layout of tomb_tutankhamun

Layout of tomb _ Tutankhamen

The tomb of Tutankhamun was one of the smaller tombs of the Valley of the Kings as Tutankhamun was a fairly minor king who had a very short reign. The tomb is located in an area not usually associated with royal burials perhaps because it may have originally been intended to be the tomb of his Vizier, Ay. It is suggested that KV 23 or KV 25 (in the West Valley of the Kings) may have originally been intended for his use but as these tombs were unfinished Tutankhamun was buried in KV 62 and Ay later took KV 23 after succeeding Tutankhamun as Pharaoh. Despite its small size, the tomb was crammed with beautiful artefacts, leading many to speculate on the wonders that would have been placed in the tomb of a pharaoh such as Ramesses II or Thuthmosis III. Over three thousand five hundred items were recovered from the burial of Tutankhamun, and many are breathtaking in their beauty and a testament to the skill of Egyptian craftsmen. However, it is now thought that more than half of the jewellery had been stolen from the tomb before it was opened by Howard Carter.

 

                                                   Plan of the tomb of Tutankhamun 

1.Entrance corridor
2.Antechamber
3.Annex
4.Burial Chamber
5.Treasury

The tomb does not follow the design of the other pharaonic burials of the time. However, Howard Carter suggested that the layout, although apparently different from that of other New Kingdom tombs, replicated the lower sections of more traditional royal tombs. Sixteen steps descend to a sealed and plastered doorway (often erroneously alleged to be the location of the Curse of Tutankhamun). Beyond this doorway a single descending corridor led to a second sealed door and a rectangular antechamber with a small chamber leading off from the west wall. The doorway in the north end of the antechamber leads to a small burial chamber, the floor of which is around a metre lower than that of the preceding chamber. Another annex (the treasury) extends from the east wall of the burial chamber back towards the entrance.