Egypt and Libya, March 19 - April 2, 2006 / 20060323c_TombOfTutankhamun
Ruth Milner, rmilner plus web at bookofmarvels dot net
This is the entrance to the tomb of
Tutankhamun. He became pharaoh around 1336BC at the age of 9 and died
at 19, possibly
from an infection in a broken bone. He is chiefly famous because his is
the only pharaoh's tomb so far found intact, and the contents were
astounding. If so much was provided to such a minor pharaoh, what must
it have been like for great ones? We decided not to pay the extra fee to go in.
The tomb is very small, with very little decoration - it was probably
intended for someone else but his sudden death forced them to co-opt it -
and his treasures are all in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. His
mummy, which is the only really interesting thing left in the tomb, is hidden
from view inside the outer sarcophagus.
Nearby is a tomb which was about to be closed
in 1995 when they discovered additional chambers. So far they have excavated
128 rooms, which they believe are burial chambers for the sons of Ramses II,
who outlived many of his children. Since he also built a stunningly
beautiful tomb for his beloved wife Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens
(now closed except by special arrangement), there is some speculation that
there may be a similar group tomb there for his daughters.
