Editing Tutankhamun (section)

==Tomb==
{{Main|Tomb of Tutankhamun}}
[[File:Inside Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb, 18th dynasty.jpg|thumb|The wall decorations in KV62's burial chamber are modest in comparison with other [[List of burials in the Valley of the Kings|royal tombs found in]] the [[Valley of the Kings]]]]
Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb that was unusually small considering his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, causing [[Tutankhamun's mummy|his mummy]] to be buried in a tomb intended for someone else. This would preserve the observance of the customary 70 days between death and burial.<ref>"''The Golden Age of Tutankhamun: Divine Might and Splendour in the New Kingdom''", [[Zahi Hawass]], p. 61, American University in Cairo Press, 2004, {{ISBN|977-424-836-8}}</ref> His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity, but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb after the intrusions, these robberies likely took place within several months at most of the initial burial. The location of the tomb was lost because it had come to be buried by debris from subsequent tombs, and workers' houses were built over the tomb entrance.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mascort |first1=Maite |title=How Howard Carter Almost Missed Finding King Tut's Tomb |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2018/03-04/findingkingtutstomb/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514143841/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2018/03-04/findingkingtutstomb/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 May 2018 |work=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |access-date=12 July 2019 |date=12 April 2018}}</ref>

===Rediscovery===
{{Main|Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun}}
[[File:George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert00.jpg|thumb|upright|[[George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon]], 1921]]
The concession rights for excavating the Valley of the Kings was held by [[Theodore M. Davis|Theodore Davis]] from 1905 until 1914. In that time, he had unearthed ten tombs including the nearly intact but non-royal tomb of [[Tiye|Queen Tiye's]] parents, [[Yuya]] and [[Thuya]]. As he continued working there in the later years, he uncovered nothing of major significance.<ref name="James2006">{{cite book|author=T. G. H. James|title=Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AyK0_weGa20C&pg=PA191|year=2006|publisher=Tauris Parke Paperbacks|isbn=978-1-84511-258-5|page=191}}</ref> Davis did find several objects in [[KV58]] referring to Tutankhamun, which included knobs and handles bearing his name most significantly the embalming cache of the king ([[KV54]]). He believed this to be the pharaoh's lost tomb and published his findings as such with the line; "I fear the Valley of the Tombs is exhausted".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Theodore M. |title=The tombs of Harmhabi and Touatânkhamanou |date=2001 |publisher=Duckworth Publishers |isbn=0-7156-3072-5 |edition= Paperback}}</ref><ref name="WilkinsonWeeks2016">{{cite book|author1=Richard H. Wilkinson|author2=Kent R. Weeks|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Valley of the Kings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BYrwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA491|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-993163-7|page=491}}</ref> In 1907, [[Howard Carter]] was invited by William Garstin and [[Gaston Maspero]] to excavate for [[George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon]] in the Valley. The Earl of Carnarvon and Carter had hoped this would lead to their gaining the concession when Davis gave it up but had to be satisfied with excavations in different parts of the [[Theban Necropolis]] for seven more years.<ref name="Carter2014">{{cite book|author=Howard Carter|title=The Tomb of Tutankhamun: Volume 1: Search, Discovery and Clearance of the Antechamber|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6sTBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|date=23 October 2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4725-7687-3|page=59}}</ref>

After a systematic search beginning in 1915, Carter discovered the actual tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in November 1922.{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|p=81}} An ancient stroke of luck allowed the tomb to survive to modern times. The tomb's entrance was buried by mounds of debris from the cutting of [[KV9]] over 150 years after Tutankhamun's burial; ancient workmen's huts were also built on the site.{{sfn|Reeves|Wilkinson|1996|pp=9, 11}}{{sfn|Tyldesley|2012|pp=26–27}} This area remained unexcavated until 1922 due to its proximity to KV9, as excavations would impede tourist access to that tomb.{{sfn|James|2000|pp=250–251}} Carter commenced excavations in early November 1922, before the height of the tourist season.{{sfn|Thompson|2018|p=46}} The first step of the tomb's entrance staircase was uncovered on 4 November 1922. According to Carter's account the workmen discovered the step while digging beneath the remains of the huts; other accounts attribute the discovery to a boy digging outside the assigned work area.{{sfn|Winstone|2006|pp=137–138}}{{efn|group="Note"|Karl Kitchen, a reporter for the ''[[Boston Globe]]'', wrote in 1924 that a boy named Mohamed Gorgar had found the step; he interviewed Gorgar, who did not say whether the story was true.{{sfn|Riggs|2021|p=297}} Lee Keedick, the organiser of Carter's American lecture tour, said Carter attributed the discovery to an unnamed boy carrying water for the workmen.{{sfn|James|2000|p=255}} Many recent accounts, such as the 2018 book ''Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh'' by the Egyptologist [[Zahi Hawass]], identify the water-boy as Hussein Abd el-Rassul, a member of a prominent local family. Hawass says that he heard this story from el-Rassul in person. Another Egyptologist, Christina Riggs, suggests the story may instead be a conflation of Keedick's account, which was widely publicised by the 1978 book ''Tutankhamun: The Untold Story'' by [[Thomas Hoving]], with el-Rassul's long-standing claim to have been the boy who was photographed wearing one of Tutankhamun's pectorals in 1926.{{sfn|Riggs|2021|pp=296–298, 407}} }}

By February 1923 the antechamber had been cleared of everything but two sentinel statues. A day and time were selected to unseal the tomb with about twenty appointed witnesses that included Lord Carnarvon, several Egyptian officials, museum representatives and the staff of the Government Press Bureau. On 17 February 1923 at just after two o'clock, the seal was broken.<ref name="CarterMace2012">{{cite book|author1=Howard Carter|author2=A. C. Mace|title=The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25Y2fiAWpWkC|date=19 October 2012|publisher=Courier Corporation|page= 178|isbn=978-0-486-14182-4}}</ref>

Letters published in 2022 of correspondence between [[Rex Engelbach]] and [[Alan Gardiner]], reveal that Howard Carter had stolen objects from the tomb before the tomb was officially opened. For instance, Rex Engelbach said in a letter to Gardiner about a 'whm amulet' gifted to Gardiner from Carter that "The whm amulet you showed me has been undoubtedly stolen from the tomb of Tutankhamun."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alberge |first=Dalya |date=2022-08-13 |title=Howard Carter stole Tutankhamun's treasure, new evidence suggests |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/13/howard-carter-stole-tutankhamuns-treasure-new-evidence-suggests |access-date=2023-02-15 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

===Contents===
{{Main|Mask of Tutankhamun}}
[[File:09092019 (25) - Tête taillée du visage de Toutankhâmon.jpg|thumb|An alabaster stopper from his canopic chest]]
Tutankhamun's tomb is the only royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings found in near-intact condition.<ref>Tyldesley, Joyce. Tutankhamen: The Search for an Egyptian King. Basic Books, 2012.</ref> There were 5,398 items found in the tomb, including a solid gold coffin, [[Mask of Tutankhamun|face mask]], thrones, archery bows, [[Tutankhamun's trumpets|trumpets]], a [[lotus chalice]], two [[Imiut fetish]]es, [[Egyptian Finger and Toe stalls|gold toe stalls]], furniture, food, wine, sandals, and fresh linen underwear. Howard Carter took 10 years to catalog the items.<ref>{{Cite web|title = King Tut: The Teen Whose Death Rocked Egypt|url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151124-tut-biography-egypt-tomb-archaeology/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151127081707/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151124-tut-biography-egypt-tomb-archaeology/|url-status = dead|archive-date = 27 November 2015|website = National Geographic News|access-date = 26 November 2015|first1 = A. R.|last1 = Williams |date = 24 November 2015}}</ref> Recent analysis suggests [[Tutankhamun's meteoric iron dagger|a dagger recovered from the tomb]] had an iron blade made from a [[meteorite]]; study of artifacts of the time including other artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb could provide valuable insights into metalworking technologies around the Mediterranean at the time.<ref name="Planetary Science">{{cite journal|title=The meteoritic origin of Tutankhamun's iron dagger blade – Comelli – 2016 – Meteoritics & Planetary Science – Wiley Online Library |author1= Daniela Comelli|author2= Massimo D'orazio|author3= Luigi Folco|author4= Mahmud El-Halwagy|author5= Tommaso Frizzi|author6= Roberto Alberti|author7= Valentina Capogrosso|author8= Abdelrazek Elnaggar|author9= Hala Hassan|author10= Austin Nevin|author11= Franco Porcelli|author12= Mohamed G. Rashed|author13= Gianluca Valentini|journal= Meteoritics and Planetary Science|year= 2016|doi=10.1111/maps.12664| volume =51 | issue =7 | pages =1301 |display-authors=etal | bibcode =2016M&PS...51.1301C |doi-access= free}}</ref><ref name=declanx>{{cite news | last =Walsh | first =Declan | title =King Tut's Dagger Made of 'Iron From the Sky,' Researchers Say | newspaper =[[The New York Times]] | date =2 June 2016 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/world/middleeast/king-tuts-dagger-made-of-iron-from-the-sky-researchers-say.html | access-date =4 June 2016}}</ref> Complete study of the iron artefacts from the tomb (besides the blade of a richly decorated golden dagger, small iron chisel blades set into wooden handles, an Eye of Horus amulet, and a miniature headrest) demonstrated that all were made of similar material.<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Katja |last1=Broschat |first2=Florian|last2= Ströbele |first3=Christian|last3= Koeberl |first4= Christian |last4=Eckmann |first5= Eid |last5=Mertah |others=Translated by Manon Schutz|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1346417460 |title=Iron from Tutankhamun's tomb |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-64903-032-0 |location=Cairo|publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |oclc=1346417460}}</ref> Only in 2022, a complex technological and material study of the Tutankhamun's mask was published.<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Katja|last1= Broschat|first2= Christian|last2= Eckmann|first3= Tarek |last3=Tawfik|first4= Thilo|last4= Rehren|first5= Myrtō |last5=Geōrgakopulu|first6= Stavroula|last6= Golfomitsou|first7= Anja|last7= Cramer|first8= Guido |last8=Heinz |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1376256828 |title=Tutanchamuns Mumienmaske Chronographie einer Ikone |date=2022 |isbn=978-3-88467-356-0 |location=Mainz am Rhein|publisher=Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums |oclc=1376256828}}</ref> Many of Tutankhamun's burial goods show signs of being adapted for his use after being originally made for earlier owners, probably Smenkhkare or Neferneferuaten or both.{{sfn|Reeves|2015|p=523}}{{sfn|Tawfik|Thomas|Hegenbarth-Reichardt|2018|pp=181, 192}}{{sfn|Ridley|2019|pp=263–265}}

On 4 November 2007, 85 years to the day after Carter's discovery, Tutankhamun's mummy was placed on display in his underground tomb at [[Luxor]], when the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus to a climate-controlled glass box. The case was designed to prevent the heightened rate of decomposition caused by the humidity and warmth from tourists visiting the tomb.<ref>{{cite news |author=Michael McCarthy |date=5 October 2007 |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3129650.ece |title=3,000 years old: the face of Tutankhaten |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105155115/http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3129650.ece |archive-date=5 November 2007}}</ref> In 2009, the tomb was closed for restoration by the [[Ministry of Antiquities (Egypt)|Ministry of Antiquities]] and the Getty Conservation Institute. While the closure was originally planned for five years to restore the walls affected by humidity, the [[Egyptian revolution of 2011]] set the project back. The tomb re-opened in February 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://ww.dailynewssegypt.com/2019/02/03/long-awaited-for-tutankhamuns-tomb-reopened-after-restoration/|title= Long awaited for Tutankhamun's tomb reopened after restoration|author= Nada Deyaa'|work= Daily News Egypt|date= 3 February 2019|access-date= 2 September 2019|archive-date= 2 September 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190902051806/https://ww.dailynewssegypt.com/2019/02/03/long-awaited-for-tutankhamuns-tomb-reopened-after-restoration/|url-status= dead}}</ref>

===Rumoured curse===
[[File:Tuts Tomb Opened.JPG|thumb|[[Howard Carter]] examining the innermost coffin of Tutankhamun, 1925]]
For many years, rumors of a "[[curse of the pharaohs]]" (probably fueled by newspapers seeking sales at the time of the discovery<ref>{{cite book |last=Hankey |first=Julie |title=A Passion for Egypt: Arthur Weigall, Tutankhamun and the 'Curse of the Pharaohs' |publisher=Tauris Parke Paperbacks |year=2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/passionforegypt00juli/page/3 3–5] |isbn=978-1-84511-435-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/passionforegypt00juli/page/3 }}</ref>) persisted, emphasizing the early death of some of those who had entered the tomb. The most prominent was [[George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon]], who died on 5 April 1923, five months after the discovery of the first step leading down to the tomb on 4 November 1922.<ref name="Bard2015">{{cite book|author=Kathryn A. Bard|author-link=Kathryn A. Bard|title=An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ovU1BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA249|date=27 January 2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-67336-2|page=249}}</ref>

The cause of Carnarvon's death was pneumonia supervening on [facial] erysipelas (a streptococcal infection of the skin and underlying soft tissue).<ref name="Reeves1993">{{cite book|author=Carl Nicholas Reeves|title=Howard Carter: Before Tutankhamun|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTztAAAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=H.N. Abrams|pages= 62–156|isbn=978-0-8109-3186-2}}</ref> The Earl had been in an automobile accident in 1901 making him very unhealthy and frail. His doctor recommended a warmer climate so in 1903 the Carnarvons traveled to Egypt where the Earl became interested in Egyptology.<ref name="Bard2015" /> Along with the stresses of the excavation, Carnarvon was already in a weakened state when an infection led to pneumonia.<ref name="OakesGahlin2005">{{cite book|author1=Lorna Oakes|author2=Lucia Gahlin|title=Ancient Egypt: an illustrated reference to the myths, religions, pyramids and temples of the land of the pharaohs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SC2fzs7MMssC|year=2005|publisher=Hermes House|page= 495|isbn=978-1-84477-451-7}}</ref>

A study showed that of the 58 people who were present when the tomb and [[sarcophagus]] were opened, only eight died within a dozen years;<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Book of Spells, Hexes, and Curses |last=Gordon |first=Stuart |publisher=Carol Publishing Group|year=1995|isbn=978-08065-1675-2|location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofspellshexe00gord|url-access=registration}}</ref>  Howard Carter died of [[lymphoma]] in 1939 at the age of 64.<ref name="VernonSkeptical">David Vernon in ''Skeptical – a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal'', ed. [[Donald Laycock]], [[David Vernon (writer)|David Vernon]], [[Colin Groves]], [[Simon Brown (author)|Simon Brown]], Imagecraft, Canberra, 1989, {{ISBN|0-7316-5794-2}}, p. 25.</ref> The last survivors included [[Lady Evelyn Herbert]], [[George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon|Lord Carnarvon]]'s daughter who was among the first people to enter the tomb after its discovery in November 1922, who lived for a further 57 years and died in 1980,<ref>{{Cite book|author=Bill Price |title=Tutankhamun, Egypt's Most Famous Pharaoh|page=138|isbn=9781842432402|date=21 January 2009 |url=https://archive.org/details/tutankhamunegypt0000pric|url-access=registration|publisher=Harpenden : Pocket Essentials}}</ref> and American archaeologist [[J.O. Kinnaman]] who died in 1961, 39 years after the event.<ref>{{cite news |title=Death Claims Noted Biblical Archaeologist |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |date=8 September 1961 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19610908&id=SBgzAAAAIBAJ&pg=5252,4998913 |access-date=9 May 2014}}</ref>