The Tomb of Tutankhamun is located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, where the tombs of other great pharaohs are preserved. Among all the tombs that can be visited, it is certainly the most magnetic. When visiting the Valley of the Kings, there is no guarantee you can enter the same tombs every time because they are opened on a rotating schedule. Here lie the tomb of Ramesses IV, the tomb of Ramesses IX, the tomb of Merneptah, the tomb of Ramesses VI, the tomb of Ramesses III, the tomb of Tausert-Sethnakht, the tomb of Sethi I, the tomb of Thutmose III, the tomb of Amenhotep II, the tomb of Thutmose IV, the tomb of Horemheb and finally the tomb of Tutankhamun.
They are all marvelous, with splendid colorful frescoes on the walls, hieroglyphs to interpret and stories to tell. But none exudes the fascination of the legendary Tomb of Tutankhamun.
Why Visit the Tomb of Tutankhamun
The mystery that has always surrounded Tutankhamun is what draws the most attention compared to all other pharaohs of the Ancient Egypt. His brief reign (he died at only 18) and the treasure guarded in his tomb, sought for centuries by tomb robbers in the Valley of the Kings and finally found by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, a little over a century ago, itself a legend in the world of archaeology, made him immortal. The pharaoh Tutankhamun, to place him historically, lived during the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, one of the most splendid periods of Ancient Egypt. Tutankhamun lived between 1341 and 1323 BC. The birth date has been calculated around 1341 BC, although some sources place him between 1342 and 1340 BC.
What is Found Today in the Tomb of Tutankhamun
The Tomb of Tutankhamun sits among the tombs of other pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings and, if you don’t read the inscription outside the entrance gate, it blends in with the others. The entrance is a door similar to the others. You descend a steep stair and walk a short barren corridor — unlike other tombs that are richly decorated — which leads to an antechamber where, once, the throne, some furniture and chariots were piled. Then you enter the actual burial chamber that still today contains the quartzite sarcophagus which in turn housed four gilded wooden sarcophagi (today preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and soon in the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in the Giza Plateau).
The last sarcophagus was the one containing Tutankhamun’s mummy, which is still preserved in the tomb and which, for the less superstitious, can be viewed (otherwise you have to close your eyes because the space is small and it is impossible not to see it). The mummy is not a pretty sight, let’s face it. Dark, withered and small. The walls of the room where the sarcophagus and the mummy lie are adorned with beautiful colorful paintings.
Attached to the burial chamber is what used to be the treasury chamber, coveted by all archaeologists and beyond. It is here that Carter discovered the precious objects belonging to Tutankhamun and that made this pharaoh famous.
The Treasures of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
The treasury chamber of Tutankhamun was dubbed the discovery of the century. It was so rich in precious objects when Carter found it that it took ten years to photograph them, restore them and catalog them. Among the objects were provisions of food in more than a hundred baskets of woven palm leaves, containers of terracotta, stone, painted quartz, two containers of silver and one of gold, tools and beautiful alabaster lamps painted, boxes and coffins inlaid, boats, weapons and war chariots, canes and ebony clubs, ivory and gold, amulets (especially scarabs, which in ancient Egypt carried deep religious and magical meanings) and precious jewels in electrum — a alloy of gold, silver and bronze —, iron, with amethysts, alabaster, carnelian, lapis lazuli, quartz, steatite, turquoise. In the tomb there were also 413 statuettes representing ushabtis, the ones who were to serve the pharaoh after death.
Why Tutankhamun’s Tomb Is So Special
Compared to the tombs of other pharaohs, Tutankhamun’s tomb appeared seemingly insignificant, and Carter, as well as others before him, had combed the desert inch by inch without ever finding it. Instead, it was hidden beneath the ruins of an ancient village, probably used by workers who labored on the tombs of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI. On the surface it seemed still sealed, yet a more careful investigation showed that the seals were subsequent and that very likely the entrance or the tomb itself had already been violated previously. The tomb itself has nothing particularly remarkable about it; in fact, it almost gives the impression of having been hastily built for the pharaoh’s premature death.
The Legend of the Curse of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
Soon after the tomb opened in November 1922 by Carter and his financier, Lord George Herbert Carnarvon, some newspapers began speaking of a cursed inscription that would warn anyone who disturbed the pharaoh’s sleep. In reality, no inscription was found in the tomb. The legend was fueled by the media of the time to create mystery and sensationalism. Lord Carnarvon died a few months later, in April 1923, from an infection caused by a mosquito bite infected by a cut from a razor. The press immediately linked his death to the “curse.” Other deaths of people connected to the expedition fed the rumor. However, many of those present at the tomb’s opening (including Howard Carter) lived on for decades. Carter died in 1939, a full 17 years later. Yet even today, superstition-minded people prefer to stay away from it.
How Much It Costs and How to Reach the Tomb of Tutankhamun
To visit the Tomb of Tutankhamun you must first purchase the entrance ticket to the Valley of the Kings, which costs 13 euros, in addition to the ticket only for the tomb, which costs 12 euros. The Valley of the Kings, where the tomb is located, is near Luxor, about 14 km away. Usually, tours by bus are organized, but you can reach it on your own by taxi.
