Tutankhamun's Tomb

Class 3V continued their studies of Ancient Egypt with an afternoon stepping into the shoes of the famous archaeologist, Howard Carter.

The scene was set: it was autumn 1922, in the Valley of the Kings.  Lord Carnarvon, a British aristocrat, had spent eight years financing the search for the lost tomb of the boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, but to no avail.  His patience (as well as his money!) was running out.  Howard Carter knew this was his last chance.  He was almost giving up hope...

Quite unexpectedly, a young boy, who was employed by Carter as a water carrier, stumbled across some old stone steps buried in the sand.  Could this be the entrance to the lost tomb?

Filled with trepidation, 3V took it in turns to investigate the mysterious tomb that had appeared in the literacy area.  Since the the tomb was sealed, awaiting the arrival of the Egyptian authorities, the class had time only for a very quick peek into the gloom.  They knew they had to remember what they had seen in order to make field sketches of their finds...

Armed only with a torch, each pupil took a turn investigating the contents of the tomb.  They could only look for a few seconds, in case the stale air inside the ancient tomb overcame them.  They had to use all their powers of observation to remember what they had seen, in order to create a field sketch of an artefact.

We then looked in detail at the different artefacts, piecing together the pictures of the different grave goods that we had found.  There were so many different things, each made of lavish materials such as gold and jewels.  We decided that the tomb must belong to someone very important.  But where was Tutankhamun himself?

We looked closely at original photographs of the tomb again.  There was a patch of plaster that didn't seem to match.  A guardian statue stood on each side... What could be hiding behind the wall?

The anticipation in the room was palpable as we peeled back the plaster... to reveal an enormous wooden door emblazoned with hieroglyphs!  Surely this must be the tomb?  Inside, there was a stone coffin, and another, and another, until finally the glorious golden sarcophagus was revealed!  We were able to confirm that we had indeed found the tomb of the boy king, Tutankhamun.

A volunteer examined the tomb, on which the famous curse was inscribed: "Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the King."  In spite of the risk, the final box was opened, to reveal the beautiful, ornate mask of Tutankhamun himself!