1903 Carter went to Egypt. 1906, he started the excavation work himself. At first, they chose a small area in the Valley of the Kings for excavation, and this place was chosen correctly, which should be said to be lucky.
Carnarvon and Carter stood on the top of the mountain, overlooking the Valley of the Kings. Dozens of people have dug there before, but unfortunately none of these pioneers left a detailed map or even a paper sketch for the reference of later developers. The valley is full of piles of excavated rubble, and the whole valley bottom looks a bit like the surface of the moon. Between the stones is the entrance to the tomb, which has been developed. The only way now is to dig down systematically and comprehensively.
Prior to this, in 100, Belzoni excavated the graves of Ramesses I, Sissos I, Al and Mentuhaikepesh. Later, he wrote: "From the historical sites I recently discovered, I can fully confirm that there are no other ancient tombs in the Biban Ermuruk Valley except those that have been proved.
Egyptian cultural relics management director Maspiro, when signing the document approving Lord carnarvon's development of the Valley of the Kings, frankly stated that he believed that the mausoleum had been excavated and it was a waste of time to investigate and study it now. He can be sure that nothing can be dug in the Valley of the Kings.
After hearing many negative statements, Carter still thought it was possible to find the ancient tomb. He knew whose tomb it was. What is the basis?
He personally observed the antiquities discovered by American amateur archaeologist Diodor Davies, including a glazed pottery cup with the words Tutankhamun cast on it. Davis found this cup under a rock. Davis found a small stone tomb in the same place. In the grave, he found a broken wooden box with a piece of gold foil and Tutankhamun's name on it. Davis immediately decided that this small stone tomb was Tutankhamun, which was actually wrong. Carter thought differently: another cultural relic of Davis was correctly identified, which confirmed Carter's opinion. What looks worthless are pottery fragments and several rolls of linen. They are packed in several large tile bottles, the bottle mouth is sealed, and hieroglyphs are cast on the shoulders of the bottles. Later, it was studied by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and it was considered that these pottery bottles and their contents were probably martyrs in Tutankhamun's tomb. In addition, Davis later found several clay seals of Tutankhamun in the tomb of the "pagan king" Ikene.
All these can prove that there is indeed a tomb of Tutankhamun. Carter argued that the mausoleum was located in the center of the Valley of the Kings, and it was near the place where Davis found the above-mentioned cultural relics. It seems that this is justified.
Carnaveen and Carter started digging. After a winter's work, they basically cleared the gravel pile on the selected triangular surface and dug it into the tomb of Ramses VI. "We found that many houses of workers who built graves at that time were built on huge rocks, and graves can often be found near these rocks in the Valley of the Kings."
What happened next was the most extraordinary part of the whole development process of Tutankhamun's tomb. Digging for a period of time, if we continue to expand in the original direction, it will block the entrance of Ramses mausoleum. Because this is a tourist attraction, it is necessary to stop digging and wait for a while to proceed smoothly. 19 19 winter, a number of cultural relics were excavated at the entrance of ramses VI's tomb. Although the number is limited, they are of archaeological value. Carter said: "This is the first step for us to really get close to our goal."
In the words of British archaeologist Vitri, Canavan and Carter have already "struggled" over this triangle area, leaving only the housing position left by Jianling workers. In order not to interfere with tourists, they left here and moved to other places to dig. In a small valley where tomis III's tomb is located, the excavation work lasted for two winters, but "there was no real harvest".
They summed up why they had worked hard for several years but had little effect, and began to consider simply opening up a new area and starting from scratch. Only the ancient workshops and big stones have not been dug, and as mentioned earlier, this place is located in the cemetery of Ramses VI. The archaeological team hesitated. After overturning the established plan several times, it finally decided to dig the last winter in the Valley of the Kings.
The place that Carter dug this time is actually the goal that he should concentrate on digging six years ago. They tore down the workshop and cleaned up the soil, and immediately saw the entrance of Tutankhamun, the most luxurious tomb in Egypt. Carter wrote: "This sudden discovery really stunned me, and then months of continuous harvest followed, so busy that I didn't even think about it."
Carter began to demolish the ancient workshop on June 3rd, 1922, 165438, when Lord carnarvon was in England. The next morning, after the first workshop was demolished, a layer of stone steps was chiseled out of the rock below. By the afternoon of165438+10.5, the complex soil had been cleaned up, and it is certain that an entrance to the mausoleum was found.
The excavation work is stepping up. As time went on, Carter became more and more excited. When night suddenly fell in Egypt, the stone steps of 12 had been dug up, and then the upper part of a door was exposed. The door was blocked by stones and sealed. Found a closed tomb door-that is to say, really found it!
Carter carefully observed the seal and determined that it was a tomb dedicated to the king. Since there is a royal seal, there must be very important people buried in the tomb. Above the entrance is the house of the mausoleum builder, which proves that the mausoleum has not been looted since at least the 20th dynasty. Carter's hands trembled with excitement, and at the same time he drilled a hole in the door of the tomb, which was "just big enough to fit a flashlight." He saw that the passage in the door was blocked by large and small stones, which further proved that all kinds of careful protective measures were taken after the mausoleum was built.
165438+1On October 24th, workers cleared the last stone step. Carter walked down the 16 stone steps and faced the closed tomb door. At this time, he clearly saw Tutankhamun's seal, but at the same time, he also saw what Egyptian scientists often encountered-the tomb had been dug up, and what grave robbers did here.
"After all the tomb doors were cleared," Carter said, "obviously, part of this door was opened twice and then closed. In addition, the seals of the original jackal and nine captive figures were printed on the re-closed part, while Tutkamon's seal was printed on the original part of the door, which is the original seal. This shows that this mausoleum is not as complete as originally thought. Grave robbers have been here, and more than once; The study of the tomb shows that the tomb robbery was not later than the reign of Ramesses IV. However, the trace of reopening can prove that the tomb thief did not rob the tomb. "
With the clearance of the second tomb door, the atmosphere became tense. Carter later recalled: "The moment of decision has arrived. I drilled a small hole in the upper left corner of the door with trembling hands. "
Carter put an iron bar in the hole, thinking that the door was empty. He lit a few candles to test and made sure there was no toxic gas, so he asked someone to enlarge the hole in the door.
Carter turned around slowly and said excitedly, "I saw a lot of great things."
Afterwards, Carter recalled that everyone took turns observing from the hole. He wrote: "What we saw by candlelight was unprecedented in the history of archaeological excavations. After the tomb door was officially opened on June 17, it proved that this statement was not exaggerated at all. Under the bright mobile lights, people can see several golden reclining chairs, a throne covered with gold, two huge black statues, several alabaster bottles and several grotesque shrines. The shadow of a strange animal head appeared on the wall, the door of a shrine was open, and a golden snake poked out from it. The two statues stood face to face like guards, wearing gold skirts, gold shoes, holding a scepter and a protective cobra on their foreheads. "
All this is really magnificent and beautiful; However, traces of invasion were also found here. There is a container with half a bottle of mortar by the door, and there is a black oil lamp next to it. There are several finger prints in one place, which can be seen from the freshly painted paint, and a wreath was left on the threshold when leaving.
Carter and carnarvon were dumbfounded. After a pause, they found another miracle: there were no sarcophagi and mummies in such a luxurious underground hall! Is this a mausoleum or a cellar? The question reappeared in their minds.
After examining the wall carefully, they found a third closed door on the wall between the two statues. "At this moment, a picture came to our mind: one basement after another, each filled with what we saw, and we were breathless with excitement," Carter wrote later. On the 27th of that month, they inspected the sealed door under the strong electric light temporarily installed by Karen. They found that a hole was drilled near the bottom and then sealed. Obviously, the grave robbers have passed through the front hall (they called the first tomb the front hall) and moved on. What's in the front room or two doors? If there is a mummy in the door, is it still intact? This situation is hard to understand. This place is not only different from all the ancient tombs unearthed in the past in specific circumstances, but also has a question: "Why do grave robbers spend so much effort to go through the third door instead of carrying the treasure at hand?" Now that they have passed the front hall and are unmoved by a large number of treasures, what will they get? "
Carter and carnarvon decided to fill up the excavated tomb. Carter clearly realized that he could never immediately start transporting all the cultural relics in the anteroom and the side room. Regardless of the need to accurately record the original location of all items-this is a reference for dating and other identification. Carter saw that many cultural relics are easily damaged and must be protected before moving out, at least immediately after moving out. Therefore, a large number of protection and packaging materials must be prepared.
Since the discovery of the mausoleum, many people all over the world have expressed their willingness to provide generous help. Many foreign experts participated in this work, and made contributions to making this unprecedented Egyptian archaeology more thorough and accurate.
These people are first-class experts, and some of them have nothing to do with archaeology. Thanks to their joint efforts, the cultural relics in this mausoleum have made unprecedented contributions to science. In this way, on February 6 16, the mausoleum was reopened, and on February 8/kloc-0, photographer Berton took the first photos in the front hall. On February 27th, 65438, the first cultural relic was unearthed.
The front hall was cleaned in mid-February, when the room was empty, and the next process that everyone expected was to open the closed door between the two statues. The mystery of whether there is a mummy in the next room will soon be solved On Friday, February 17, about 20 people authorized to attend the opening ceremony gathered in the front hall. Everyone is in high spirits, but no one knows what they will see in two hours. The treasures found so far are staggering, and it is hard to imagine that there will be anything more important and precious.
Some guests are archaeologists and some are Egyptian government officials. They are sitting in chairs, which are close to them and specially prepared for them. Carter stepped onto a platform specially built for unsealing, and then the room was silent.
Carter carefully removed the upper sealing gravel.
He can't see anything except a shiny wall. He turned the flashlight and shone everywhere, but he still couldn't see his head. Obviously, this wall blocks the access to the room inside the door. This is a wall made of gold.
Carter moved the stone carefully and quickly, and soon the people next to him saw a golden light.
At this time, it is obvious that the floor of the tomb is 3.2 feet lower than that of the front hall. Carter looked down from the hole with the electric light. Yes, he is standing next to a big shrine. This shrine is so big that it almost fills the whole room.
First, following Carter into the tomb were Lord carnarvon and Cairo's Minister of Antiquities and Services, Bur Lacan. The resplendent tomb stunned them. After many measurements, it is determined that the size of the shrine is 17 feet, 1 1 foot, and the height is 9 feet. All the niches are covered with gold and surrounded by bright blue glaze patches with various religious symbols to protect the dead.
At this time, everyone is worried about whether grave robbers have had time to enter the shrine. Did they destroy the mummy? Carter found that the east gate of the niche was bolted, but not sealed. He unlocked the latch with trembling hands. There is a folding door inside, which is also bolted and well sealed. Entering from this door is a small niche in the big niche.
All three people breathed a sigh of relief. Anyone who opened the room before could see that someone had entered, but the key part of the whole mausoleum must have been the first one to enter. They will see the mummy that was put here 3000 years ago, intact.
Remove the brick wall between the front hall and the tomb first, and then remove the first layer of gold niche. When the first floor was opened, it was found that there were gold niches on the second and third floors.
Carter thought there was good reason to determine that the sarcophagus was in the third golden niche. When he recalled the opening of the third golden shrine, he wrote: "It was an unforgettable moment in our hard work. At that time, I restrained my excitement, carefully cut the rope, took off the precious seal, opened the latch and opened the door. At this time, I saw there was a fourth layer of gold niche in it, which was similar to the third layer, but more exquisite than the third layer ... It was an indescribable moment for archaeologists! What happened again? What's in the golden niche on the fourth floor? I was so excited that I opened the latch of the last gold niche, took off the lid and slowly opened the door. It's full ... it's a huge yellow quartzite coffin. It's intact, just like when pious people buried it. What an unforgettable sight it is against the backdrop of several glittering niches! There is a goddess at the bottom of the coffin. She held the coffin foot with open arms and wings, as if to stop someone from invading. "
Taking out the golden shrine from the tomb is a heavy physical labor, which takes 84 days. The four-story golden niche consists of more than 80 parts, each of which is very heavy, difficult to hold and easy to be damaged.
On February 3rd, the excavators finally saw the whole picture of the sarcophagus. This is a masterpiece: the whole coffin is carved from a fine yellow quartzite, 8.8 feet long, 4.8 feet wide and 4.8 feet high. The coffin lid is made of rose granite.
The winch creaked and the sarcophagus lid weighing 1200 kilograms slowly rose. At this time, the special guests began to look around again. "When the huge stone cover rose, there was no sound around." People looked into the coffin a little disappointed because they only saw a thick package wrapped in cloth. However, when the dressing was removed to reveal the coffin inside, the scene was very different.
Is it the king's body? That's not true. The first thing people see is the lid of a "human coffin" with a golden statue of the young king lying on his back. The gold sparkled as if it had just come out of the furnace. The elephant's head and hands are cast into a solid body. Its body is bas-relief, and its whole body is extremely gorgeous. Hands crossed, holding two symbols of kingship, hook and whip, inlaid with blue glaze. The face is pure gold, the eyes are aragonite and obsidian, and the eyebrows and eyelids are made of large bluestone glass. The expression on her face was grim and cold, but lifelike.
The coffin is a three-layer coffin, and the second layer is covered with a golden statue of the young Pharaoh. He was dressed in a formal suit and covered with Osiris-style decorations. Nothing new was found when the third coffin was opened, but during the whole operation, the workers felt that these coffins were surprisingly heavy and difficult to understand. Strange phenomena appeared in this tomb one after another, and later people found another.
Photographer Berton took photos, and Carter took off the garlands and cloth strips to understand why the coffin was heavy. The third coffin is 6 feet 1.75 inches long and 0. 15 to 0.2 1 inch thick, all made of pure gold.
People put down a few golden Buddha heads, then took the gold handle to remove the lid of the last coffin, revealing the mummy and finally revealing Tutankhamun's body.
Judging from many pictures, reliefs and articles for daily use in the tomb, Tutankhamun gives the impression that he has a lovely personality, but he knows nothing about his political achievements or his political achievements as an Egyptian ruler. A king who has only lived for 18 years probably won't achieve much. Carter said that as far as we know, Tutankhamun's only outstanding achievement in his life is that he died and was buried, which makes sense.
The Pharaoh's mummy is both luxurious and terrible. A large amount of ointment was poured on the body, which was dry and black, and the shroud was tightly attached to the body.
The whole mummy has turned black and deformed, but a golden mask covering the head and shoulders is glittering, showing the majesty of the emperor. There is no black oil on the gold mask and mummy's feet.
The second coffin is a wooden coffin, and the third is a gold coffin, which is set in a wooden coffin. People tried to separate them several times, but all failed. Finally, the whole coffin was heated to 932 degrees Fahrenheit, and it took a lot of effort to succeed. After the mummy was removed, the golden coffin was covered with tin foil to protect it.
165438+1October 1 1 At about 9: 45 am, the anatomist Dr. Deli cut open the mummy and the wrapping cloth. Except that there is no grease on the face and feet, the whole mummy has been seriously damaged. The rosin contained in the oil will burn after oxidation, which will not only destroy the wrapping cloth, but also burn the muscles and bones into coke. Some places, such as the black shells under the legs and arms, are so hard that they can only be cut off with an iron chisel.
An important discovery is that there is a protective pillow under the head of the body. The pillow was placed under a cushion similar to a crown, which was tied to the body by surgical techniques. There is nothing strange about the protective pillow itself. In addition, there are many "protective armor" wrapped tightly, such as amulets, various symbols and spells. The important thing is that this pillow is not made of hematite like other similar pillows, but actually a piece of pure iron! At the same time, some gadgets similar to molds were found. This is the earliest pure iron product discovered by Egyptology.
People carefully peeled off the last layer of wrapping cloth from the charred body of the young Pharaoh, and the skin was so rotten that it would fall off with a brush. Finally, the young king's face appeared. In Carter's words, it was "... a quiet and serene face, a young man's face" He said: "From my face, I can see that he is a well-educated man with good features, especially his pointed lips."
A * * * found 143 pieces of various gems in the mummy's cloth. This Pharaoh, who is only 18 years old, is wrapped in layers of gold and jewels.