The Tutankhamun Exhibition Dorchester, now in its 21st year, is displaying, amongst other wonderful facsimiles from the tomb, the world famous Gold Death Mask, the Golden Throne and Tutankhamun’s mummy.
17 February 2010 -
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Tutankhamun
Ever since the pharaoh Tutankhamun was discovered in his tomb in 1922 by the British archaeologist Howard Carter debate has raged as to his real identity. In recent years the advance in DNA profiling has given hope that Tut’s family connections could possibly be revealed.
The results of important DNA tests carried out in Egypt announced today have now identified Tutankhamun’s parents, but who are they? The mystery parents have been identified but have yet to be positively named by conventional archaeological means
At a momentous press conference held in (more…)
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2010-02-17 ::
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16 February 2010 -
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Staff at the Tutankhamun Exhibition showing in Dorchester are eagerly awaiting the results of a momentous test carried out on the mummy of Tutankhamun. The results to be announced at a press conference in Cairo on Wednesday 17th February may change our knowledge of this world famous pharaoh by revealing who Tutankhamun really was.
Ever since Tutankhamun was discovered in his tomb in 1922 by the British archaeologist Howard Carter debate has raged as to the real identity of Tutankhamun. In recent years the advance of DNA profiling has given hope that (more…)
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2010-02-16 ::
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17 July 2009 -
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Egyptology
Palaeoradiology using X-rays, CT and MRI scans is being harnessed to study the skeletons and mummies of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs. The science should help to provide long sort answers to questions such as whether Tutankhamun was murdered and did Rhameses II die of spine disease.
The science has already shown that in fact Rhameses II did not have arthritis of the spine, which would agree with historical evidence that he was a warrior. Tutankhamun’s body was also removed from the tomb for the (more…)
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2009-07-17 ::
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2 September 2008 -
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Tutankhamun
Two foetuses were discovered by Howard Carter in the Tutankhamun’s Tomb back in 1922. Ever since that, stored at the Faculty of Medicine in Cairo University, the two still-born babies have remained an apple of discord for scientists.It is debated whether they were Tutankhamun’s own children, whether they were twins (the difference in sizes suggested they weren’t) and how did they end up in the tomb of their possible father.
New scientific developments can possibly shed more light on this ancient Egyptian mystery. Professor Robert Connolly who is working as an anatomist with Egyptian authorities claims that initial tests on the mummified remains of the two children suggest that they are likely to be twins and that King Tutankhamun may have been the father of these children. (more…)
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2008-09-02 ::
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13 May 2008 -
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Tutankhamun
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings, by Howard Carter, in 1922 has been described as the world’s greatest discovery of ancient treasure. Now children visiting the internationally renowned Tutankhamun Exhibition can go on their own Treasure Hunt over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, with the chance of winning ‘treasure’ for themselves. The Tutankhamun Exhibition is now in its 21st year in Dorchester and continues to enthral and excite people’s imagination. (more…)
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2008-05-13 ::
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15 February 2008 -
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Egyptology
The director and staff of the Tutankhamun Exhibition were very saddened to hear the news of the death of Christine el -Mahdy (nee Hobson). Christine was a passionate free thinking Egyptologist who has done much to bring the wonders and mystery of ancient Egypt to many, who, without her enthusiasm would never had experienced it. Through her many books and as chair of the Egyptian Society (Taunton) she brought the world of ancient Egypt to a wide audience. Her many books, included Mummies, Myths and Magic , Exploring the World of the Pharaohs, and perhaps the most popular, Tutankhamen – the life and death of a boy king.
Christine’s fascination with Egypt started at an early age. By the age of nine she had taught herself to read hieroglyphs. She liked communicating and saw teaching as a way to express this. She studied education at Manchester and Liverpool, obtaining a degree and diploma in Egyptology. She has worked in the Egyptian departments of Bolton Museum and Liverpool University Museum. In 1988 she founded the Egyptian Society based in Taunton.
Christine often brought her students to the Tutankhamun Exhibition in Dorchester and is remembered with affection by all she came in contact with.
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2008-02-15 ::
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13 December 2007 -
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Tutankhamun
We are happy to announce that The Tutankhamun Exhibition web-site has launched a new section of free greeting cards. All the designs for e-cards are taken from the original postcards of The Tutankhamun’s Treasure Store. Nine beautiful designs of free greeting cards will be available for our visitors to enjoy and share. Please click here if you want to start sending free e-cards now.
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2007-12-13 ::
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29 November 2007 -
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Tutankhamun
Queen Cleopatra paid a visit to Dorchester to help launch a new National Lottery scratchcard – Pharaoh’s Fortune. Cleopatra obviously had some nostalgic moments in the town’s famous Tutankhamun Exhibition as she launched the freshly printed scratchcard.
Tim Batty, the manager of The Tutankhamun Exhibition, said:
“We often get used as a backdrop for a range of items on Egypt and Tutankhamun. And as Tutankhamun is the most famous pharaoh, it’s appropriate that they launch the new pharaoh scratchcard here. It’s great to be able to help.”
The Pharaoh has hidden his fortunes under the glittering face of the new scratchcard. The maximum win is as high as £85,000 and there are five top prizes waiting to be won. Pharaoh’s Fortune, issued by National Lottery, has also prepared 5 runner-up prizes of £5,000 each and 44 back up prizes of £500.
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2007-11-29 ::
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2 November 2007 -
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2007 marks the 85th anniversary of the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter.
The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb – November – 1922
At the beginning of November 1922, Howard Carter was on the threshold of the world’s most spectacular archaeological find – the Tomb of Tutankhamun. On the morning of November 4th there it was, a step cut in the rock beneath the first of the huts built over 3,000 years earlier by the workmen of Rameses VI, during the cutting of his tomb. There, just 13 feet below the entrance to the tomb of Rameses VI, was the realisation of all Carter had dreamed of in his many years of systematic searching. During the daylight of November 4th and most of November 5th the workmen dug feverishly, almost as excited as Carter himself, to reveal what looked more and more like a sunken stairway entrance, typical of tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
They dug, as step followed step. Soon they found themselves entering the side of a small hillock, which as they excavated became a roofed-in passage 10 feet high by 6 feet wide. Step followed step. By the twelfth step they came across the top of a sealed doorway. Beyond this door there was a passage completely filled with rubble, as protection against robbers. Could Tutankhamun’s tomb be intact?
Then, at a time when the discovery was becoming more and more exciting, Carter stopped. He filled in the excavation and went home. In a situation when most people, and indeed most excavators of the period, would have torn down that sealed doorway in an uncontrollable desire to reach what lay inside, Howard Carter waited. In this case he waited for Lord Carnarvon, his associate and patron, who was not in Egypt but in England.
On November 6th, with the passage filled in, Carter cabled Lord Carnarvon in England.
By November 24th, Carnarvon with his daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, had arrived, the excavation re-opened and the work continued, to reveal a full sixteen steps with the sealed doorway beyond.
Having recorded and photographed the seals and made good provision for a replacement door, the excavators removed the door, clearing the rubble from floor to ceiling for a full thirty feet from the outer door. Then before them another door.
Here for better or worse was the decisive moment, and they knew it, as with trembling hands Carter made a hole in the door large enough to pass a candle through. There was no rubble behind this door. There were no poisonous gases. What was behind the door was to stagger the world and give Howard Carter and his anxious colleagues the most remarkable day of their lives. It was November 26th 1922, when Carter, hardly daring to breathe, put a candle through the hole in the door of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and peered into the darkness. He wrote later:
“At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold – everywhere the glint of gold.”
By this time Carnarvon could restrain himself no longer,
“Can you see anything?” he inquired. After a pause of what must have seemed minutes Carter replied, “Yes, wonderful things.”
Extract from “The Discovery of The Tomb Of Tutankhamun” by World Heritage Books. © Copyright 2007 World Heritage Books, Dorchester, UK.
King Tut Key Dates November 1922:
1 – Start of the 1922 Season
4 – Discovery of the first step of the tomb entrance
5 – Excavated down to the 12th step confirmation that steps were part of entrance to tomb. Cabled Carnarvon in England.
6 – Discovery filled in again with rocks and rubble
20 – Lord Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn arrived in Cairo
23 – Carter’s assistant Callender begins work on clearing the rubble
24 – Excavation reached the first outer doorway
25 – The first doorway opened and clearing passage of rubble began. Small objects discovered.
26 – Second doorway opened. Carter and Carnarvon enter the antechamber
27 – Tomb inspected with the aid of electric light
29 – Official opening of the Tutankhamun’s Tomb
You may be interested in “Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an Excavation”, Howard Carter’s diaries at
http://griffith.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/gri/4sea1not.html
Return to Tutankhamun Exhibition main page: http://www.tutankhamunexhibition.com
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2007-11-02 ::
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1 November 2007 -
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Recently discoveries on Tutankhamun seem to be announced every few months. In the last year archaeologists have carried out a CT scan on Tutankhamun’s mummy and now believe they have solved the mystery surrounding his death. Further discoveries of objects left behind in the Tutankhamun’s tomb by the discoverer Howard Carter, have been made by Zahi Hawas, the head of
Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Now a new book, just published (2nd November) reveals the secrets of the kind of food the young King may have eaten.
Tutankhamun’s Cook Book is the work of Jackie Ridley, who is the Conservation Director of The Tutankhamun Exhibition in
Dorchester. The book is not only unique but beautifully designed, bursting on every page with ancient Egyptian and culinary treasures. Jackie’s books have been widely published and translated into a number of languages.
Tutankhamun’s Cook Book is a study of ancient Egyptian cooking, from earliest times until the Roman period. Although small in size the book is packed with recipes and facts, combining the author’s knowledge of Egyptology with her passion for good food. “Both cooking and history are fun, and this is a great way to bring them together. We can literally taste the past! “ said Jackie Talking about her book, she said “Although we know a great deal about ancient Egyptian culture in general, not a lot has been known about the actual kind of dishes that the ancient Egyptians ate, simply because there are no detailed recipes”. She continued “I have tried to bring together evidence from all sources to suggest not only the kind of food Tutankhamun may have been served from the royal kitchens, but also other dishes that other pharaohs and nobles of later years may have enjoyed”. Every page of the book is alive with images of Tutankhamun that combine with fascinating dishes to tempt even the most conservative food lover. Published by World Heritage Books at £3.99, it is available at bookshops or on www.cookingthepast.com Further information:Tim Batty on 01305 269741 or tim@worldheritagebooks.com
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2007-11-01 ::
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