Lesson = 3 [ Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues ] Important Questions

Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues

Tutor Tutankhamun was a teenaged heir to the royal throne of Egypt. The family had ruled Egypt for centuries. But Tut died young. He was the last of the family line. His funeral marked the end of a dynasty. But the details of his passing away are unclear.

Tut’s father or grandfather Amenhotep III was a powerful Pharaoh who ruled for almost 40 years. His son Amenhotep IV succeeded him. The new king promoted the worship of the Aten, the sun-disc. He changed his name to Akhenaten or the servant of the Sun-god. He also shifted the religious capital from the old city of Thebes to the new city, Amarna. He also shocked the country further by attacking Amun, a major god, breaking down his images and closing his temples. He was succeeded by another mysterious ruler who died soon. Then, a very young Tutankhaten sat on the throne. He is widely known today as Tut. He restored the old ways, the worship of god Amun. He also changed his name to Tutankhamun. He ruled for about nine years and then died unexpectedly.

Egypt is full of mummies, almost 600. These are the embalmed bodies of Egyptian kings, called Pharaohs. Tut’s mummy was discovered in 1922. Perhaps he was murdered. But he was laid to rest with a lot of gold and with everyday things like games, a bronze razor, clothes and cases of food and wine. It was believed that the dead Pharaoh would need those things in the afterlife.

Howard Carter was a British archaeologist who in 1922 discovered Tut’s tomb after years of searching. Much of the treasure buried in the tomb had already been looted. Even then, it was the richest royal collection ever found in any tomb. The rock-cut tomb was some 26 feet underground. The walls had paintings. Tut’s gilded face was there on the outer coffin lid. After months of recording the treasures, Carter began investigating the three coffins in the tomb. In the first one, he found the garlands of olive leaves, lotus petals and cornflowers. The burial it seemed, was done in March or April.

When Carter finally reached Tut’s mummy. He faced trouble. Resins used for cementing Tut to the bottom of his solid gold coffin had become very hard. It was impossible to free the body (tom the resins. Even the burning sun failed to melt it. The resins had to be removed, using a chisel and hammer from beneath the limbs of the body. Carter really had little choice. If he had not cut the mummy limb by limb, the thieves would have taken all the gold away. Carter’s men first removed the mummy’s head, then cut off every major point. Once the body removed in parts, it was reassembled on a layer of sand in a wooden box. And put at the original place.

The mystery of Tut’s death, however, remained unsolved. Archaeology has changed a lot after 1922. In 1968, an anatomy professor X-rayed the mummy and revealed a new fact. He said that the breastbone and front ribs of Tut’s body were missing.

Today CT (Computed Tomography) takes hundreds of X-rays and creates a three-dimensional image of a body. It was on 5 January 2005 that the world’s most famous mummy of Tut was put into a CT scanner to answer two questions—how did Tut die, and how old was he at the time of death?

The CT machine was donated by its manufacturer – Siemens. King Tut had died some 3,300 years ago. On the night of the scan, the workmen carried Tut from the tomb in his box. They put it on a trailer that held the scanner. The process took less than three hours. The Pharaoh was carried back in the tomb again. The CT scan dispelled all doubts. Nothing had gone seriously wrong. Tut is resting in peace in his tomb in the valley of the departed kings of Egypt.

Q.1. Why did the boy king change his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankamun?

 Ans. Amun was a major God in ancient Egypt. But the previous king had made his people worship the sun God Aten. He smashed all images of Amun & closed his temples. When young Tut took the throne, he restored the old ways. He changed his own name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun which means ‘living image of Amun’.

Q.2. When was Tut’s dead body subjected to CT scrutiny? Why?

Ans. Tut’s dead body was buried 26 feet down in the desert along with golden treasures. The mummy was discovered and freed from the hardened resins in 1922. Since the king had Died young and unexpectedly, his body was subjected to X-rays and CT scan in 2005 to ascertain the cause of his death.

Q.3. Who was Tut? Why is his life as well as death wrapped in mystery?

Ans. Tut was a teenager when he ascended the throne. He was the last heir of a powerful royal family. He was laid to rest 26 ft below the earth’s surface in a tomb. His mummy was discovered in 1922 by a British archaeologist, Howard Carter. He found a fabulous treasure in the tomb. The casket in which Tut’s body was laid, was made of pure gold. Tut’s body was X-rayed and scanned to find out Tut’s age at the time of death and how he died. His life remained as great a mystery as his death. In 1968, the X-rays of the mummy showed a broken breastbone and some missing ribs. Tut’s untimely death at a young age is still a matter of research. How he died—whether under natural circumstances or unnatural ones—is still not confirmed.

Q.4. How has the viewpoint of archaeologists changed with the passage of time?

Ans:The archaeologists, earlier, focussed on the treasures that the tomb would yield. The centre of attention, now, is more on the fascinating details of life and intriguing mysteries of death. Moreover, now they use more sophisticated tools, including medical technology.

Q.5. What were the treasures found in the coffin? Why were they put there?

Ans: King Tut’s coffin contained precious collars, inlaid necklaces and bracelets, rings, amulets, a ceremonial apron, sandals, sheaths for his fingers and toes, and his inner coffin and mask, all of which were made of pure gold. The royals, in King Tut’s time, hoped to take their riches along with them for their next life.

Q.6. Explain the statement, “King Tut… in death as in life, moving regally ahead of his countrymen”

Ans: In life, a great king. In death, also a leader, because his was the first mummy to be scanned. In life he restored old ways, old religion.