{"id":19274,"date":"2022-11-02T15:56:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T14:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=218715"},"modified":"2022-11-02T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T15:18:14","slug":"the-forgotten-women-in-tutankhamuns-tomb","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/the-forgotten-women-in-tutankhamuns-tomb\/","title":{"rendered":"The forgotten women in Tutankhamun\u2019s tomb"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 02 November 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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In November 1922, a team led by Egyptologist Howard Carter<\/a> discovered the tomb of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun<\/a> (reigned 1336-1327 BCE). We can attend Tutankhamun\u2019s funeral via the painted scenes in his burial chamber.<\/p>\n

On the east wall we see the mummified king lying in a coffin resting on a bier that stands on a boat that is itself standing on a wooden sled. Twelve of Egypt\u2019s highest ranking dignitaries, all dressed in white linen, have assembled to drag the funerary sled across the desert to the Valley of the Kings. On the north wall the funeral procession has reached the tomb. Tutankhamun\u2019s mummy has been propped upright and his successor, King Ay, has dressed in a priestly leopard skin to conduct the rituals that will allow the dead king to live again.<\/p>\n

Read more | The female \u2018kings\u2019 of ancient Egypt<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
Nowhere in these scenes do we see Tutankhamun\u2019s widow, Ankhesenamun (formerly also Ankhesenpaaten). If we want to learn more about the woman who supported her husband in life and death, we need to take a closer look at some of Tutankhamun\u2019s 5,000 grave goods.<\/p>\n
Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun\u2019s wife<\/h2>\n
The \u2018Little Golden Shrine\u2019, a doored box covered in thick gold foil, is one of Tutankhamun\u2019s most enigmatic grave goods. A series of engraved panels on the golden exterior shows the king and queen together. Ankhesenamun fastens a collar round her husband\u2019s neck, receives water that he pours into her cupped hand and supplies him with arrows as he shoots ducks in the marshes. Howard Carter believed that these scenes reflected the daily life of the king and queen, with Ankhesenamun playing a minor role: \u201cThe dominant note is that of friendly relationship between the husband and wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
A century later, with a far better understanding of the complexities of Egyptian royal art, we interpret these scenes as a reflection of Ankhesenamun\u2019s religious power as she assumes the role of a priest to prepare her husband for his coronation and the New Year ceremonies that will follow.<\/p>\n
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