Tutankhamun died at the age of 18 and was not one of the most famous pharaohs in the 3,000 year history of ancient Egypt.
However, he became one of the most famous pharaohs since 1922 when his tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings and because it was untouched it contained important archaeological findings.
The most famous find is the impressive gold death mask found in his tomb. Now archaeologists have found evidence that the golden mask was actually made for someone else.
Scientists are concerned since there are several details in the mask and also in objects found in the tomb, which were intended for Tutankhamun’s afterlife.
The design of the tomb indicates that it was intended for a queen and not a pharaoh
Initially the design of the tomb indicates that it was intended for a queen and not a pharaoh. Some of the statues found have breasts. Many objects bear the name of Tutankhamun’s stepmother, Nefertiti.
So researchers at the University of York began to re-examine the evidence of the mask and the sarcophagus. “This mask was not made for an adult male pharaoh. When the gold was compared, the face is made of a completely different gold than the rest (ie gold sarcophagus),” says York University professor and Egyptologist Joan Fletcher.
He continues: “The elements of welding are clearly visible on the mask. It now appears that Tutankhamun’s own face was actually placed on the mask of the previous ruler… It may well have been (s.a. the queen) Nefertiti.”
In fact, he explains that the earring holes are another element that shows that the tomb did not originally belong to Tutankhamun. Ancient Egyptian culture was built around religious symbolism. Thus through symbols he made known the status and social class of a person.
“I was sure that the death mask was not specially designed for King Tutankhamen”
The 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history prove that earrings were reserved for women and children of high birth. Fletcher argues that their presence is unbecoming of a king of mature age.
“I was sure that the death mask was not designed specifically for King Tutankhamun,” said the Egyptologist. It is not the first time that the scientific opinion that Tutankhamun’s tomb was not originally designed for him has arisen. British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves published his analysis of the death mask in 2015.
He said Tutankhamun’s inscription appears to have been placed as a seal on the inside of the mask, overlaying an earlier inscription matching Nefertiti’s name.
Source: www.enikos.gr
