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Learning Goal I will be able to explain the important events and the people involved who lead to the discovery of King Tut’stomb and why its discovery is so important to history and our knowledge of ancient Egypt. (Pssst…..Later, you will be adding what you learned to your Egypt Reflection and Scale. Think G. R. A. P. E. S.) Ready? Here we go…..
Who Were the People Involved in the Discovery of Tut’s Tomb? In 1907, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter, was introduced to a wealthy British aristocrat named Lord Carnarvon. Both men were very interested in ancient Egypt and had been all their entire lives. Lord Carnarvon agreed to pay for Carter’s expenses to go and live in Egypt for 10 years (!) so Carter could search for the tomb of a little-known boy pharaoh named Tutankhamen, whose tomb had never been found.
But What Led Them to Meeting? In 1891, at the young age of 17, Howard Carter’s father found him a job in Egypt where he would get paid by the Egyptian government to use his artistic talents to copy wall scenes and paintings from inside tombs and palaces. (What a great job, right?) He was later promoted to “Inspector-General of Monuments” in Upper Egypt, but quit his job a few years later over an argument with his boss. Luckily for him he was soon introduced to Lord Carnarvon (in 1907) and together they made their historical agreement. Carter would lead the excavations, and Carnarvon would supply the money. The world had heard of King Tut and read hieroglyphs explaining his existence, yet his tomb had never been found. History was about to be made…..
After ten years of finding little, Lord Carnarvon became restless and unhappy with Carter’s lack of results. But in 1922, when he was just about to give up, he informed Carter that he would only provide him with enough money for one more year to search for Tut’s tomb (or anyone’s tomb) in the Valley of the Kings.
THE DAY ARRIVES!Saturday, November 4th, 1922 A young water boy working with the crew felt something strange under the heel of his shoe when taking a rest in the hot sun. As he cleared the sand around the rock he sat on, he noticed the rock was flat, almost like a step. The men were called over and after clearing off the sand, another step was found, and another, then another, until an entire flight of steps came into view. The steps led down to a sealed door made of brick and plaster. Carter knew they were in luck when he noticed that the stone doorway contained a special stamp orsealthatwas only used on royal tombs. This meant that the door would lead to the tomb of a very important person. He believed it was Tut’s tomb.
Quote from Howard Carter’s Diary:Sunday, November 4th, 1922 “Towards sunset we had cleared down to the level of the 12th step, which was sufficient to expose a large part of the upper portion of a plastered and sealed doorway. Here before us was sufficient evidence to show that it really was an entrance to a tomb, and by the seals, to all outward appearances that it was intact.“To protect the find, Carter ordered his workmen to cover the steps. He didn't want anyone else to find the tomb.The steps led down to a sealed door made of brick and plaster. Carter knew they were in luck when he noticed that the plaster coating on the stone doorway was embedded with a special stamp or seal, thatwas only used on royal tombs! This meant that the door would lead to the tomb of a very important person, but which person was still a mystery.
Carter Waits for Lord Carnarvon to Arrive As excited and as anxious as Carter was to open the tomb, he chose to wait for Carnarvon to arrive from England, so he too could witness the opening of the tomb. It was nearly 3 weeks after finding the first steps, that Carter was able to proceed. On November 23rd 1922, Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert arrived, and together with Howard Carter they removed and opened the sealed doorway on November 25th.
The Supposed “Curse” People have said these words were written in hieroglyphs across the door of King Tut’s tomb, however there has never been any prove of its existence and Howard Carter or Lord Carnarvon never mentioned it. Even so, as newspapers around the world announced their wonderful discovery, people spoke of and warned of ‘the curse.’ “Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to He Who Disturbs the Peace of the King.”
November 26th, 1922 On November 25th, 1922,with Lord Carnarvon and his daughter with him, Carter made a tiny opening in the top left hand corner of the doorway, using a chisel that his grandmother had given him for his 17th birthday. He was able to peer in by the light of a candle and see that many of the gold treasures were still in place.
Carnarvon’s first question to Carter was, “Can you see any anything?” Carter’s simple reply was, ‘Yes, many beautiful things.’ Here are some of those “beautiful things.” Pretty nice, aren’t they?
Tut’s Burial ChamberTut’s mummy was enclosed in not one, but three golden sarcophagi.
How would Tut’s body gotten to it’s final resting place? It would have been transported up the Nile in a boat such as this to his final resting place in the Valley of the Kings. All pharaoh’s were buried with their royal ships close to their tombs.
Who was King Tut anyway? • King Tut became pharaoh when he was only 9 years old. He reigned from 1332-1323 B.C. His family was Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. His father was the great pharaoh Akhenaten. • Very little is known about his life because he reigned for such a short time and not many written documents have been found about his life. • Most experts agree Tut died a sudden and possibly violent death about the age of 18 or 19. However we don’t know if he was murdered, died in a chariot accident, died of an illness, or a combination of these things. • He is more famous for his death than for his life, because his tomb was completely intact and finally gave us a clear picture of how pharaohs were buried.
Let’s get back to the supposed ‘curse.’ Is this just random strange happenings? Coincidence? Rumor? • Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter entered Tut'sburial chamber on February 17, 1923. On or about March 6, Lord Carnarvon was bitten by a mosquito on his cheek and became ill. The mosquito bite became infected, he got blood poisoning, and on April 5, he died---just over a year from discovering Tut’s tomb. He was only 56 years old. • The bite was in the same spot on his cheek as a scar found on the mummy of Tut. • At the same time Carnarvon died, all the electricity in Cairo went off. In fact, the lights in the hospital went off almost to the second that he died. • At the same hour Carnarvon died, Carnarvon’s pet terrier, Susie, howled and dropped over, dead. Exaggeration? • On the same day that the entrance of Tut’sburial tomb was opened, Carter’s pet canary was eaten by a cobra. Cobras are very rare in Egypt and especially in winter. In ancient times they were regarded as the symbol of royalty. Coincidence? • Carter did have a canary, but he gave it to a friend about a year before the discovery, so technically it wasn’t his pet any longer. No one has ever proven the ‘cobra’ story. • Most of the Egyptian workers who were present when the tomb was opened died within a year. • Some say, 6 out of the 26 workers connected with the excavation of Tut’s tomb were dead within 10 years. Choose 4 of these and write them in your notes.
So What Do You Think? There have been many claims that all of these unusual circumstances are evidence that a curse was in fact placed on Tut’s tomb to be given to anyone who disturbed the king’s restful afterlife. However, even with all these unusual happenings, there has never been any proof in photos of a curse written anywhere in Tut’s tomb, nor did Howard Carter or Lord Carnarvon ever speak of any curse. Over the years, the stories may have changed and become exaggerated, as is often the case in history. What do you think? Do you believe the stories and do they seem credible enough to convince you that there must have been a curse, or do you think this is typical of what happens when stories get exchanged and spread over the course of many years? You are now going to write an argumentative essay starting with a strong thesis statement. Thesis statements let the reader know your opinion from the first sentence of your essay. For example: “I believe the curse existed because….” or “No, I don’t believe in the curse because…..” Thesis statements must also be backed up with supporting details. These details support or explain why you have the opinion you do. You will have at least two supporting details in your essay. I will be grading you your organization and as always, Ms. Nunez expects proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. DO YOUR BEST WORK!
What do you believe?Your Argumentative Essay Requirements 1) Your paragraph essay must begin with a strong thesis statement. Thesis statements let the reader know your opinion from the first sentence of your essay. (For example: “I believe the curse.” or “No, I don’t believe in the curse.”) 2) Your thesis statement must be backed up with at least three (3) supporting details. These details support or explain why you have the opinion you do. You will want to refer to the four notes you took about the ‘strange happenings.’ 3) Your essay will end with a conclusion sentence that restates your thesis statement in a different way while wrapping up your essay. 4) I will be grading your essay for organization. Did you follow steps 1, 2, and 3? I will also be expecting correct spelling, correct grammar, and correct punctuation. If I cannot read your handwriting, it will be a zero. DO YOUR BEST WORK! These essays will be due at the end of tomorrow’s class period.
