The Treasures of King Tut's Mummy
by Jimmy Dunn
When a modern soldier goes into the field, he or she carries along, packed about their bodies, just about every conceivable item they might need for survival. When ancient Egyptian pharaohs died, likewise, they went forth into the netherworld with a host of equipment and survival gear.
Of course, there were many grand treasures spread amongst the chamber of King Tut's Tomb, but one of the most interesting aspects of King Tut's mummy is the vast array of items that were attached to the body to provide him with the magical protection that would allow him to pass into the netherworld. Either on the outside, or wapped within the layers of mummy bandages that encased his body were no less then 107 different items, some grand, some very small and insignificant, at least to us, and some function.
Most readers will be at least somewhat, if not very, familiar with his golden mask, today an gleaming icon of the young king. But this famous artifact is only one of many items found attached to his mummy.
In addition to the mask, a number of items adorned the outer layer of the mummy. Notably, a scarab of black resin, its base inscribed with the Book of the Dead spell 29b, hung suspended from the neck on a decorative gold band made up from odd trappings originally prepared for Ankhkheprure. Underneath this, a pair of burnished gold hands (no. 256b(1)), were sewn directly onto the mummy wrappings. They clasped the decayed crook and flail. Below them, just visible through the unguents, was a large gold ba-bird (no. 256b(2)). Once again, these had actually been prepared for Ankhkheprure, and were only subsequently taken over for use by Tutankhamun by cutting out some of the original names.
However, as the wrappings of the mummy were systematically removed, some 150 magnificent items of jewelry, superb amulets and other objects were brought to light. These had been fashioned and positioned according to the dictates of the Book of the Dead, and would ensure that the king's transformation from death to true immortality. Indeed, they would help make him immortal, at least in the minds of the modern public.
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Y-shaped amulet oval plaque vulture collar vulture and Uraeus collar uraeus collar falcon collar two falcon collars apron girdle T-shaped amulet bracelet faience broad collar falcon collar resin scarab uraeus from 99 vulture head from 99 falcon collar circlet circlet circlet vulture bracelet beads falcon collar two falcon collars beadwork circlet iron dagger girdle falcon collar bracelet with lapis barrel-bead bracelet with iron wedjat-eye amulet bracelet with carnelian barrel-bead funerary papyrus? four circlets djed-pillar amulet sandals, toe and finger stalls wire bracelet beadwork of 61 wedjat-eye bracelet scarab bracelet barrel-bead bracelet scarab bracelet disc bracelet amuletic knot bracelet with carnelian swallow three finger-rings barrel-bead bracelet beaded bracelet |
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 |
scarab bracelet wedjat-eye bracelet wedjat-eye bracelet finger-ring finger-ring disc bracelet tail tyet-knot amulet wadj-scepter amulet double-leaf amulet serpent amulet leaf amulet amuletic knot uraeus collar vulture collar vulture and Uraeus collar faience wedjat-eye beads falcon collar bracelet Anubis amulet falcon-headed amulet Thoth amulet wadj-scepter amulet bead chain five pectoral clasps and pendants human-headed winged uraeus amulet double uraeus amulet vulture amulet vulture amulet vulture amulet vulture amulet uraeus amulet vulture amulet two fibrous fillets diadem temple band linen headdress uraeus insignia of 104 bis vulture insignia of 104 bis temple band beaded linen skull-cap conical linen pad iron headrest amulet |
55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 |
See Also:
Tut's Tomb
References:
|
Title |
Author |
Date |
Publisher |
Reference Number |
|
Ancient Egypt The Great Discoveries (A Year-by-Year Chronicle) |
Reeves, Nicholas |
2000 |
Thmes & Hudson, Ltd |
ISBN 0-500-05105-4 |
|
Atlas of Ancient Egypt |
Baines, John; Malek, Jaromir |
1980 |
Les Livres De France |
None Stated |
|
Chronicle of the Pharaohs (The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt) |
Clayton, Peter A. |
1994 |
Thames and Hudson Ltd |
ISBN 0-500-05074-0 |
|
Complete Valley of the Kings, The (Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest Pharaohs) |
Reeves, Nicholas; Wilkinson, Richard H. |
1966 |
Thames and Hudson Ltd |
IBSN 0-500-05080-5 |
|
History of Ancient Egypt, A |
Grimal, Nicolas |
1988 |
Blackwell |
None Stated |
|
Monarchs of the Nile |
Dodson, Aidan |
1995 |
Rubicon Press |
ISBN 0-948695-20-x |
|
Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, The |
Shaw, Ian |
2000 |
Oxford University Press |
ISBN 0-19-815034-2 |
|
Tutankhamun (His Tomb and Its Treasures) |
Edwards, I. E. S. |
1977 |
Metropolitan Museum of Art; Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. |
ISBN 0-394-41170-6 |
|
Valley of the Kings |
Weeks, Kent R. |
2001 |
Friedman/Fairfax |
ISBN 1-5866-3295-7 |
|
Valley of the Kings |
Heyden, A. Van Der |
Al Ahram/Elsevier |