King tuts tomb biography for kids

The air was hot and musty as the explorers made a hole in the plaster-filled doorway of the ancient Egyptian tomb.

He became Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty royal family during the New Kingdom at the age of 9. Tutankhamun is one of the most well-known ancient Egyptian kings in new times. Interestingly, he was not considered to be very significant in ancient times and was not recorded on most ancient king lists. However, the uncovering of his tomb in made him a celebrity.

No one had seen inside this royal resting place for 3, years, and they didn’t know what they would find.

When archaeologist Howard Carter held up a candle to peer inside on November 26, , the light glinted on golden objects.

This tomb, belonging to the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, would soon become the most famous ancient Egyptian discovery of all time.

Meet this ancient ruler

Pharaoh Tutankhamun—Tut for short—ruled over ancient Egypt from about to B.C. He became king when he was just nine years antique during a challenging time in ancient Egyptian history.

Tut’s father, Akhenaten, had tried to change the religious beliefs of the ground.

He wanted Egyptians to worship just one god—the sun, called Aten—instead of the 2, gods that people had believed in for thousands of years. The priests, elites, and common people probably disliked this change, but they had to follow their pharaoh’s orders, or at least appear to: Archaeologists have set up small statues of the vintage gods in people’s houses from around this time.

After Akhenaten died, nine-year-old Tut took the throne. He repaired the old temples and paid for new statues of the gods, changing the religious practices back to the way things used to be.

He even changed his name: His birth name had been Tutankhaten (the last two syllables honored the sun god), but he changed to Tutankhamun after taking the throne.

As king, Tut would contain participated in religious ceremonies and festivals, gone on hunting trips, learned how to ride horses and drive chariots, and trained in military skills.

But Tut didn’t have a lot of period to rule—he died around age Experts aren’t sure if his death was caused by an injury from a chariot slam, a mosquito-borne illness, a bone disease, or some combination of these.

Whatever the reason, Tut didn’t leave behind any children, so the throne went to his advisor Ay.

The forgotten pharaoh

Most pharaohs’ tombs from this day were cut deep into the rock and contained many rooms.

Kids learn about the biography of Tutankhamun of Ancient Egypt. The pharaoh and boy king famous for the treasures of his tomb.

But Tut’s mummified body was placed in an unusually small tomb in the Valley of the Kings, a hilly area where pharaohs were buried for about years.

Some experts think that Tut was in the process of building himself a large tomb fit for a pharaoh, but because he died so young, the workers didn’t have time to end it.

Others believe that Ay might have swapped tombs with Tut, putting the young king in the tomb Ay had started for himself.

Whatever the reason, the Tut’s burial was rushed. Spots of mold on the paint inside the tomb reveal that workers didn’t let the paint fully dry before sealing the tomb.

The pharaohs after the young king wanted people to forget Akhenaten and anyone associated to him—including Tut.

Their names were stricken from the list of kings, and statues in their honor were destroyed. Over time, people forgot all about this short-lived king: Just years later, workers built the tomb of Ramses VI almost right on top of Tut’s, having forgotten his tomb was ever there.

The tomb detective 

Through the years, other archaeologists working in the Valley of the Kings had found small items—a cup, a jar, a piece of linen—with Tut’s name, but his tomb—or his mummy—had never turned up.

Eventually, these experts were certain that they’d found everything in this spot.

Nearly a decade after coming to power, the young leader died at about But historians didn’t know much about Tut until That’s when a British archaeologist named Howard Carter uncovered.

But British archaeologist Howard Carter believed that Tut’s tomb was still out there to be found.

In , Carter and a wealthy British man, Lord Carnarvon, started searching for Tut, carefully digging in the sand all the way down to the bedrock in each section where they looked so they’d be sure not to miss anything.

Years went by without any Tut discovery, and Carnarvon was ready to give up. Carter asked for just a several more months. Three days after starting this latest search, the team uncovered what looked favor a step buried in the sand. As they removed the sand and debris, found more steps leading down.

The breeze was hot and musty as the explorers made a hole in the plaster-filled doorway of the ancient Egyptian tomb. When archaeologist Howard Carter held up a candle to peer inside on November 26,the light glinted on golden objects. This tomb, belonging to the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, would soon become the most famous ancient Egyptian discovery of all time. Pharaoh Tutankhamun—Tut for short—ruled over ancient Egypt from about to B.

Finally, they discovered a plaster doorway stamped with a name: Tutankhamun.

Opening the tomb

But these explorers weren’t sure that they’d find anything inside.

Almost all the tombs in the valley had been robbed in ancient times, leaving few items behind. Plus, the plaster showed signs of being broken and resealed.

But when they peered inside the small hole, they found a tomb almost entirely intact.

Carter later wrote, “Details of the room emerged slowly from the mist … strange animals, statues, and gold—everywhere, the glint of gold.”

What goes inside a pharaoh’s tomb? The ancient Egyptians believed they needed to fill it with all the stuff that a ruler might need in the afterlife.

And since they believed the afterlife would be a lot like normal experience, that meant packing everyday items like clothing, food, beds, chariots, headrests, and games.

A fresh boy stands in a temple filled with burning incense as he waits for a priest to place a glittering crown on his head. The ritual is part of the coronation ceremony that will make the nine-year-old pharaoh of ancient Egypt. His people will call him by his royal name: King Tutankhamun. You probably know him as just King Tut.

The pharaoh would also need all his ceremonial stuff like thrones, statues, and jewelry. Plus workers added a few “magical” items like shabtis, little human statues that people believed would help the ruler in the afterlife.

Carter and his team spent more than two months removing and cataloging the more than items in the first room, which he called the antechamber. Things were a bit messy. At least twice, ancient looters had broken into the tomb and rifled through the Tut’s treasures in find of jewelry and other items to sell.

Luckily, ancient valley guards stopped the robbers before they could take everything. But the guards didn’t really look after about putting things back in order—they just tossed the remaining items back inside the tomb and sealed it up again.

Next, Carter opened the burial chamber.

The room contained a enormous golden shrine, or box, that filled almost the entire cosmos. Inside it—all nested within one another—were three other shrines, a stone sarcophagus, three golden coffins, and finally, the mummy of Tutankhamun.

Carter then excavated a room he called the treasury, filled with a smaller shrine containing Tut’s organs that had been removed during mummification. The room seemed to be guarded by a statue of Anubis, the god of mummification and the dead.

Mummy Mystery: The story of King Tut - National Geographic Kids: Kids learn about Ancient Egyptian secret of King Tut's Tomb. How it was found, the curse, and the treasure inside the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankamun.

Lastly, the team removed the items from a room called the annex, filled with over 2, items.

Pharaoh's curse?

Carter spent nearly 10 years removing more than 5, objects from the tomb.

The uncovering and excavation delighted people around the world who followed his work in newspapers and radio. (U.S.

Our story begins in the ancient land of Egypt, one of the earliest civilizations in world history. Egypt was located in the deserts of Africa and its cities flourished around the longest river in the world, The Nile, which stretched 4, miles long. The Nile was used to present life to the farmlands and drinking water for the people who lived there. Egypt started as small bands of tribes who eventually farmed together and then were ruled by potent leaders, who helped organize the workers and farm the Nile Delta.

president Herbert Hoover even named one of his dogs King Tut.)

But people were fascinated for another reason: Just six months after opening the tomb, Carter’s wealthy funder, Lord Carnarvon, died from an infected mosquito chew.

And when Carter gifted an object from the tomb to a friend, that man’s property burned down, was rebuilt, and then flooded. Some say it was punishment for opening Tut’s tomb, but Carter lived for another 17 years.

King Tut’s tomb is still the most intact royal Egyptian tomb ever initiate , giving historians important information about this ancient culture.

Although the pharaohs who came after Tut wanted him to be forgotten, today he’s one of the most famous ancient rulers of all time.

Learn more at National Geographic.