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Before Howard Carter discovered his tomb in 1922, almost nothing was known of the pharaoh Tutankamon. The pharaoh died at age 19 in 1327 a.C. The treasures that Carter discovered in his tomb were so splendid that, at present, the child king is the most famous of all the pharaohs. In spite of everything, we know very little about his nine-year reign, how he died or why he died so young. One theory points out that he was killed by Ay, his successor, who married the widow and supervised the funeral.
DESTRUCTOR OF EVIL
this golden wooden statuette shows Tutankamon hunting a hippopotamus with a harpoon. Its crown indicates that it is a ceremonial and symbolic image and not a real hunt. The scene represents the function of the pharaoh as a proctecor of order on earth. The hypopotamus, which destroyed crops, symbolizes evil and chaos
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THE FACE UNDER THE MASK
To remove the gold mask, which was attached to the king's head with dry resin, it was necessary to heat it. Carter removed the last bandages to see the king's face, which he described as follows: "I had the serene and placid expression of a young man." Despite Carter's care, the head was damaged when unwrapping the mummy, which lost some skin and part of the ears.
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SOLID GOLD ATAÚD
Tutankhamun's mummy was deposited in three beautiful feretros, placed one inside the other. The two exteriors are cedar, wood that they brought to Egypt from Lebanon. It was covered with gold leaf and decorated in colored stone, like turquoise. The interior feretro, shown here, was solid gold. It weighs 110.4 kg (243 pounds) and is 188 cm (74 in) long.
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THE REAL NAME
Carter was able to identify the pharaoh because his name was inscribed on the walls of the tomb and in many of the treasures. This royal fan, in the shape of a palm tree, shows the two real names enclosed in two ovals, called cartridges. Nejbet, the vulture goddess who was the guardian of the pharaoh, protects the name of the king, the edge of the fan was originally decorated with ostrich feathers.
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A FACE FOR ETERNITY
The mummy was wearing a solid gold mask, weighing 11 kg (24 pounds). The headdress has stripes of blue glass and the eyes are white quartz with black obsidian pupils. The rollers of the eyes are painted red, which makes them look a little bloodshot. this golden mask, called "the golden flesh", was the perfect new face for the life of the king in the hereafter.
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PROTECTION FOR THE TRIP
Tutankhamun's mummy had a gold dagger at his waist, to protect the king from his journey to the next world. The handle of the dagger is decorated with floral designs of colored glass inlaid with sempreciosas stones. In the case you can see wild animals, such as a bull, a dog and a leopard. This dagger and other treasures of the tomb can now be admired in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
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book by editor Dorling Kindersley, to learn more visit the website of DK.
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