EXPERTS are still baffled by Tutankhamun’s history one hundred years after his mysterious tomb was uncovered.
Historians remain divided about some key questions, such as what might be beyond the walls and even whether the tomb was meant for young King Tut.
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And archaeologists haven’t even managed to completely understand all the thousands of treasures buried with him.
Friday marks one hundred years since British archaeologist Howard Carter led a team into Tutankhamun’s iconic resting place.
The whole excavation took ten years to complete.
Daniela Rosenow, from the University of Oxford’s Griffith Institute told The Sun: “It was the first time a royal tomb was discovered almost intact more or less.
“It gave us an insight, it was almost like a time bubble, into ancient Egypt because there was over 5,000 objects, some of them for the burial and many of them also every day life objects, things that Tutankhamun had used.”
But she said there are still lots of things we still don’t know about King Tut, who died at the age of 19 around 1323 BC.
Experts are particularly curious about his family.
“In that respect, the tomb was a bit of a disappointment for a lot of Egyptologists who had hoped to find out more about the period he lived,” Rosenow continued.
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“So the hope was at least for historians in general to find some proprietary that would give us some more historical information, what happened in this time period that’s so very interesting, but that was actually not the case.
“There’s still work to do on the objects of the tomb. There are still a lot of object groups that haven’t been properly studied yet.”
Although Tutankhamun had a luxury life fit for a King, it wasn’t all about gold as widely perceived.
Among the treasures found with him in the tomb were food boxes, flower bouquets, textiles, furniture and even cosmetic equipment.
Experts also dispute claims that the tomb is cursed, a long-running myth due to several deaths shortly after Tutankhamun was uncovered.
Carter’s journals documenting each day of the painstaking excavation are currently available to view at Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries as part of a free exhibition, which runs until February 5, 2023.
Who was King Tutankhamun?
Here’s everything you need to know…
- King Tutankhamun is the most famous of Egypt’s ancient pharaohs
- He ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago from 1332 to 1323 BC
- Tut is known as the “boy king” as he was just 10 years old when he took the thrown
- When he became the king he married his half-sister Ankhesenpaaten. They had two daughters together but both were stillborn.
- Tut died aged just 19 under mysterious circumstances
- Some believe that King Tut was assassinated but most believe that his death was an accident
- The pharaoh is also famous for the suposed curse that haunts his tomb
- After the tomb’s discovery in 1922, archaeologists, and even their family members, died from horrible illnesses or in strange accidents – and some say the deaths weren’t a coincidence
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
