A loan exhibition in cooperation with the Organization of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt and co-sponsored by the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, the Field Museum in Chicago produced a remarkable exhibit of the “Treasures of Tutankhamun” in the Spring and Summer 1977.
We were there.
My daughter and I entered the low-light corridors lined with ancient Egyptian artifacts. A gold sarcophagus of the ruler King Tut was remarkable. The boy-King exhibit brought 1.3 Million visitors and millions of dollars to the City. A current exhibit in California will be the last these treasures leave Egypt because a new museum is being built where all the precious items will find a final home never to leave Egypt again.
Let us look at his brief life:
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty and ruled from 1332 to 1323 B.C.. The discovery in 1922 by Howard Carter of his nearly-intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings received funding by Lord Carnarvon and received worldwide attention. His mother was his father’s sister and wife and whose remains have been positively identified as “The Younger Lady” mummy that was found. Tut’s consort and wife was his half-sister and cousin, Ankhesenamun, and they had two stillborn daughters.
Tutankhamun had five royal names, including Horus, Two Ladies Name, Golden Horus Name, Nebkheperure and Tutankhamun. His names were written in cartouches in the hasty mummification process.
Given his age of nine, the king probably had very powerful advisers who had the ability to calm him when his temper rose. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to supremacy. Traditional privileges were restored to the priesthood. The capital was moved back to Thebes. He initiated building and monument building projects.
The cause of his death at age 19 is open to speculation. Obvious damage to his chest and legs suggest an accident, perhaps a chariot or hunting accident, or death on the battlefield. Others suggest that Tutankhamun may have been poisoned and murdered. It was customary to leave 70 days between death and burial. There are no found records of his final days. With King Tut’s death, the Thutmoside family line ceased.
Kings were venerated after their deaths with mortuary cults and associated temples. He was one of the few kings worshipped in this manner during his lifetime. His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity and items included perishable oil and perfumes. It seems clear that the robberies took place within several months of the initial burial.
Valuable insights have been gleaned into the metalworking technologies found in the Mediterranean at that time. As such, 5,398 items were found in the tomb, including a solid gold coffin, face mask, thrones, archery bows, trumpets, a lotus chalice, food, wine, and fresh linen underwear. It took Howard Carter 10 years to catalog all the items. Who said you can’t take it with you? Would you have more than 5,000 items you would choose to be buried with you? Doubtful.
Tutankhamun’s mummy lay within a nest of three golden coffins, which fitted snugly one inside another similar to a set of Russian dolls. The outer coffin proved to be too big and its toes peeked over the edge of the sarcophagus to prevent the lid from closing. Carpenters were summoned and the coffin’s toes were cut away. More than 3,000 years later, Howard Carter found the fragments lying in the base of the sarcophagus.
King Tut’s tomb was among the best preserved and his image and associated artifacts the most exhibited. The discoveries of the tomb were prominent news in the 1920s. Even the pet dog of U.S. president Herbert Hoover was named “King Tut.”