{"id":14659,"date":"2022-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistoryrevealed\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=14659"},"modified":"2022-05-16T10:26:30","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T08:26:30","slug":"tutankhamun-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistoryrevealed\/2022\/05\/05\/tutankhamun-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutankhamun facts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

6 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN\u2019T KNOW ABOUT…<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Tutankhamun<\/span><\/h2>\n\n

Professor Joyce Tyldesley <\/strong>shares some lesser-known facts about the life, death and legacy of Egypt\u2019s famous \u2018boy king\u2019<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
A statue of Tutankhamun (right<\/em>) alongside Amun \u2013 the king of the gods<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Howard Carter (right<\/em>), who discovered Tutankhamun\u2019s tomb in 1922, pictured with a colleague in the Valley of the Kings<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Tutankhamun was born in c1344 BC, possibly at Amarna, the city of his father, Akhenaten (though Tutankhamun\u2019s parentage is hotly disputed). His mummy shows that he died when he was around 18 years old, but the exact cause of his demise is not known. Tutankhamun\u2019s body suffered damage at various stages \u2013 immediately before or immediately after death; during the curiously hasty mummification process; within the tomb (where a chemical reaction caused it to ignite); and while being extracted from its three coffins in the years following its 1922 discovery by Howard Carter.<\/p>\n\n

Damage to Tutankhamun\u2019s chest and legs indicates that the cause of death was accidental \u2013 perhaps the result of an injury sustained while riding a chariot or out hunting. Others, meanwhile, have suggested that Tutankhamun may have been murdered or died on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n

Today, Tutankhamun is ancient Egypt\u2019s most famous pharaoh. But how much do you really know about the boy king?<\/p>\n\n

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The boy king\u2019s mummified head. Experts still remain divided as to his cause of death<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

1<\/span> His original name was not Tutankhamun<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
\"\"
A cartouche-shaped box from Tutankhamun\u2019s tomb, displaying his nomen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Tutankhamun was originally named Tutankhaten. This name, which literally means \u2018living image of the Aten\u2019, reflected the fact that Tutankhaten\u2019s parents worshipped a sun god known as \u2018the Aten\u2019.<\/p>\n\n

After a few years on the throne, the young king changed his religion, abandoned the Aten, and started to worship the god Amun (who was revered as king of the gods). This caused him to change his name to Tutankhamun, or \u2018living image of Amun\u2019.<\/p>\n\n

Tutankhamun was not, however, the name by which his people knew him. Like all of Egypt\u2019s kings, Tutankhamun actually had five royal names. These took the form of short sentences that outlined the focus of his reign. Officially, he was:<\/p>\n\n

(1) <\/strong>Horus <\/strong>Name: <\/strong>Image of births<\/p>\n\n

(2) <\/strong>Two <\/strong>Ladies <\/strong>Name: <\/strong>Beautiful of laws who quells the Two Lands\/ who makes content all the gods<\/p>\n\n

(3) <\/strong>Golden <\/strong>Horus <\/strong>Name: <\/strong>Elevated of appearances for the god\/his father Ra<\/p>\n\n

(4) <\/strong>Prenomen: <\/strong>Nebkheperure<\/p>\n\n

(5) <\/strong>Nomen: <\/strong>Tutankhamun<\/p>\n\n

His last two names, known today as the prenomen and the nomen, are the names that we see written in cartouches (oval loops) on his monuments. We know him by his nomen, Tutankhamun. His people, however, knew him by his prenomen, Nebkheperure, which literally translates as \u201c[the sun god] Ra is the lord of manifestations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

2<\/span> Tutankhamun has the smallest royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

The first pharaohs built highly conspicuous pyramids in Egypt\u2019s northern deserts. However, by the time of the New Kingdom (1550\u20131069 BC), this fashion had ended. Most kings were now buried in relative secrecy in rock-cut tombs tunnelled into the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile at the southern city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor). These tombs had inconspicuous doors but were both spacious and well decorated inside.<\/p>\n\n

Cemeteries carried their own potent magic, and dead kings were thought to have powerful spirits that might benefit others. Being buried among his ancestors would have helped Tutankhamun to achieve his own afterlife. It therefore seems likely that Tutankhamun would have wished to be buried in a splendid tomb in either the main valley or in an offshoot, the Western Valley, where his grandfather, Amenhotep III, was buried.<\/p>\n\n

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Painted figures found within the burial chamber of Tutankhamun\u2019s successor, Ay<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

But, whatever he may have intended, we know that Tutankhamun was actually buried in a cramped tomb cut into the floor of the main valley.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

It may be that Tutankhamun simply died too young to complete his ambitious plans; his own tomb was unfinished, and so he had to be buried in a substitute, non-royal tomb. However, this seems unlikely, as other kings managed to build suitable tombs in just two or three years. It seems far more likely that Tutankhamun\u2019s successor, Ay, a king who inherited the throne as an elderly man, made a strategic swap. Just four years after Tutankhamun\u2019s death, Ay himself was buried in a splendid tomb in the Western Valley, close by the tomb of Amenhotep III.<\/p>\n\n

The unexpectedly small size of Tutankhamun\u2019s tomb has led to recent suggestions that parts of it are still yet to be uncovered. Specifically, Egyptologists are currently investigating the possibility that there may be secret chambers hidden behind the plastered wall of his burial chamber.<\/p>\n\n

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The Valley of the Kings, near the city of Luxor, is known to contain at least 60 tombs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\n\n

3<\/span> He was buried in a second-hand coffin<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
\"\"
The king\u2019s middle coffin may have been made for an individual named Neferneferuaten<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Tutankhamun\u2019s mummy lay within a nest of three golden coffins, which fit snugly one inside another like a set of Russian dolls. During the funeral ritual the combined coffins were placed in a rectangular stone sarcophagus. Unfortunately, the outer coffin proved to be slightly too big, and its toes peeked over the edge of the sarcophagus, preventing the lid from closing.<\/p>\n\n

Carpenters were quickly summoned and the coffin\u2019s toes were cut away. More than 3,000 years later, Howard Carter would find the fragments lying in the base of the sarcophagus.<\/p>\n\n

All three of Tutankhamun\u2019s coffins were similar in style: they were \u2018anthropoid\u2019, or human-form coffins, shaped to look like the god of the dead, Osiris, lying on his back and holding the crook and flail in his crossed arms. But the middle coffin had a slightly different style and its face did not look like the faces on other two coffins. Nor did it look like the face on Tutankhamun\u2019s death mask. Many Egyptologists now believe that this middle coffin \u2013 along with some of Tutankhamun\u2019s other grave goods \u2013 was originally made for the mysterious \u2018Neferneferuaten\u2019 \u2013 an enigmatic individual whose name is recorded in inscriptions and who may have been Tutankhamun\u2019s immediate predecessor. We do not know what happened to Neferneferuaten, nor how Tutankhamun came to be buried in his or her coffin. <\/p>\n\n

The innermost coffin was made from thick sheets of beaten gold. This coffin measures 1.88m in length, and weighs 110.4kg. If it were to be scrapped today it would be worth well over \u00a31m. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Tutankhamun\u2019s own burial chamber features similar decorations, but his tomb is much more cramped and modest overall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"
A colourised photograph shows Howard Carter inspecting the outer and middle coffins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\n\n

4<\/span> Tutankhamun loved to hunt ostriches<\/h4>\n\n

Tutankhamun\u2019s ostrich-feather fan was discovered lying in his burial chamber, close by the king\u2019s body. Originally the fan consisted of a long golden handle topped by a semi-circular \u2018palm\u2019 that supported 42 alternating brown and white feathers. These feathers crumbled away long ago, but their story is preserved in writing on the fan handle.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

This tells us that the feathers were taken from ostriches captured by the king himself while hunting in the desert to the east of Heliopolis (near modernday Cairo). The embossed scene on the palm shows, on one face, Tutankhamun setting off in his chariot to hunt ostrich, and on the reverse, the king returning in triumph with his prey.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Ostriches were important birds in ancient Egypt, and their feathers and eggs were prized as luxury items.<\/p>\n\n

Hunting ostriches was a royal sport that allowed the king to demonstrate his control over nature. It was a substitute for battle and, as such, was a dangerous occupation. We can see that Tutankhamun\u2019s body was badly damaged before he was mummified.<\/p>\n\n

Is the placement of his ostrich fan so close to his body significant? Is this, perhaps, someone\u2019s way of telling us that the young king died following a fatal accident on an ostrich hunt?<\/p>\n\n

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A fan found in the king\u2019s tomb may offer clues about his death<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\n\n

5<\/span> Tutankhamun\u2019s heart is missing<\/h4>\n\n

The ancient Egyptians believed that it was possible to live again after death but thought that this could only be achieved if the body was preserved in a lifelike condition. This led them to develop the science of artificial mummification.<\/p>\n\n

Essentially, mummification involved desiccating the body in natron salt, then wrapping it in many layers of bandages to preserve a lifelike shape. The body\u2019s internal organs were removed at the start of the mummification process and preserved separately. The brain, its function then unknown, was simply thrown away \u2013 the heart, rather than the brain, was regarded as the organ of reasoning. As such, the heart would be required in the afterlife. It was therefore left in place and, if accidentally removed, immediately sewn back (though not always in its original location).<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Visitors to a London exhibition view an illuminated image of the Tutankhamun\u2019s remains (above<\/em>). Although the king\u2019s heart is missing, most of his other internal organs were placed inside canopic jars (below<\/em>) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Tutankhamun, however, has no heart. Instead he was provided with an amuletic scarab inscribed with a funerary spell. This may have happened simply because the undertakers were careless, but it could also be a sign that Tutankhamun died far from home.<\/p>\n\n

By the time his body arrived at the undertakers\u2019 workshop, his heart may have been too decayed to be preserved.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

6<\/span> His trumpets have entertained an audience of more than 150 million<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
\"\"
Like its silver counterpart, the bronze trumpet is engraved with images of the gods Ra, Ptah and Amun<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Tutankhamun\u2019s grave goods included a small collection of musical instruments: one pair of ivory clappers, two sistra (rattles) and two trumpets, one made from silver with a gold mouthpiece and the other made of bronze partially overlaid by gold. This would not have made a very satisfactory orchestra, and it seems that music was not high on Tutankhamun\u2019s list of priorities for his afterlife. In fact, his trumpets should more properly be classified as military equipment, while his clappers and sistra are likely to have had a ritual purpose.<\/p>\n\n

On 16 April 1939, the two trumpets were played in a BBC live radio broadcast from Cairo Museum, which reached an estimated 150 million listeners. Bandsman James Tappern used a modern mouthpiece, which caused damage to the silver trumpet. In 1941 the bronze trumpet was played again, this time without a modern mouthpiece.<\/p>\n\n

Some, influenced by the so-called myth of \u2018Tutankhamun\u2019s curse\u2019, have claimed that the trumpets have the power to summon war. They have suggested that it was the 1939 broadcast which caused Britain to enter World War II.<\/p>\n\n

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Both trumpets were played live on BBC radio in 1939 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\n\n

Joyce Tyldesley<\/strong> is professor of Egyptology at the University of Manchester. Her latest book, Tutankhamun \u2013 Pharaoh, Icon, Enigma: Ten Tales of Egypt’s Enduring King<\/em>, is due to be published by Headline on 27 October<\/p>\n\n

PICTURE CREDITS: GETTY IMAGES X10, ALAMY X4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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