Mystery of King Tutankhamun(Tut)

                                                                                    Written by Soo Y. Kim

   King Tutankhamun reigned over Egypt for 10 years until his death at age of 19, about 1324 B.C. He was completely unknown to the modern world until British archeologist Howard Carter excavated King Tut’s tomb through a doorway in 1922. The tomb had remained sealed for more than 3,200 years. King Tut is mainly known for his intact tomb with his mummy discovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in 1922. Since then, his remains have kept more than 8 million in awe and amaze over the mystery of his life and death.  

   I am going to trace his life and death to find out hidden secrets according to Egypt’s history, modern technology and investigation by archeologists and scientists.

   King Akhenaten, one of the Pharaohs of Egypt dies unexpectedly. The royal family and the ministers of the Government have meetings about who will be the next King. Even though His son,Tut is only 9 years old, he is chosen to be a king of Egypt. The Coronation ceremony is held in the stadium of the Pharaohs in Memphis. New King Tut rides a chariot with 8 horses and his mother, Queen Kiya rides a chariot with 8 horses as well to go to the stadium. All the people in the street and wave their hands to King Tut and shout cheers to the boy king. After the ceremony, a luxurious feast and entertainment are presented to celebrate the coronation.

   King Tut is too young to rule his country and people. Ay who was a chief advisor to his father teaches him how to behave and to use a sword to fight the enemy. He gives him lessons to be strong enough to be a great king. However, King Tut is only concerned about playing games such as board games and so forth. Ay was assisted by Horemheb, Egypt’s top military commander at the time.

   Ay’s granddaughter, Ankhesenamun is so beautiful that King Tut is attracted to her. She visits the palace frequently and they meet together. Eventually they fall in love with each other. The stable boy of the palace, Rami is jealous of King Tut and he wants to be a king and to marry Ankhesenamun.

   Horemheb is still in control behind the scenes. During King Tut’s reigns, a battle took place between Egypt and the Nubians. General Horemheb defeats the enemy. He is proud of himself and in high spirits. King Tut is trained in the army and he is good at archery. There are horse race competitions and archery competition. King Tut is happy to present medals to winners.

   The wedding ceremony of King Tut and Ankhesenamun is prepared. King Tut wants to give his bride some gifts. He goes hunting to catch an ostrich. He kills an ostrich and takes the feathers from ostrich. He ordered artisans to make a beautiful fan with feathers. He gives his bride an amulet and the fan as wedding presents.

They took their honeymoon in a boat along the Nile River. They saw a lot of people standing on the bank to wave hands. In the middle of their voyage, King Tut, gets out of the boat with his bride and visits his tomb nearby.

   To her surprise, the tomb is underground, not above the ground like a pyramid. It is not done yet. It is still under construction. He shows her several chambers including her chamber. She does not want to think about death while on her honeymoon.

   One day, Horemheb tries to fight King Tut with the sword and King Tut hits him on his back. Heremheb is angry with him and throws him roughly. He hits his head on the wall. He has head injury and a concussion. He passes out and stays in bed. His wife, Ankhesenamun is very sad taking care of him.

   Horemheb is a very ambitious man and he wants to be a king. King Tut become very frail after this incident. Horemheb wants to kill King Tut. His conspiracy begins. He talks  Rami, the stable boy in killing King Tut. He promises him a lot of money as a reward. At first he hesitates to assassinate King Tut, but finally he accepts his offer. He pulled a peg out of wheel of King’s chariot.

   King Tut recovers from this injury and comes back to a normal life, but he still looks very weak. One day his wife riding King’s chariot is going fast. King Tut finds out that she is gone and King Tut chases after her chariot. When King Tut approaches her, he jumps over her horse and her chariot turns over upside down. King Tut’s leg is under the horse. Unfortunately, he was killed.

   Horemheb’s plot is successful and he is very pleased. The funeral ceremony of King Tut is held. His tomb is not ready yet to bury his body. The royal family worries where his body will be buried. Horemheb suggests his tomb is ready to bury the body and asks Queen Kiya to bury her son, King Tut in his tomb. Contrary to her expectation, she is forced to bury her son in his tomb which is very small and does not look like King’s tomb. Queen Kiya is heartbroken and can’t help but bury her son in Horemheb’s tomb.

His treacherous scheme is achieved, because he is a second-hand murderer and he wants to conceal his secret which is King Tut must disappear from Egypt’s history completely. As long as Rami, the perpetrator is alive, his secret can be revealed. He makes up his mind to get rid of him. He dispatches Rami to the most dangerous battle field. He is killed in action. Nobody knows his secret. He thinks that he is safe and secure. He proposes to Ankensenamun to marry him. Queen Kiya and Ay, her advisor persuade her to marry Horemheb. She marries him reluctantly.

   For more than 3,200 years, hidden secrets of King Tut had been concealed until British archeologist Howard Carter excavated his tomb in 1922. When Carter found various items in the tomb, he was astonished at the priceless treasures and especially at the stone sarcophagus containing three coffins. These are an incredible collection of thousands of precious objects.

   The worldwide 1972-79 “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibitions in famous museums were viewed by eight million visitors from America.

   Vicious Horemheb sealed King’s tomb and covered the doorway with rocks and debris. He tried to erase King Tut’s name from the history. Nobody knew about hidden secrets and the mystery of King Tut’s life and death for more than 3,200 years, until the tomb was found in 1922.

     I was so excited and thrilled with viewing of King Tut’s treasures which were exhibited at California Science Center in Los Angeles on March 24, 2018. It lasted until January 6, 2019. I visited exhibition with my daughter and two granddaughters together.

   Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh, a new exhibition celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of his tomb opened its doors to the public for the first time anywhere at the California Science Center.

   I marveled at ancient artifacts made of fine gold and artisan’s handicrafts. More than 3,200 years ago, they were made. Before modern technological advances, I wondered how they could make such awesome, incredible and elaborate works by hands or some tools.

   It was unbelievable for me to be able to see such beauty of ancient culture and history. I was very happy to see ancient priceless treasures from Egypt. I will cherish what I saw at exhibition in my memory.

   History always proves the truth and in the end the truth comes to light.