No comments Tomb of Tutankhamon The story of the discovery of the tomb of this pharaoh who died when he was barely eighteen years old is too long, too fascinating and too mysterious to be told in its entirety here.
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| Tomb of Tutankhamon |
It was discovered on 4th November 1922 by Howard Carter (acting on behalf of Lord Carna- von) and it made history because of the enormous amount of treasure found in the burial chamber which, fortunately had remained untouched by grave robbers. It is still worthwhile to read Carter’s own account of this historic discovery in order to relive day by day, moment by moment its various phases.
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| Tomb of Tutankhamon |
Unlike its contents the tomb itself was very modest, perhaps because it was built in great haste as a result of the unexpected death of the king. Inside among all the funeral trimmings the thing which stands out because of its great beauty is the pharaoh’s sarcophagus. It is more correct to say the sacrophagi since the royal corpse was contained in three mummy cases: the first of gilded wood, the second also of gilded wood but with the addition of a powdered glass paste while the third is of solid gold. The golden sarcophagus is one of the greatest masterpieces of the goldsmiths’ art of all time; it contains two hundred kilos of gold, is one and half metres high and is encrusted with lapislazzuli, turquoises and cornelians.
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| Tomb of Tutankhamon |
However among all this glitter the thing which made the greatest impression on Carter and his party was a little wreath of dried up flowers, a last pathetic gesture from the consort of the boy- pharaoh. Finally let us not forget that in addition to the already romantic story of the discovery itself there is that obscure business that has come to be known as «the Pharaoh’s curse». The sudden violent deaths of the majority of those who took part in Lord Carnavon’s expedition, with the exception, strange to say, of Carter himself, lent strength to the belief in a posthumous vendetta by the dead Pharaoh whose eternal sleep had been disturbed.
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| Tomb of Tutankhamon |
History of course is full of such legends and this one only adds to the fascination of the already fascinating romance of Tutankhamon.