King Tutankhamun Ancient Egyptian Blog

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…)

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.

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.

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

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

This small but unique and beautiful book is bursting with delicious food from the past. Tutankhamun’s Cook Book is the first of a new concept of popular cook books based on accurate historical evidence.

The result of extensive research, Jackie Ridley had broughrt together a series of mouth-watering ancient Egyptian dishes adapted for today. They are easy to cook and delicious and exotic to eat. Each is good on its own but can be prepared to form an exciting ancient Egyptian meal. A feast fit for a pharaoh!

Tutankhamun’s Cook Book is a study of ancient Egyptian food, from earliest times until the Roman period. Althought small in size, the book is packed with facts combining the author’s knowledge of Egyptology with her passion for good food.

The price of £4.99 includes shipping!

Click here to order this book online!

A new statue has been added to the collection of exact recreations of Tutankhamun’s treasures. This is a superb statue of Selkit, the Scorpion Goddess, one of the four goddesses guarding Tutankhamun’s canopic shrine.

The statue of Selkit is approximately one metre tall and depicts the Scorpion Goddess as a beautiful woman with an emblem of the scorpion on her headdress. Originally Selkit would have been guarding one side of the canopic shrine, with three other goddesses, Isis, Nepthys and Neith, protecting the other sides. They look similar, being distinguished from each other by their headdresses. Inside the shrine were the four canopic jars containing the internal organs of the mummy – the stomach, liver, lungs and intestines.

Tim Batty, the manager of the Tutankhamun Exhibition, said, “The gilded statue of Selkit is delightful, portraying the slender image of this goddess with her head gently inclined to the left. It’s a delicate piece in the Amarna style and is the perfect addition to the Exhibition. The statue has gone on show in the Treasury of the Tutankhamun Exhibition along with other unique recreations including the Golden Throne and the Funerary Mask.”
It is the only exhibition of its kind outside of Egypt. Visitors can experience the wonder and excitement of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, treasures and mummy.

Return to Tutankhamun Exhibition main page: http://www.tutankhamunexhibition.com

In ancient Egypt the chair was a symbol of status, prestige and authority. This magnificent golden throne is perhaps the finest of all thrones yet found from any ancient civilization.

It was discovered under the hippopotamus couch in the antechamber, covered with a pall of blackened linen. Constructed in elaborately carved wood in the form of an armchair, its magnificence is achieved from its covering in repousé worked sheet gold and silver, inlaid with motifs in semi-precious stones, faience, and coloured glass.

The scene represented on the main panel is that of the young Tutankhamun in profile seated informally on the throne facing his queen Ankhesenamun, who is affectionately anointing his shoulders with scented oil. The composition in the Amarna tradition is among the most charming in Egyptian art. The king and queen are depicted with realism and the colouring is exquisite. The girlish figure of the queen is beautifully portrayed with the many pleats of her robe accentuating the outline of her body. The whole scene pulsates with life, and the colours of the glass, faience, carnelian and other stones blend to create a vivid effect, when combined with the gold and silver.

The throne is in pure Amarna style, the artistic tradition developed under the so-called heretic king Akhenaten. Above the throne is the sun-disc, Aten, with its rayed hand extending downwards towards the young couple.

Return to Tutankhamun Exhibition main page: http://www.tutankhamunexhibition.com