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The Tomb of Tutankhamen
Entry 15 of 25 | show all | print this entry |
As we stayed on the West Bank for several days, we now visited the Valley of the Kings for the second time. Back to the tuf-tuf and into the valley. First stop on my list today was the tomb of Tutankhamen. The ticket for this tomb must be purchased separately but is half-price if you have a student or teacher card. Although the guide books tell us there is decoration only in the burial chamber, entering it is a way of reliving the excitement of the discovery. We all know the story of Howard Carter and how, on this the last season his patron, Lord Carnarvon, was willing to provide the finance necessary, Carter found the elusive tomb and its magnificent treasures.
Tutankhamen himself was a minor pharaoh without great achievements in battle or in building programs. His place in history is assured by the fact that on one stole his treasure. Although an attempt had been made at some point early after his burial, this had been thwarted by guards and the tomb resealed. After work started on a tomb nearby, the rubble from this effectively hid the entrance to the tomb of Tutankhamen.
For those, like myself, who are fascinated by the story, it is moving to stand where Carter first gazed into the tomb and saw wonderful things. I had seen the great treasures at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the recreation of the tomb and treasures at the Pharaonic Village. Now I stood in the tomb itself. The burial chamber is decorated with golden baboons as well as gods and goddesses with Tutankhamen. The outermost coffin of gilded wood lies in the sarcophagus. Most importantly the mummy of Tutankhamen himself lies in the tomb. Perhaps the only Pharoah whose final resting place has continued to be his last. I had no completed by my Tutankhamen pilgrimage.
We also visited the tomb of Tuthmosis IV which was also discovered by Howard Carter. It is one of the larges and deepest with two long flights of steps leading down into the burial chamber. An enormous sarcophagus covered in hieroglyphics is found there. For some reason there were no other tourists in this tomb and the caretaker gave us an individual tour.
The tomb of Set II has a painting of Nut, the goddess of the sky, on the ceiling of the burial chamber. The decorations in the tomb are painted although there are some carved reliefs near the entrance.
Afterwards we hiked up the hill to get a better view of the valley. The loose, dry soil made climbing difficult and I was glad to accept the help of one of the souvenir sellers who haunt the hills. These are people who have not been able to get a permit for the souvenir area at the entrance to the valley. They eke out a living by pursing tourists as they climb near the tombs. It seems a sad way to make a living and I admit that a purchased a small piece of carved and painted stone from him. It now holds a position of honor in my home and I think of him and the valley every time I look at it. Will he spend his whole life in the hills of the Valley of Kings running after tourists to sell his bits of stone?
In retrospect it seems incredible that on this same day, we took the ferry across the river and visited the Luxor Museum and the Mummification Museum. However, this is what my notes say.
The Luxor Museum is a short walk from the ferry landing. It has a small but well-presented collection. An interesting exhibit is that of the Wall of Akhenaten. This is made up of blocks that once formed part of his temple at Karnak before he changed the religion of Egypt as well as his name. After his death, his temple at Karnak was demolished and the stones used to fin the inside of the ninth pylon. Now partially resembled, they show Akhenaton and his wife, Nefertiti. The museum also contains some treasures for the tomb of Tutakhamen and statues from a cache found in Luxor Temple in 1989.
The Mummification Museum, also on the Corniche, is well worth a visit if you are interested in knowing more about the process of mummification and all its implements. There are sever mummified animals as well as tools - such as the spoon and metal spatula used to scrap the brain out of the skull - and artifacts which would accompany the mummy on its journey to the afterlife.
Nearby we found a souvenir shop with a small statue of Sobek, which we had not run across before. After a bit of negotiating we reached a price that seemed fair to both seller and buyer and the statue for added to our Egypt horde.
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| 15. | The Tomb of Tutankhamen - Luxor, Egypt Feb 09, 2005 |
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