Discovering Tut - the Saga continues
I. Short answer questions.
1. How was the death of King Tut a big event by royal standards?
Ans: King Tut was the last of his dynasty. His death marked the end of a
dynasty. His death, however, remained a mystery to historians.
1. Who was Howard Carter?
Ans: After years of research, British archaeologist Howard Carter
discovered Tut's tomb in 1922. He amassed the most valuable royal
collection, as well as daily items such as razors, clothes, food, and wine.
Tut's mummy was buried in a solid gold casket, so he had to liberate it
piece by piece from solidified resins, rebuild it, and place it in a wooden
box before burying it in the tomb.
1. Who were Pharaohs? What facts do we know about them from the
chapter “Discovering Tut ... the Saga Continues”?
Ans: Egypt's rulers were known as Pharaohs. They were buried with the
treasures of the Valley of the Departed Kings, deep beneath the soil. The
Egyptian Mummy Project has recorded 600 bodies, and the count is still
ongoing.
4. Who was Akhenten? Why was he called crazy?
Ans: Akhenaten was the successor of Amenhotep III. Akhentan fostered
the worship of Aten, the Sun God. As a result, Akhenaten changed his
name. He relocated Thebes' religious capital to the new city of Akhetan
and assaulted Amun, a significant god. He also destroyed Amun's images
and imprisoned his temples. All of this led many to conclude that he was
insane.
II. Long Answer Questions .
1. What role did science play in collecting information about King Tut’s
mummy, life, and death under mysterious circumstances?
Ans: King Tut's mummy was first discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter.
The embalmed body of the boy king was buried in the tomb along with
lots of gold ornaments, sandals, masks, and coffins, and everything was
made of pure gold. The death of King Tut was a big event as he was the
last of a powerful ruling family.
His death, however, remained a mystery because it occurred at a young
age, barely nine years after he had ruled his country. In 1968, an anatomy
professor noticed that Tut's mummy was missing the breastbone and front
ribs, and the help of modern science and technology was used to solve
the enigma. In January 2005, Tut's skull was transported for a CT scan and
carbon dating, which confirmed that the monarch died 3,300 years ago.
However, the manner and cause of the king's death remain unknown.
2. What do we know from the story ―Discovering Tut... the Saga
continues – about the materialistic attitude of a man?
Ans: According to the chapter, King Tut's mummy was buried deep in the
desert with a large amount of gold and other items, believing that the
deceased Pharaoh would require those items in the afterlife. When the
scientist uncovered Tut's tomb, there was already a large amount of
treasure plundered. This was the case of man's materialism. Materialism
is a curse on the value of values, beliefs, religious sentiments, and social
rites and rituals. Carter also discovered that Tut's tomb was brimming
with real gold. The coffin was also constructed of gold. And he had to chop
the king's body apart at the joints to get him out of the coffin.
III. Summary
Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues is written by A.R. Williams.
Tutankhamun, also known as tut, was a valiant king of the Pharaoh
Dynasty. After nine years of rule, he passed away mysteriously when he
was a teenager. His demise spawned many mysteries. This chapter
discusses all the potential mysteries, including the curse, the location of
his tomb, his entire existence, and finally his passing.
The ancient Pharaoh Dynasty's last ruler, Tutankhamun, passed away at a
young age. His tomb was discovered in 1922 by archaeologist Howard
Carter. He was given a CT scan in January 2005, 80 years after the
discovery, in an effort to reconstruct his life and death using forensic
evidence. It was found that he had passed away more than 3300 years
prior and was buried in a royal grave in the Valley of the Kings.
The tomb contains gorgeous golden artefacts, board games, bronze
razors, cases containing food and wine, and linen underwear, according to
Howard Carter's experiment.
The story then briefly discusses about the history and ancestry of Tut.
Amenhotep III, who was either Tut's father or grandfather, was a very
strong Pharaoh who ruled for 40 years. Amenhotep IV, his descendant,
adopted the name Akhenaten, which means "the servant of Aten, the sun
deity." He encouraged the worship of the Sun God. He relocated the
religious centre from Thebes to the Akhetaten, also known as Amarna. He
attacked Amun (an Egyptian god) and destroyed his temples and statues.
The inhabitants of the kingdom were going through a difficult time during
his reign.
He was then descended by Smenkhkare, not much is known about this
ruler and his ancestry. Following a brief period of administration by the
enigmatic Smenkhkare, the young king Tutankhamen ascended to the
throne.
When Tut’s mummified body was found, he had lots of gold and wealth.
Carter got him after so many years. After conducting the research on the
treasures, he planned to examine his 3 nested boxes. Many parts of the
treasure in the tomb were already misplaced.
His tomb was found rock-cut, 26 feet under the ground, which also had
some wall paintings. It reveals that he was suppressed in the months of
March or April. One of the coffin put Carter into trouble. The gums used to
paste Tut to the lowest of the solid gold Coffin was toughening enough
that made it impossible to displace. He put the box in the sun for
numerous hours so that the resins lose up but that didn’t work.
At last, he removed the adhesive with the chisel and hammer. Carter
sensed he didn’t have any other choice than cutting the mummy from
limb to limb, thieves would have robbed the gold and the treasures. His
men first removed the head of the mummy, then they cut off each and
every joint. After the process of removing all the body parts, they placed it
on the layer of sand. They kept the parts in a wooden box and placed it at
the original place.
Later, in January 2009, the body was taken for a CT scan which takes
hundreds of X-Rays and generates a 3D image. That night after the scan,
the workmen passed his body from the tomb into a box. They went
through the ramp and stairs and lifted the body on a hydraulic trailer that
was holding the scanner. The scanner suddenly stopped working and the
process of the CT scan stopped. After the use of a pair of spare fans, the
scan was finally completed. After 3 hours, they transferred his body back
to his tomb where his body is now resting in peace.
To conclude, Discovering tut: the saga continues summary tells you that
Tutankhamun, also known as tut was a brave ruler who of the great
Pharaoh Dynasty. He died a mysterious death and is resting in peace in
his tomb now.
