DD3000 - Study Example: 90th Anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb

To demonstrate what the module entails we had to research the 90th Anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb. Here is what we found:


Tutankhamen - 90th Anniversary

"King Tut"

• 11th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
• Born 1341 BC - Died 1323 BC (18) a child of incest
• Ruled age 9, 1332 BC - 1323 BC the year of his death
• Icon of Ancient Egypt
• Went against his father ending worship of Aten restoring Amun, and moved the capital back to Thebes

Death

• Cause of death is uncertain
• Consensus says his death was an accident and likely died of a leg infection with malaria in his system
• But may have been assassinated
• Tomb was small compared to his status because he died unexpectantly

 KV62 Tomb Opening

• 1922 - Howard Carter & Lord Carnarvon found the tomb
• Small tomb packed with items, flowers disintegrate upon touch
• Took a decade to empty the contents to the Egyptian museum in Cairo
• First people to enter tomb for 3000 years. And was the only complete tomb ever uncovered

 Howard Carter

• British - Archaeologist
• First chief inspector of Egyptian Antique Service
• "The Pharaoh who in life was the least esteemed of Egypt's Pharaohs has become in death the most renowned"
• WW1 interrupted his research 1914 - 1917

 Curse of the Pharaohs 

• Curse affecting those who opened the tombs
• Many of the crew died over the opening of the tomb, Carter lived for another 10 years
• Zahi Hawass had 3 members of his family die over three years
• "All people who enter rgis tomb who will make evil against this tomb and destroy it, may the crocodile be against them in water, and snakes be against them on land. May the hippopotamus be against them in water, the scorpion against them on land."

 Influence on Culture

• Worlds best known Pharaoh
• Media: The Mummy, Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, National Treasure
• Inspired sci-fi and fantasy narratives involving mummies and Egyptian curses. Also the symbolism of the scarab beetle
• Influenced Art Deco design, flourishing in the 1930s

Influence on Culture

• Fashion - headdresses, sandals, jewellery, shoulder pads, tunic style dresses
• Eye shadow and makeup
• Symbolism - hieroglyphs, sphinx, lotus flowers, scarabs and pyramids
• Stargate is a semi-popular sci-fi TV show linked with Ancient Egypt 

 Influence on Culture

• Interior Design - Art Deco, Egyptian columns, reeds, palm trees, floral designs, use of Egyptian iconography and artwork
• Architecture - triangles, sphinx, obelisks (The Washington D.C. Monument - iconically used in Fallout 3)
• Belief in Aliens, and their involvement with Ancient Egyptian culture

 

Political Implication

• All of the artifacts were placed in the Cairo museum
• Many have been stolen but exhibits do travel
• Many were stolen during the recent Egyptian revolution