Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule at the end of the 19th Dynasty during the New Kingdom. Known as “the boy king,” he inherited the throne at just nine years old and mysteriously died less than a decade later, with his burial rushed and his legacy seemingly wiped, leading many to claim he was murdered. In 1922, Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings, but archaeologists would have to wait almost a century to learn more about his rushed burial.
Famed historian Dan Snow touched on the account during his new Channel 5 series “Tutankhamun with Dan Snow”.
He said: “There are hints of individuality here, he [Tutankhamun] seems to have slightly buck teeth, but perhaps I’m just fooling myself, but there’s a sense of what he might have looked like.
“He is still, after all these millennia, quite recognisable as a real person.
“That’s thanks to the process of mummification, a complex procedure devised by the ancient Egyptians to keep bodies looking lifelike.
A Tutankhamun discovery was made in the Valley of the Kings (Image: GETTY)
Howard Carter found KV64 in 1922 (Image: GETTY)
Raksha has been given special access to have a look at this astonishing discovery
“The materials used in the mummification process for Tutankhamun have actually been found in this valley.
“Raksha has been given special access to have a look at this astonishing discovery.”
Presenter Raksha Dave then visited KV63, a tomb recently opened after it was found more than a decade ago by US archaeologist Dr Otto Schaden.
Ms Dave said: “In 2005, just a few metres from Tut’s tomb, archaeologists found a chamber, it was the first new discovery in the Valley of the Kings since 1922.
“No one has been into it for 10 years, but Professor Salima Ikram is allowing me inside.
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Dan Snow’s new series came out last week (Image: GETTY)
“The chamber is at the bottom of a five-metre vertical shaft.”
Dr Ikram explained what was found in the chamber when Mr Schaden first scaled-down the shaft.
She said: “This shaft was absolutely full of debris and then all this chamber was filled with objects.
“So it was a bit like what Howard Carter found when he went into Tutankhamun’s tomb, except no bling.
“There was nobody, although I’m calling it a tomb, it’s not – this chamber is really an embalming cache.
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Some jars were found inside KV63 (Image: CHANNEL 5)
All the materials needed for a burial were discoevred (Image: CHANNEL 5)
“It was filled with coffins and jars, but none of them contained a body.”
Ms Dave then went into more detail for viewers.
She added: “But they did contain materials used in mummification, dating to the time of Tut.
“These items were so sacred, they were buried here in the Valley.
“Amazingly, I’m getting to see the artefacts, it’s the first time they’ve ever been filmed.”
Dr Ikram then took viewers through the mummification process, explaining how all the organs were removed from the pharaohs and treated in a naturally occurring salt material.
This process dried out the body before it was wrapped in a cloth and placed in a coffin.
The organs would then be stored in a jar in the same room, in case the pharaoh needed them in the afterlife.
Mr Snow’s new documentary comes following the opening of the new exhibition in London: “Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh.”
Sites of Ancient Egypt mapped (Image: GETTY)
More than 150 artefacts have travelled from Egypt to the Saatchi Gallery and will be on display now until May 3, 2020.
For the first time ever, 60 items have left the country, before they return to their permanent home in the new Grand Egyptian Museum next year.
Recently closed in Paris, the exhibition became France’s most visited of all time with an attendance of over 1.4 million.