite and cobra (goddesses - patrons of the North and South). These figurines were placed on top of the coffin, with each kite feather filled with pieces of gems or colored glass.
The mummy lying in the coffin was wrapped in many sheets. On the top of them were sewn hands holding a whip and a rod; below them there was also a golden image "ba" in the form of a bird with a human head. On the places of the bandages there were longitudinal and transverse stripes with the texts of prayers. When G. Carter unfolded the mummy, he found a lot more jewelry, the inventory of which is divided by him into 101 groups.
Treasures from the tomb
Throne of Tutankhamun
So, for example, on the body of the pharaoh, archaeologists found two daggers - bronze and silver. The handle of one of them is decorated with gold granulation and set with intertwining ribbons of cloisonné enamel. At the bottom, the decorations end with a chain of scrolls of gold wire and a rope ornament. The blade made of hardened gold has two longitudinal grooves in the middle, crowned with a palmette, above which a geometric pattern is located in a narrow frieze.
The forged mask that covered Tutankhamun's face was made of a thick sheet of gold and richly decorated: the stripes of the scarf, eyebrows and eyelids were made of dark blue glass, the wide necklace shone with numerous inserts of gems. The throne of the pharaoh was made of wood, sheathed with gold leaf and richly decorated with inlays of multi-colored faience, gems and glass. The legs of the throne in the form of lion paws are crowned with lion heads made of chased gold; the handles are winged snakes twisted into a ring, supporting the cartouches of the pharaoh with their wings. Between the supports behind the back of the throne, there are six uraeus in crowns and with solar disks. All of them are made of gilded wood and inlaid: the heads of the uraeus are made of purple faience, the crowns are made of gold and silver, and the sun discs are made of gilded wood.
On the back of the throne there is a relief image of papyri and water birds, in front - a unique inlaid image of the pharaoh and his wife. The lost gold ornaments that connected the seat with the lower frame were an ornament of lotus and papyrus, united by a central image - the hieroglyph "sema", symbolizing the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt.
In ancient Egypt, it was also a custom to decorate the bodies of the dead with wreaths of flowers. The wreaths that were found in the tomb of Tutankhamen did not reach us in very good condition, and two or three flowers crumbled into powder at the first touch. The leaves also turned out to be very brittle, and the scientists kept them in tepid water for several hours before starting the research.
The necklace found on the lid of the third coffin was composed of leaves, flowers, berries and fruits, various plants, mixed with blue glass beads. The plants were arranged in nine rows tied to semicircular strips cut from the core of the papyrus. As a result of the analysis of flowers and fruits, scientists were able to establish the approximate time of the burial of Pharaoh Tutankhamun - this happened between mid-March and the end of April. It was then that cornflowers bloomed in Egypt, the fruits of mandrake and nightshade, woven into a wreath, ripened.
In beautiful stone vessels, scientists also found fragrant ointments with which the pharaoh had to anoint himself in the afterlife, as he did in earthly life. These perfumes, even after 3,000 years, emitted a strong aroma ...
Now the treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamen are exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and occupy 10 halls there, the area of which is equal to a football field. With the permission of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, research was carried out on the mummies of famous pharaohs. During the work, the most modern equipment was used, forensic doctors and even experts from Scotland Yard were involved in the case, who took x-rays of Tutankhamun's skull and found traces of a deep wound on the back of the head. And the English detectives came to the conclusion that the case was criminal, and 3,000 years ago, the 18-year-old ruler of Egypt fell victim to a palace coup and died instantly from a strong blow.
Nothing can be said for sure. We will read the classic version of the discovery of the pharaoh's tomb later, but now let's get acquainted with the mysterious version.
An analysis of the circumstances of the discovery of the famous tomb of Tutankhamun leads to a seditious thought: this is one of the largest falsifications in the history of archeology.
In the history of archeology, there is hardly an event comparable in significance to the discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, made in 1922 by Howard Carter. Although the robbers entered the burial chamber in ancient times, it turned out to be unrobbed, and scientists found innumerable treasures, many ancient Egyptian household items and a completely untouched mummy in it.
But here's a riddle: an inscription was found in the tomb - "Death will quickly overtake the one who disturbs the peace of the dead ruler!" And in life, this warning was fulfilled almost literally. For eight years after the excavations, almost all the people involved in them died, one after another, with the exception of Carter himself! And now, for the eighth decade, experts have been looking for an explanation for this mysterious "curse of the pharaohs." Some believe that archaeologists suffered a heavenly punishment for looting the grave. Others argue that the Egyptian priests "settled" pathogenic bacteria in the tomb, which killed careless scientists. Meanwhile, the untimely death of people directly related to the excavations may receive a more prosaic explanation...
The story of a sensational discovery
The Englishman Carter and his sponsor Lord Carnarvon began large-scale excavations in the Valley of the Kings in the autumn of 1917. Subsequently, Carter repeatedly stated that he was going to find the tomb of Tutankhamen. He immediately attacked the place where the discovery was subsequently made. But for some unknown reason, the archaeologists soon moved to another area of the Valley of the Kings. By 1922, they dug it up and down, not finding anything significant. Only the very site from which the work began was relatively poorly studied. And finally, it was decided to plow it. November 3, 1922 Carter (Carnarvon was in London), having broken the remains of ancient dwellings, discovered stone steps. After they were cleared of rubble, it became clear: some kind of tomb was found, the entrance to which was walled up and sealed.
"Literally anything could be behind this move, and I had to call on all my self-control to resist the temptation to immediately break the door and continue the search," Carter wrote in his diary. He ordered to fill up the excavation and wait for the return of Carnarvon from England.
On November 23, the lord arrived in Egypt, and on the 24th, the workers cleared the entrance to the tomb. Carter found himself in front of the sealed door again. He saw that the robbers had time to visit here - the walled-up passage was opened twice and sealed up again. Having opened the masonry, archaeologists discovered a corridor littered with stones. After many days of work, they reached another walled door. Having made a hole in it, Carter saw a room filled with various objects. There were golden litters, a massive golden throne, two statues, alabaster vases, unusual chests. After examining the room, scientists found another sealed door between the statues. Next to it was a blocked passage made by ancient robbers. Among other things, there were three large beds in the cell, under one of them they found a small hole that led to a side room, also filled to overflowing with various household items and jewelry.
And then Carter makes a strange decision: instead of continuing research, he orders to fill up the tomb and, as he himself said, leaves for Cairo for organizational work. The excavation was opened again on December 16, but only on the 27th the first find was brought to the surface. In the meantime, a narrow-gauge railway was being built to transport the treasures.
Clickable 2000 px
On February 17, Carter continued his work and opened the walled door to the burial chamber, which contained a huge wooden sarcophagus, upholstered with gold plates. In addition, from this room a small passage led to another room filled with items made of gold and precious stones. After making sure that the seals on the sarcophagus were not touched, Carter breathed a sigh of relief - the robbers had not been here. After this, research is again suspended, and the scientists began to open the gilded sarcophagus only in the winter of 1926-1927.
Excavations of the tomb of Tutankhamun lasted for five whole years. But already at the first stage of research, the legend of the "curse of the pharaoh" was born. The impetus for her appearance was the untimely death of Lord Carnarvon. In 1923, he died of blood poisoning after a careless shave. This death was followed by others no less mysterious: Archibald Reid, who did the X-ray analysis of the mummy, suddenly passed away; A.K. Mace, who opened the burial chamber with Carter; Carter's secretary, young Lord Westbourne; dies from the bite of a mosquito and Lady Carnarvon. Several people involved in the excavations commit suicide: Carnarvon's half-brother Aubrey Herbert, Lord Westbourne is the father of Carter's secretary. By 1930, of the direct participants in the expedition, only Howard Carter remained alive.
And to this day there are disputes about whether this chain of deaths is an accident, whether there is a connection between them, and if so, what kind. The most fantastic version is the "curse of the pharaoh", which suits journalists greedy for sensations. Alas, it does not withstand objective criticism. Meanwhile, the official version of the mysterious deaths, expressed by Carter himself, also seems not entirely convincing. In his opinion, the people of our age cannot believe in such mystical nonsense as the "curse of the pharaoh"; Most likely the chain of deaths is just an accident. However, is it possible to believe that the death of 21 scientists, one after another, who explored the tomb with him, is a fatal combination of circumstances? Hardly!
Circumstances that cause confusion
Until now, no one has taken the trouble to carefully study the very strange circumstances that accompanied the search and excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamen. But their analysis allows, it turns out, not only to reveal the secret of the "curse of the pharaoh", but also to suspect that we are dealing with the greatest archaeological falsification. From the very beginning, the fact that the tomb of Tutankhamun, the only one of all those found, was not plundered, although thieves visited it, should be alarming from the very beginning. Was she better disguised than the others? Surprised by its strange layout and small size.
The next strange fact is the long duration of excavations. Is it really for an inventory of wealth, household items, sarcophagi and a mummy in a tomb with a total area of 80 square meters. m and to extract them, even with the greatest care, it takes almost 5 years? But the most surprising, by common sense, is Carter's behavior. In 1917, having started excavations in the Valley of the Kings, he very carefully examined the area where the entrance to the burial complex of Tutankhamun was located, allegedly did not find it, and for the next five years he shoveled other areas. And in 1922 he suddenly returned to a well-studied place again and almost immediately came across a burial. It was Carter, by the way, who delayed the excavations. He prevented his colleagues from opening the sealed doors and forced them to examine what they had already found with unnecessary thoroughness, although this was easier to do in the laboratory than on the spot. Further, why did he need to build a narrow gauge railway to the tomb? In order to take out not so bulky items that fit in an area comparable to the area of a good apartment in Moscow?
Many oddities can be seen in the tomb itself. Why didn’t the robbers who had been in it, supposedly in ancient times, take anything? Why didn’t they open the wooden sarcophagus, sheathed in gold, when they entered the burial chamber? In addition, there is another mysterious circumstance in their behavior. Some of the immured doors were opened by them, and bypassing some of them they punched passages in the rock. Crazy, isn't it? After all, it is easier to break a thin wall made of stones than to crush a monolith for days, making a move in it?
The condition of almost all the finds is also surprising. The huge sarcophagus sheathed with gold sheets struck the researchers with its brilliance: it did not become dusty or cloudy at all, it stood for more than three millennia. The condition of other items was also excellent, but at the same time, the inner wooden coffins, as Carter noted, were badly damaged by dampness, although the outer one remained completely intact. It seems that, unlike everything else, they were stored in poor conditions, and yet the finds were in the same room. And further. In the first chamber, scientists found four chariots, which, due to their huge size, could not be brought into the tomb in their entirety and were sawn apart! I wonder what? Is it a bronze saw?
And, finally, all researchers noted the deplorable state of the mummy itself, although, in theory, it should be beautiful, because, unlike the mummies of other pharaohs, the priests did not move it from place to place, hiding it from grave defilers...
Tutankhamun - Carter's creation
Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen both literally and figuratively. Not only did he find his tomb, he introduced this pharaoh into historical science. Before the Englishman began excavations in the Valley of the Kings, information about Tutankhamen was limited to only one or two seals with the mention of his name, found by the archaeologist Davis. And that without indicating the royal title. Many scientists believed that such a pharaoh did not exist at all, and the seals could well belong simply to some noble person. In other words, all the data about Tutankhamun as the ruler of Egypt was obtained as a result of Carter's excavations, that is, from his hands.
In order to reveal the secret of the "curse of the pharaoh" and explain all the absurdities and oddities of the expedition, you need to make only one assumption, which, at first glance, may seem fantastic: Tutankhamun never existed, he is the fruit of the imagination of an enterprising archaeologist.
In this case, the history of Carter's excavations is as follows. By the time his expedition began work in the Valley of the Kings, everyone was absolutely sure that it was impossible to find anything significant here. Many archaeologists have written about this at different times. So, at the beginning of the last century, Belzoni, who unearthed the graves of Ramses I, Seti I, Eye and Mintuhotep, stated: "I am firmly convinced that there are no other tombs in the Biban al-Muluk valley, except for those already found." Almost the same idea thirty years later was expressed by the leader of the German expedition, Richard Lepsius. He claimed that there was probably not a single grain of sand left in the Valley of the Kings that had not been moved from one place to another at least three times. Nevertheless, archaeologists were constantly swarming in the necropolis, but their "catch" was limited exclusively to trifles. Therefore, starting to work, Carter, who, unlike Carnarvon, was a professional scientist, could not help but understand that great discoveries were not waiting for him.
In 1917, having begun research, he apparently stumbled upon a modest burial that belonged to some noble Egyptian. Most likely, other expeditions had already examined it, and, apparently, it was generally empty, robbed in antiquity. Finding nothing of interest in the grave, Carter's predecessors simply filled it in, as is usually done. Perhaps it was then that the Englishman came up with the idea to turn this empty tomb into a luxurious royal tomb. For what were needed only enterprise, time and money. However, in the first quarter of our century, the history of Ancient Egypt was already well studied. Only a few small periods remained in it, for which the names of the pharaohs were considered unknown. In one of these niches, the archaeologist decided to attach the non-existent Tutankhamun. In order not to arouse unnecessary suspicion, his biography was declared unremarkable - he did not become famous for anything and did not reign for long.
In the event of the success of his enterprise, the clever archaeologist received the laurels of the No. 1 Egyptologist in the world. It remained to solve the issues of financing. Only those who expected to receive dividends from fraud could give money. After analyzing the situation, Carter realized that there was no better sponsor than the Egyptian government. After all, it received a large part of the money from the sale of historical values and from crowds of tourists who were eager to see the traces of ancient civilizations. In addition, official Cairo was not particularly scrupulous, periodically selling antiquities to the largest museums in the world, which turned out to be fakes.
Having come to this conclusion, Carter goes to Cairo to propose his bold plan to the Egyptian government. Apparently, the officials liked the proposal, and the money was allocated. Following this, preparations for falsification began, which lasted until 1922. During this period, Carter repeatedly traveled to Cairo and practically did not directly engage in excavations conducted by his expedition. Only a few trusted persons secretly prepared the tomb for the "great archaeological discovery". The falsifiers ordered gold jewelry, wall bas-reliefs with fragments from the history of the reign of the pharaoh, household items and several sarcophagi from various underground artisans who specialized in fakes "a la ancient Egypt". They simply bought the mummy; to get it, if funds are available, in Egypt is not difficult even today. Of course, it was not a pharaoh's mummy at all, mummification was carried out using a simpler technology than was done with the bodies of rulers. That is why her condition was much worse than that of any other royal mummy.
By the second half of 1922, Carter's confidants loaded the chamber with treasures, and he transferred his party to the area already explored five years earlier and quickly "found" the entrance to the burial. This development of events is confirmed by the fact that by 1922 he completely changed the entire composition of the expedition, there was no one left who knew about the results of the excavations of 1917. The only exception was Lord Carnarvon, but he only appeared occasionally in the Valley of the Kings and most likely was absent during the first discovery of the tomb.
Before proceeding directly to work in the burial, Carter calls again Carnarvon, who is away, who, apparently, was not even aware of the scam. Everyone involved in the excavations was amazed by the fact that the ancient robbers who visited the tomb did not take anything from it. In addition, they opened the doors leading to the first chamber twice, and once to the burial chamber. For thieves, the behavior, you see, is very strange. Meanwhile, this riddle is easily explained. It's just that Carter's people added various items to the already finished burial. They loaded the first chamber twice, and the treasury, connected to the burial chamber by an unsealed passage, once. The traces of their penetration were disguised as the traces of ancient robbers. Let us also pay attention to the fact that some doors were not opened, but bypassed by underground passages. This is done in those places where the actions associated with the destruction of the door could damage objects standing inside in close proximity to it. In other words, those who entered the tomb knew the location of the things stored there. Moreover, pseudo-antiquities were delivered to the excavation area and right in the process of research! This assumption is supported by the idea of building a narrow-gauge railway. According to the official version, empty containers were transported along it towards the Valley of the Kings, and packed valuables were transported back. Most likely, some of the boxes were already loaded there, and they were sent back without even unpacking. Only for such shuttle flights, in fact, the railway was needed. How else to explain: the number of "values" allegedly taken out of the burial of Tutankhamun is so great that it could hardly fit in a room of only 80 square meters. m?
The mystery of the chariots also becomes clear. They didn't really enter the doors, and they were sawn to pieces, not by the ancient Egyptians, but by Carter's people using ordinary saws. Traces of modern tools also remained on a huge wooden box lined with gold, in which numerous sarcophagi of the false pharaoh were kept. It was assembled on the spot from very skillfully made fragments. The design was so complicated that some of the pieces were joined incorrectly by the workers and, while adjusting, they beat them with hammers. Round imprints of locksmith's hammers are clearly visible in many places. Now it is clear why Carter slowed down the progress of research. He suspended them in order to once again add an additional portion of "priceless antiques" to the still "unexplored" chambers. The question arises: is it possible that none of the experienced archaeologists, who from time to time were involved in the work, had any idea about the grandiose falsification?
Here we come directly to the "curse of the pharaoh". Of course, some scientists drew attention to the numerous oddities of the excavations. Lord Carnarvon was also alert. For example, the place where the tomb was discovered could cause him great surprise. After all, he knew that Carter examined him in 1917 and found nothing then. Apparently, the English aristocrat guessed about the tricks of his assistant, and he was simply removed - too much was at stake. It is possible that he died from poison, and not from a shaving wound. The same can be assumed about the fate of almost all experienced researchers who participated in the excavations, who died under mysterious circumstances. Being real scientists, they apparently began to doubt the authenticity of the tomb of Tutankhamen, and the falsifier of falsification had to remove them with the hands of hired killers - possibly associated with the Egyptian special services. This explains the fact that of those who studied the tomb, only he survived, although, based on the "curse of the pharaoh", as the main defiler, he should have died first. However, the legend of the "curse" itself, most likely, was also put into circulation by him. Thanks to her, the clever archaeologist diverted public attention from the really strange circumstances of his expedition.
The results of Howard Carter's excavations satisfied all organizers. He himself became Egyptologist No. 1, perhaps only Heinrich Schliemann can compare with him. In addition, Carter decently earned on this business. The Egyptian government, which subsidized the scam, also did not remain in the loser. Only a small fraction of the "treasures of Tutankhamen" is kept in Cairo, while the larger part was sold for fabulous money to the most famous museums in the world, bringing millions to Egypt. And if we add to this the crowds of tourists attracted to the banks of the Nile by the desire to see the tomb of Tutankhamun, then the Carter scam may well become an example of a super-profitable investment of capital. Those profits that the organizers received, of course, were worth it to go for several murders for them.
Well, in conclusion, we note that the possible falsification of the excavations of the burial of Tutankhamen is perhaps not the only forgery in the history of archeology. So, the famous French archaeologist Paul Emile Botta, who found Nineveh, once admitted in a private conversation that in every excavation he made, before filling it up, he threw a trinket - a marble elephant, laughing in advance at those who would ever dig up figurine and will seriously consider that they have found historical value. Of course, the tricks of the Frenchman are nothing compared to the machinations of the Englishman, nevertheless, it may very well be that, visiting museums and admiring the monuments of ancient civilizations, we admire objects that trace their ancestry from Bott's elephants.
The discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen is the largest archaeological find in the history of human civilization. Most historians are of the opinion that Tutankhamun is only an insignificant Egyptian king who did not leave a noticeable mark in the annals, however, for the science of archeology, this pharaoh is an absolutely priceless figure who gained his iconic status in the fall of 1922 (do not miss the article about). During his life he was not famous for his grandiose achievements, but after his death he truly became great.
Opening of Tutankhamun's tomb
Excavation sponsor Lord Carnarvon, a year after the triumphant find, reads a book on the veranda of Howard Carter's house, 1923The epochal event took place on November 4, 1922 - three thousand years after the death of the young pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of the New Kingdom. On this significant day, the team of archaeologist Howard Carter, during excavations near the city of Thebes (now this city is called Luxor), stumbled upon a step carved into the rock, which turned out to be the first element of an ancient tomb and surprisingly located just ten meters from the front door of the tomb of Ramses V - mega popular places among the tourists who annually visit hundreds of thousands of Egyptian sights. Millions of feet trampled on a piece of land under which the pharaoh's mummy rested for thousands of years, until a successful archaeologist found him. Carter immediately telegraphed his patron that he was waiting for the arrival of the lord to begin a key stage of the enterprise. They seem to have found something promising, potentially very valuable, extremely important. Although even he, an experienced Egyptologist with a large collection of historical achievements behind him, at that moment did not realize that he had made the real archaeological discovery of the century.
The first step towards a sensational discovery was made in the spring of 1906, when for the first time the paths of two prominent British gentlemen crossed - the professional Egyptologist Carter and the famous philanthropist, amateur archaeologist George Herbert Carnarvon. The men got to know each other, discussed common archaeological topics, and after a little preparation began excavations in the Valley of the Kings. Previously, both managed to work on the territory of the necropolis of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, had their good moments, however, for a real breakthrough, the first lacked stable funding, and the second lacked knowledge, experience, patience, composure, finally. Now the team had the necessary theoretical knowledge and material means to conduct a successful archaeological campaign. Since 1902, the American eccentric millionaire Theodore Davis has been excavating in the Valley of the Kings, but in the first months of 1914 the American decided to retire, refused the concession, giving it to his British colleague Carnarvon. On the eve of this important stage, the Carter-Carnarvon team had already opened the tomb of Amenhotep I, belonging to the 18th dynasty, and was preparing for new epochal achievements in the Valley of the Kings.
As we know, 1914 is the year of the First World War. The threat of a terrible catastrophe hung over the planet, then the fateful day came on June 28, the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand happened - a spark that ignited the infernal all-devouring fire. The planet plunged into chaos, the British experts were not up to archeology, excavations, dead Egyptian kings. The archaeologist-Egyptologist was not called to the front, but the work was frozen until better times. The long-awaited change came after the end of hostilities in Europe. By this time, the philanthropist had somewhat lost interest in the expensive enterprise, and was even ready to abandon the idea of making a revolution in archeology. But Carter was not going to stop, fanatically believed in his star, was eager to go all the way to the end, for which he was generously rewarded and immortalized in history.
Photo report of Tutankhamun's tomb
Death mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun The photographs were taken immediately after opening the sealed grave. Historical footage clearly proves a remarkable fact: for 3,000 years, robbers have not been able to climb inside, plunder the tomb and steal the treasures with which the young pharaoh was escorted to the afterlife. Having unearthed a step, the legendary archaeologist stepped back, waited for the arrival of a patron of the arts, together with whom they entered the ancient halls to make an epoch-making discovery.
With these words, the legendary archaeologist describes his first impressions of the place where the remains of the ancient ruler rested:
When the sealed door opened, at first I saw nothing - hot air streams rushed out, extinguishing our candles. After a little while, the thick fog dissipated, and the greatest sight opened up to eyes that were accustomed to darkness: statues of people and strange animals, interesting objects hung on the walls and the brilliance of gold, with which literally everything was trimmed.
Howard Carter, along with two of his assistants, open the doors of the room where Tutankhamun's sarcophagus is located. 
Sky Cow - A ceremonial bed filled with food supplies and other items
Interesting articles
A lion-bed in gilding next to other objects of the hallway guarded by a black statue of Ka 
Collection of canoes inside the tomb 
Gilded lion bed and inlaid breastplate among other objects in the anteroom 
Boxes, chests, an ebony and ivory chair that Tutankhamun used as a child 
Gilded bust of the Heavenly Cow Mehurt Subscribe to our page facebook- it will be interesting!
Treasure chests inside the tomb 
Decorative vase made of alabaster, found in the front room 
Restorers Arthur Mays and Alfred Lucas clean the statue of Ka 
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker wrap one of the Ka statues for transport 
Restorers Arthur Mays and Alfred Lucas work on a golden chariot from Tutankhamun's tomb 
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and two workers remove the partition between the front room and the pharaoh's burial chamber 
In the burial chambers, the second ark is located inside the first outer ark 
Howard Carter and his assistants roll up the linen from the ark 
Carter, Callender and workers are dismantling the golden ark inside the burial chambers. 
Howard Carter and his greatest discovery - the mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
