Chapter 11 11

Carter and Carnarvon decided to fill in the excavated mausoleum.Carter was well aware that the removal of all the artifacts in the vestibule and side chambers must not be proceeded at once.Leaving aside the need to accurately record the original location of all items - this is for dating and other references.Carter saw that many cultural relics are easily damaged, and must be protected before moving out, at least immediately after moving out, for which a large amount of protection and packaging materials must be prepared. Experts will be invited to propose the best solution for the work, and a laboratory will be established to conduct on-site research and analysis.The cataloging of a large number of cultural relics alone requires organizational preparations.In short, all the measures that had to be taken were beyond the reach of the time.Carnarvon had to go to England, and Carter had to go to Cairo at least once. On December 3, Carter asked someone to fill the cave entrance to death, which shows that he believes that grave robbery is still a factor that must be considered.Carter was not relieved until the entrance of the tomb was sealed and Callender was stationed beside him.Immediately after arriving in Cairo he ordered a solid iron gate to cover the entrance to the vestibule.

Since the discovery of the tomb, many people around the world have expressed their willingness to contribute generously.Many foreign experts participated in the work and contributed to making this unprecedented Egyptian archeology more thorough and accurate.Carter later took the trouble to thank all those who helped with this huge work, and it is fully due.In Carter's book on the tomb of Tutankhamun there is a letter from Rais Ahmed Gurga, the superintendent of Egyptian laborers, which Carter received after his trip to Cairo.Here is the letter transcribed, which shows the spirit of close cooperation with which even this non-intellectual figure was concerned: To Mr. Howard Carter Dear Sir: I write today to wish you good health and the blessings of Allah You returned safely.

Report to you: Storage No. 15 is fine, Treasure is fine, North Storage is fine, Wattay Garden and Housing are fine, and all work is carried out in full compliance with your instructions. Rais Ahmed Gurga in Karnak, Luxor, August 5, 1922 A?M Lithgol, then director of the Egyptian department of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, was also given permission to develop monuments in Thebes , the location is not far from the development zone of Carnarvon.When Carter "tentatively" made a request to him, Lithgol immediately sent American photographer Harry Bourdain to be at Carter's disposal.Lithgow telegraphed Carter saying: "Very glad to do my best to assist. Please contact Bourdain or any other person here." A. E. Mays, who was in charge of the work of Pyramid Scholars, went to join the work of Carter and Carnarvon.

In Cairo, A? Lucas, director of the Egyptian government's Chemical Bureau, canceled the three-month vacation before retirement and expressed his willingness to serve Carter.Dr. Alan Gardiner was in charge of deciphering the inscription, and Professor James H. Brest of the University of Chicago rushed to the scene to help determine the meaning of the seals on several tomb doors. Later, on November 11, 1925, Dr. Sale Bey Hamdi and Douglas E. Deli, professor of anatomy at the University of Egypt, began working on the mummy. A? Lucas wrote an exhaustive article titled "Tutankhamun's chemical situation, especially the changes in metals, minerals, oils, pigments, textiles, etc. in the tomb". PöE Newberry analyzed the wreaths from Tutankhamun's coffin to identify the species of flowers that grew nearly 3,300 years ago.He concluded that Tutankhamun was buried from the end of April to the middle of May, because he knew when the little bitter flowers and cornflowers bloomed, when the fruits of the sour and sweet nightshade or woody nightshade ripened, and the "Genesis" and When are the tomatoes ripe in Song of Solomon.Other items unearthed in the tomb were studied by Alexander Scott and H?J Prandelles.

These people are first-class experts, some of whom have nothing to do with archaeology.However, thanks to their joint efforts, they were able to make unprecedented contributions to science after the cultural relics in this tomb were moved out.In this way, the mausoleum opened again on December 16, and on the 18th photographer Bourdain took the first batch of photos in the front hall. On December 27, the first cultural relic was unearthed from the tomb. ■ Unspeakable treasures The meticulous work was time-consuming, and the cleaning of Tutankhamun's tomb lasted several quarters.Here are just a few highlights from Howard-Carter's colorful report.The report describes many cultural relics of great beauty, to name but a few.One was a casket in the vestibule, a rarity of Egyptian art.The whole body of the box is covered with plaster coating, and beautiful patterns are painted on all sides, with bright colors and superb artistry.The picture is a scene of hunting and fighting, which is extremely detailed and vivid.Carter believes that these motifs "far surpass any Egyptian art of its kind".The wooden box was full of various items, and Carter took them out one by one with great patience. This work alone took three weeks, which fully reflected Carter's work style.

Equally remarkable are the 3 large beds decorated with animals.There are such beds in the murals in the ancient tombs unearthed before, but none of them have been found.Here are 3 eccentric pieces of furniture: the bed has panels at the foot, but not the head.The first bed is the head of a lion, the second is the head of a bull, and the third is the head of a half hippopotamus, half carp. Over and around the 3 beds are piled with bags of treasure, with various weapons, luxury crystals and clothes.Beneath one of the beds was a throne with an ornate back, which Carter considered "with a certain degree of confidence" to be "the most beautiful thing ever unearthed in Egypt."

The last thing that should be mentioned is the four carriages. Because the carriages are too large, the axles have been sawed into two sections in order to be transported into the tomb.Later, the tomb robbers threw various parts of the car all over the place. The four horses are all wrapped in gold, and the body is covered with various patterns; some are raised patterns; some are hammered into the gold skin; some are inlaid with stained glass and gemstones. On May 13, 34 heavy packing boxes were loaded onto small flatbed trucks and transported to barges on the Nile River through a 5.5-mile light railway.In this way, these treasures were transported along the original route accompanied by the ceremonial staff 2,000 years ago. Arrived in Cairo 7 days later.

The antechamber was cleared in mid-February, and now there was room for the next step everyone had been looking forward to, namely, the opening of the closed door between the two statues.The mystery of whether there were mummies in the next room was quickly solved. On Friday, January 17, about 20 people who had been granted permission to visit Kaifeng gathered in the lobby. Everyone was in high spirits, but no one knew what they would see in two hours.The treasures so far discovered have been astounding, and one finds it hard to imagine anything more important and more precious. Some of the guests were archaeologists; some were Egyptian government officials.They sat in chairs, which were placed close together and which had been specially prepared for them.The room was silent as Carter stepped onto a platform built for unsealing.

Carter carefully removed the upper layer of sealing rubble.The work took a long time because at any moment gravel could fall through the door and cause damage to what was inside.At the same time, he must try his best to preserve the seal, because the seal has high scientific value.Later, Carter told people that after he penetrated a little, "I really couldn't help but want to stop the operation, just peep inside." At this moment, Mace and Callender stepped forward to help Carter open the seal. Ten minutes later, Carter picked up a flashlight and stuck it into the hole, and there was a murmur of discussion from the surrounding people.

He could see nothing but a gleaming wall.He turned the flashlight to shine around, but he still couldn't see the end.Apparently, the wall blocked access to the room inside the door.This is a wall made of gold. Carter carefully and quickly removed the stone, and after a while, the people next to him also saw a piece of golden light.He later wrote: As the sealing stones were removed one by one, "the few of us who operated could almost feel the hearts of the audience behind be beating violently." what.What appeared before their eyes was the entrance of the burial room, and the wall was actually the outer wall of an extremely large and luxurious divine constitution. The three saw many scattered beads on the ground, which fell when the grave robber broke a necklace, so they bent down and picked them up one by one.This made the onlookers anxious, and they moved impatiently from time to time in their chairs.But Carter is a true archaeologist, and some things seem trivial, but he gives due attention.Although he knew that he would soon discover amazing monuments, he still picked up these beads one by one with great patience.

At this time, it was clear that the floor of the burial chamber was 3.2 feet lower than that of the antechamber.Carter went down from the hole with a light bulb and saw that, yes, he was standing next to a big god.This god is so huge that it almost fills the entire room.According to Carter's report, only a 15.35-inch wide passage was left between the shrine and the wall.Funeral objects are everywhere in the corridor, so you must be very careful when walking. The first to follow Carter into the burial chamber were Lord Carnarvon and Cairo's Minister of Antiquities Services, Pierre Rakau.The resplendent burial chamber made them dumbfounded.After many measurements, it was determined that the dimensions of Shenxian were 17 feet long, 11 feet wide, and 9 feet high.The niche is entirely covered in gold and is inlaid with bright blue glazed plaques on all sides. The patterns on it are various religious symbols designed to protect the dead. At this time, everyone was worried about whether the tomb robbers had time to enter the Shenxian?Did they destroy the mummy?Carter found that Xian's east gate was bolted and sealed well.Entering through this door is the small niche inside the big niche. All three breathed a sigh of relief.It can be seen that someone has entered any of the previously opened rooms, but it is certain that they were the first to enter the key part of the entire mausoleum.They will see the untouched mummies that lay here 3,000 years ago. They closed the alcove door "as silently as possible".A drapery drapes over the alcove, brown with age, with shiny metal flecks. "The veil makes us feel that we have come to the presence of the dead ancient kings." For a moment they felt that they were uninvited guests.They went to the other end of the burial chamber and found a low door leading to a small room.In the center of the room facing the door stood a gleaming golden chest in the shape of a niche, around which stood four statues of the patron saints.The natural beauty of these goddesses, with their fervent and beseeching expressions, "feels like a blasphemy to look at them. . . . I can admit it openly," Carter wrote, "when I see these statues Emotion is extremely impulsive." Carter, Carnarvon, and Rako walked softly through the golden alcove, and walked back to the front hall, so that everyone else could take turns to enter once. "It was very interesting when we stood in the front hall and watched them come out of the door one by one. They all had surprised expressions on their faces, and they couldn't help spreading their hands after going out, expressing that they couldn't describe the rare treasures he saw with their own eyes. " At about 5 pm that day, that is, three hours after entering the mausoleum, people returned to the ground.When we saw the sun again, "we felt that the whole canyon seemed to have changed, with a kind of friendly color." ■The Golden Statue of the Young King Further research work on these archaeological treasures continued for several quarters.Regrettably, one winter has passed and the research has not made much progress, because Lord Carnarvon has passed away. With the issue of whether the development agreement can be extended and how to distribute the unearthed cultural relics, this has caused tension between the archaeological team and the Egyptian government. Serious disagreements arose.Later the issue was referred to an international committee to work out a proper solution, which finally allowed the work to proceed. In the winter of 1925 came the next important step: the opening of the golden shrine, the careful separation of several layers of precious coffins, and the careful preliminary work on Tutankhamun's mummy. There are not many sensational plots in this step of work, but it has great scientific significance in Egyptology, and the work itself has its dramatic climax.This climax was the moment researchers saw the king's face for the first time, 3,300 years after his death.Yet this much-anticipated moment turned out to be a disappointing moment in the entire excavation process; which only goes to show that any chain of luck has its weak link. It started with the demolition of the brick wall between the vestibule and the burial chamber, followed by the dismantling of the first golden niche.After the first floor was opened, a second and third floor of golden niches were found inside. Carter thinks there are good reasons to be sure that the sarcophagus is located in the third golden niche.Recalling the opening of the third golden shrine, he wrote: "It was an unforgettable moment in the course of our hard work. Then I followed the excitement, carefully cut the rope, removed the precious seal, and pulled the bolt. Opening the door, I saw a fourth tier of golden shrines inside. Its patterns were similar to those of the third tier, but more elaborate than the third tier... It was an indescribable moment for an archaeologist! What's next?What is contained in the golden niche on the fourth floor?Excitedly, I pulled the latch of the last golden niche, removed the cover from the door, and slowly opened the door. It was full... a huge, yellow Shi Moyan coffin.It is intact, exactly as it was buried by pious people.What an unforgettable sight, set against several tiers of glittering alcoves!There is a goddess at the lower end of the coffin. She spread her arms and wings to support the foot of the coffin, as if to prevent someone from invading. "Carter couldn't help admiring this lifelike statue. Removing the golden niche from the burial chamber was a laborious manual labor that took 84 days in total.The four-story gold alcove is composed of more than 80 parts, each of which is heavy, difficult to hold, and easily damaged. It's often like this: when everyone is happy, one or two bad things happen.Carter is a person who demands perfection in everything.When the workers moved the 3,000-year-old antiquities and then assembled them, Carter often scolded the workers.He admired the craftsmanship of the craftsmen who made these things back then, and admired their way of assembling and marking the components carefully, but he was very dissatisfied with the workers who assembled them back then. Carter writes: "However, it is evident that the burial was done sloppily, and that the final workers were very careless. The golden niches around the sarcophagus were of course placed by these men, but their carelessness turned them upside down. East, west, north, south. They violated the precautions written on each part when they leaned the parts of the golden niche against the walls around the sarcophagus. It should be facing east instead of facing west. The side panel is also installed in the wrong position. This mistake may be forgiven; It may damage the decoration of the niche. So far, the gold surface can be seen the indentation of tools such as gun heads, and the patterns have been knocked off in several places; the waste residues on the construction site, such as wood chips, have not been cleaned up. " On February 3, the unearthed workers finally saw the whole picture of the sarcophagus.This is a masterpiece: the whole coffin is hewn from a whole piece of fine-grained yellow quartzite, 8.8 feet long, 4.8 feet wide and 4.8 feet high.The coffin lid is made of rose-colored granite. As the winch creaked and the 1,200-plus-pound sarcophagus lid slowly rose, the invited guests looked around again. "When the huge stone cover was raised, there was no sound of people around." People looked into the coffin with some disappointment, because they only saw a thick bundle wrapped in cloth.But when the dressing was removed to reveal the inner coffin, the scene was quite different. Is it the remains of the king?no.The first thing people see is the cover of a "human-shaped coffin", on which is the golden statue of the young king lying on his back.The gold shone brightly as if it had just emerged from a furnace.The head and hands of the statue are three-dimensional, the body is carved in bas-relief, and the decoration around it is extremely gorgeous.The hands are crossed, holding the hook and forehead, two symbols of royal power, which are inlaid with blue glaze.The expression on his face is stern and indifferent, but the shed is like life. Another thing on the coffin touched Carter and others more deeply than the golden statue.Carter narrates: "...But the most touching thing is probably the little wreath full of simplicity and human emotion." The wreath is placed around several symbols on the forehead. "It was presented to her late husband by the young queen after the king's death... Although the place is glittering with gold and looks like royal luxury, nothing is as beautiful as these withered flowers. Although the flowers are withered, they can still distinguish their colors .These flowers tell us that 3,300 years are but a brief moment from yesterday to tomorrow. These flowers make us feel nature, and feel that ancient Egyptian culture and our modern culture are one and the same." Carter wrote in his 1925 When he entered the mausoleum and opened the sarcophagus again in the winter of Nian Dong, he expressed the same feelings for these flowers: "At this time, I was familiar with this mausoleum, but this must not eliminate its mysterious atmosphere; I always feel that there is an invisible flower in the tomb. The power of the world is not scattered. When archaeologists are engaged in pioneering, although they are immersed in specific work, they can clearly feel the unity of the past and the present.” This is Carter’s true feeling. Scientists are to be commended for not denying the power of the mind. ■The detailed process of opening the sarcophagus at the decisive moment is beyond description.This is a very troublesome job, and the working space is extremely narrow. Care must be taken at all times in the operation to ensure that no mistakes are made. Failure of the crane and pulleys, or the breakage of the support wood, will cause serious damage to those treasures.The coffin is a three-layer coffin, and the second layer is covered with a golden statue of the young pharaoh. He is wearing a dress and is decorated with Osiris-style gorgeous decorations.When the third layer of coffins was opened, no more new things were found, but during the whole operation, the workers felt that these sets of coffins were surprisingly heavy, which made it difficult for people to understand.There are endless strange phenomena in this tomb, and at this time people discovered another one. Photographer Bourdain took pictures, and Carter removed the garland and wrappings to understand why the coffin was so heavy.The third coffin is 6 feet 1.75 inches long, 0.15 to 0.21 inches thick, and is made of pure gold.This coffin alone cost too much money. This was unexpected again.But when people were happy, there were also worrying problems.A liquid has been found sticking to the decorative pattern of the second coffin, and it has now dried up.A necklace made of gold and enamel was found in the slime, and it was not very difficult to clean it; however, the researchers were concerned at this time about what damage such a large amount of oil would do to the corpse.Workers uncover the last layer of wrappings and remove the beaded shawls.These things look like they are intact, but they are broken into pieces at random.They were thoroughly corroded by the mortal grease. Lucas immediately analyzed the substance.This is a liquid or semi-liquid impregnation used for burial, and its main ingredients are some kind of oil and rosin.It smelled of tar when heated, but the presence of tar could not be immediately determined.Once again people are tense: the final, decisive moment has come. People unscrewed a few golden tenons, and then lifted the gold handle to remove the coffin lid of the last layer of coffins, revealing the mummy. After six years of preparation, Tutankhamun's body was finally revealed. Carter wrote: "At this moment, my emotions are complicated and impulsive, but I can't express it in words." Yet this pharaoh, this Tutankhamun, was not a ruler of any importance.He was only 18 when he died.It has been established that he was the son-in-law, and possibly his half-brother, of the "pagan king" Iknaton.Tutankhamun's boyhood coincided with his father-in-law's practice of sun worship.Tutankhamun himself later re-believed in the Amen religion: his original name was Tutank-Aton, and his later name was changed to Tutank-Amen as proof.His reign is now known to have been politically chaotic.Some images show Tutankhamun kicking prisoners of war and shooting down hordes of enemy soldiers, but it is uncertain whether he ever went to war in his lifetime.The exact year of his reign is also unclear, but it is only known that he ascended the throne around 1350 BC.He got the throne through his wife.His wife's name was Anchesi-si-Amen, and she was married to Tutankhamen when she was very young. From several portraits, it can be seen that she is a charming girl. Judging from the many faces, reliefs and daily necessities in the tomb, Tutankhamun gives the impression that he has a cute personality, but we don’t know anything about his political achievements or achievements as the ruler of Egypt, but he only lived The 18-year king probably won't have any major achievements.It makes sense that Carter said that, as far as we know, the only outstanding achievement in Tutankhamen's life was that he died and was buried. However, if the 18-year-old pharaoh died, his funeral was more luxurious than Westerners imagined, so what about the decorations in the tombs of Ramses the Great and Hisos I?Deli mentioned that the contents of any tomb in some tombs should be equal to the entire tomb of Tutankhamun, and he refers to the above two pharaohs.For thousands of years, how many treasures in the ancient tombs in the Valley of the Kings have fallen into the hands of bandits! The pharaoh's mummy is as luxurious as it is terrifying.A large amount of ointment was poured on the corpse. The ointment had dried and turned black, and stuck the shroud tightly to the corpse. The entire mummy has turned black and deformed, but a golden mask covering the head and shoulders is shining golden, showing the dignity of the emperor.The golden mask and the feet of the mummy were not covered with black oil. The second coffin is a wooden coffin, and the third is a golden coffin, which is set inside the wooden coffin.Several attempts were made to separate them but failed, and it took a lot of effort to heat the entire coffin to 932 degrees Fahrenheit.After removing the corpse, Jin Zhi covered it with a tin sheet to protect it. The next step is to examine the mummy.As far as people know, this is the only mummy left untouched in the Valley of the Kings for 3,300 years.The results of the examination point to a fact, on which Carter has the following to say: "The situation we have encountered represents a mocking reality—a reality that may, of course, remain to be studied—thieves dragging out mummies for plunder, monks for To protect and hide the mummies, they have at least protected the corpses, making them free from the oil soaking the corpses and not being corroded." When mummies are stolen, they are often damaged—if the thief is not a monk, But even the mummified mummies are better than Tutankhamun's remains, which are the only real disappointment in Tutankhamun's tomb. At around 9:45 am on November 11, anatomist Dr. Deli cut open the outer wrapping cloth of the mummy.Except for the face and feet that were not covered with grease, the whole mummy was already badly damaged.Oxidation of the rosin contained in the fat caused a burning phenomenon that not only destroyed the shroud, but also charred the muscles and bones.In some places, such as under the legs and arms, the black shell is so hard that it can only be removed with an iron chisel. A significant discovery was a body pillow under the head.The pillow was placed beneath a crown-like cushion that had been surgically attached to the head.There is nothing unusual about the body pillow itself, and there are also many "body armor" Wrapped close to the body, such as amulets and various symbols and spells, the important thing is that this pillow is not made of hematite like other similar pillows, but a piece of blunt iron!At the same time, some small utensils similar to casting moulds were found.This is the earliest pure iron product discovered in Egyptology. The last layer of wrapping was carefully and slowly stripped from the charred body of the young pharaoh, the skin so rotten that a brush would flake off a piece of it.At last the face of the young king was revealed.In Carter's words, it was "...a sad and serene face, the face of a youth."He said: "From the face, it can be seen that he is a cultured and educated person, with regular facial features, especially the sharp lips." A total of 143 pieces of various gemstones were found in the wrapping cloth of Yu's corpse.Carter spent 33 pages describing the investigation of the mummy, more than half of which was dedicated to the treasures found in the shroud.The 18-year-old pharaoh was wrapped in layers of gold and jewels. Later, Dr. Deli wrote a special article discussing the examination of mummies from the perspective of anatomy.In his view, it is entirely possible that Ikgundun and Tutankhamun were paternal, a phenomenon of particular importance as it illuminates the royal family and domestic politics of the dying Eighteenth Dynasty. Deli went on to write about an important cultural phenomenon he saw, that is, the expressive art of the New Empire period had a clear tendency towards realism.He wrote: "The statue on the golden mask represents Tutankhamun as a refined and cultivated youth. All those who have been lucky enough to see the mummy can attest that those artists of the Eighteenth Dynasty were using immortal metal. In making such a beautiful statue of the young king, their performance is faithful and the technique is deft and precise." Deli also more accurately estimated the age of Tutankhamun, which was not recorded in the history books.He examined the degree of ossification of the pus bone, the connection between the femur and the trochanter, and the shape of the calcaneus end, and concluded that Tutankhamun's age was between 17 and 18, with 18 being the most likely.