1) Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922, which contained many preserved artifacts and Tut's mummified body cemented to its golden coffin. Carter had to chisel the mummy out to remove adornments. 2) In 2005, Zahi Hawass rediscovered Tut's tomb and had the mummy CT scanned to try and answer lingering questions about Tut's death and age. The scan produced 1,700 digital images of Tut's virtual body. 3) Modern archaeology now uses more advanced tools like CT scanning and medical analysis to learn about ancient lives and deaths, rather than just focusing on treasures. Scientists are still studying the scan results of Tut to determine how he died and his age.

1. DISCOVERING TUT: THE
SAGA CONTINUES
A.R .WILLIAMS
Prepared by : Deepshikha Ghai

2. KING TUT’S LINEAGE AND RULE
• Tutankhamun-an 18th dynasty pharaoh- Egypt-3300 years ago
• Inherited the throne at a young age- reign was short lived
• Tut’s grandfather Amenhotep III ruled eighteenth dynasty for forty
years
• His son Amenhotep IV succeeded him and brought drastic changes
• Discouraged the worship of ‘ Amun’ a major God and destroyed his
images, idols and temples
• Declared ‘ Sun’ as the reigning diety and prompted the worship of
‘Aten’ ,the sun disc. Changed his name to Akhenaten
• Moved the religious capital from Thebes to Akhenaten( Amarna)

3. • Reffered as ‘ Horrific Time’- Akhenaten going a little wacky
• After Akhenaten’sdeath a mysterious ruler Smenkhkare ruled
for a brief period.
• Finally Tutankhaten ascended the throne-
restored old religious ways and reigning diety
‘Amun’ –ruled for nine years-died unexpectedly
- a death knell for his dynasty
•

4. HOWARD CARTER’S WORK ON TUT’S MUMMY
• Howard Carter, a british archaeologist, discovered Tut’s tomb in1922
• Tomb contained jewellery pieces in glittering gold
Alongwith articles of everyday use like wine, clothings,
Board games, etc.
A shroud covered with garlands of spring season plants
and flowers like willow, olive leaves,lotus petals and corn
flowers indicated a burial in the month of March or April.
• Tut’s mummified body cemented to its gold coffin due
to hardening of ritual funerary resins .

5. • Carter kept Tut’s mummy out in the blazing desert sun,
heating it to 149 degrees F but in vain.
• Carter chiselled beneath the mummy to separate it from the
gold base.He separated mummy’s head and every major joint
to remove the adornments and reassembled the remains in a
wooden box to conceal the damage.
• He defends his action-had he not done so, thieves would have
removed the golden adornments.
• Tomb though ransackedearlier had its contents still intact.

6. REDISCOVERING TUT AFTER 3300 YEARS
• Zahi Hawass, Secretary general of Egypt’s Council of Antiquities
rediscovered Tut’s tomb on 5th January 2005
• King Tut ( the mummy) leaves his cemetery to be C.T. scanned
• Ominous atmosphere with dark sky
and ghostly clouds (curse –disturb
Tut’s sleep)
• Tourists visit the 26 feet
underground tomb travelling at the
wall murals in the burial chamber

7. ARCHAEOLOGY AND ITS PROGRESSIVE CHANGES
• Earlier: a scientific study of human antiquities
• Now: an investigative scientific study of human antiquities
• Changed substantially with time
• Less focus on treasures and more focus on mysteries of life and death
• Also uses more sophisticated tools and medical technology
• Tut’s body X- Rayed in 1968 by an anatomy professor
• Startling revelation: beneath the ritual resin that covered his chest, Tut’s breast
bone and front ribs missing.
• Modern archaeology: C.T.Scanning- hundreds of X-rays in cross section to create a
three dimensional virtual body –also called diagnostic imaging.

8. TWO QUESTIONS STILL UNANSWERED
• How did Tut die?
• How old was he at the
time of his death?

9. EGYPTIAN MUMMY PROJECT
• Began an inventory in 2003 and recorded 600 mummies so far
• Scanning the mummies with a portable C.T. Scan machine donated by
National Geographic Society and Siemens
• Tut: the first mummy scanned on 5th January 2005 in less than 3 hrs.
• King Tut ahead of his countrymen in death as in life
• A minor snag during scan as desert sand entered the cooler fan
• Scanned head to toe- 1,700 digital X-Ray images in cross section
• Results of scan studied by specialistsin radiology, forensics and anatomy
• Zahi Hawass- satisfiedand relieved after successful scanning.