Everything about Kv62 totally explained
Tomb KV62 in
Egypt's
Valley of the Kings is the
Tomb of Tutankhamun, which became famous for the wealth of treasure it contained. The tomb was discovered in 1922 by
Howard Carter, underneath the remains of workmen's huts built during the
Ramesside Period. This explains why it was spared from the worst of the tomb depredations of that period.
The tomb was densely packed with items, but they were in great disarray. Carter was able to photograph garlands of flowers, which disintegrated when touched. Due to the state of the tomb, and to Carter's meticulous recording technique, the tomb took nearly a decade to empty, the contents all being transported to the
Egyptian Museum in
Cairo.
It is often said that Tutankhamun's tomb was never violated, but this isn't true. In fact, it was entered at least twice, and not long after he was buried. There is clear evidence that the sealed doors were breached in the upper corners, and later resealed. It is estimated that 60% of the jewellery which had been stored in the so-called "Treasury" was removed.
Necropolis officials tried to set things right, but they did so hastily, repacking boxes with the wrong objects (based on inscriptions on the boxes themselves). The outermost doors of the shrines enclosing the king's nested coffins were left opened, and unsealed.
After one of these ancient robberies, some items from KV62 are believed to have been buried at
KV54.
Discovery of the tomb
In
1907, just before his discovery of the tomb of
Horemheb,
Theodore M. Davis's team uncovered a
small site containing funerary artifacts with Tutankhamun's name. Assuming that the site was Tutankhamun's complete tomb, Davis concluded the dig. The details of both findings are documented in Davis's
1912 publication,
The Tombs of Harmhabi and Touatânkhamanou; the book closes with the comment, "I fear that the
Valley of Kings is now exhausted." But Davis was to be proven spectacularly wrong.
The
British Egyptologist Howard Carter (employed by
Lord Carnarvon) discovered Tutankhamun's tomb (since designated
KV62) in
The Valley of The Kings on
November 4,
1922 near the entrance to the tomb of
Ramesses VI, thereby setting off a renewed interest in all things Egyptian in the modern world. Carter contacted his patron, and on
November 26 that year both men became the first people to enter Tutankhamun's tomb in over 3000 years. After many weeks of careful excavation, on
February 16,
1923 Carter opened the inner chamber and first saw the
sarcophagus of Tutankhamun.
Investigation
1922
The first step to the stairs were found on 4 November. The following day saw the exposure of complete staircase. The end of November saw access to the Antechamber and discovered of Annexe, and then to the Burial Chamber and Treasury.
On 29 November, the tomb was officially opened, and the first announcement and press conference followed the next day, The first item was removed from the tomb of 27 December.
1923
16 February saw the official opening of the Burial Chamber, and 5 April saw the death of Lord Carnarvon.
1924
On 12 February the granite lid of the sarcophagus was raised. In April, Carter argued with the Antiquities Service, and left the excavation for the United States.
1925
In January, Carter resumed activities in the tomb, and on 13 October he removed the cover of the first sarcophagus, 23 October removed the cover of the second sarcophagus, 28 October the team removed the cover of the final sarcophagus and exposure of the mummy, and on 11 November the examination of the remains of Tutankhamun started.
1926
Work started in the Treasury on 24 October.
1927
Between 30 October and 15 December, the Annexe was emptied and examined.
1930
On 10 November, 8 years after the discovery, the last objects are removed from the tomb.
Layout of tomb
In design, the tomb appears to have originally been intended for a private individual, not for royalty. There is some evidence to suggest that the tomb was hastily adapted for a royal occupant during its excavation. This may be supported by the fact that only the burial chamber walls were decorated, unlike royal tombs in which nearly all walls were painted with scenes from the
Book of the Dead.
Staircase
Starting from a small, level platform, 16 steps descend to the first doorway, which was sealed and plastered – although it had been penetrated by grave robbers at least twice.
Entrance corridor
Beyond the first doorway, a descending corridor leads to the second sealed door, and into the room that Carter described as the Antechamber. This was used originally to hold material left over from the funeral and material associated with the embalming of the king, after the initial robberies this material was either moved into the tomb proper, or moved to
KV54.
Antechamber
The undecorated Antechamber was found to be in a state of "organized chaos" and contained approximately 700 objects (articles 14 to 171 in the Carter catalog) amongst which were three funeral beds, plates in shape of Hippopotamus (the Goddess
Tawaret), of lion (or leopards) and cattle (the Goddess
Hathor). Perhaps the most remarkable item in this room were the components, stacked, of four chariots of which one was probably used for hunting, one for "war" and another two for parades.
Burial chamber
Decoration
This is the only decorated chamber in the tomb, with scenes from the Opening of the Mouth ritual (showing Ay, Tutankhamun's successor acting as the king's son, despite being older than him) and Tutankhamun with the goddess Nut on the north wall, the first hour of Amduat (on the west wall), spell one of the Book of the Dead (on the east wall) and representations of the king with various deities (Anubis, Isis, Hathor and others now destroyed) on the south wall. The north wall shows Tutankhamen being followed by his Ka, being welcomed to the underworld by Osiris.
Contents
The entire chamber was occupied by a series of gilded wooden shrines. The outer shrine ([1] in the plan) measured 5.08 x 3.28 x 2.75 m and 32 mm thick, almost entirely filling the room, with only 60 cm at either end and less than 30 cm on the sides. Outside of the shrines were 11 paddles for the "solar boat", containers for scents, lamps decorated images of the God Hapi.
The fourth and last shrine ([4]) was 2.90 m long and 1.48 m wide. The walls were decorated by the king's funeral procession, and Nut was painted on the ceiling, "embracing" with her wings the granite outer sarcophagus.
Sarcophagus of Tutankhamun
The outer sarcophagus was constructed in granite ([a] in the plan). The main body and the lid were carved from different coloured stone, and the lid then painted to match the colour of the body. It was supported by blocks of stone at each corner, it appears to have been constructed for a different owner, but then recarved for Tutankhamen, the identity of the original owner isn't preserved. Inside this the mummy itself was wearing the famous gold mask.
Annex
The 'Annex', originally used store oils, ointments, scents, foods and wine, was the last room to be cleared, from the end of October 1927 to the spring of 1928. Although quite small in size, it contained approximately 280 groups of objects, totaling more than 2,000 individual pieces.
Present day
As of 2007, the tomb is open for visitors, as an additional charge above that of the price of general access to the Valley of the Kings. It has been announced that the number of visitors will be limited to 400 per day, as of May 2008.
Notes and references
Bibliography
- The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen, by Howard Carter, Arthur C. Mace.
- The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure, by C. N. Reeves, Nicholas Reeves, Richard H. Wilkinson.
- Reeves, N & Wilkinson, R.H. The Complete Valley of the Kings, 1996, Thames and Hudson, London
- Siliotti, A. Guide to the Valley of the Kings and to the Theban Necropolises and Temples, 1996, A.A. Gaddis, Cairo
Further Information
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