Discovering Tut 2021-22
Discovering Tut 2021-22
Discovering Tut 2021-22
SUBJECT: ENGLISH
CLASS: XI
By - A. R. William
Introduction
The emperors of Egypt were known as Pharaohs. They had a vast empire and enormous gold. They
believed in after life. So they mummified the dead body of the king and buried in a tomb. They put beside
the dead a lot of treasure and even the things of everyday need. These things were meant for use in the
next life. These tombs were built up to 26 feet below and the mummy was put in a gold case. Tut was the
last of a ruling dynasty. He died young, only nine years after occupying the throne. His tomb was
discovered after years of searching and investigated in 1922 by a British archaeologist, Howard Carter. He
had trouble in taking the mummy out of the coffin of solid gold. The resins had hardened. The body was
cut and removed in parts. It was reassembled and put in a case at the resting place. But it was taken out
again for CT scan in 2005 to solve the mystery of his death. The CT scan dispelled all doubts. Nothing had
gone seriously wrong. Tut is resting in peace in his tomb in the valley of the departed kings of Egypt.
Characters
King Tut: The last heir of a powerful family that had ruled Egypt and its empire for centuries. His preserved
body was the first to be scanned.
Howard Carter: The British archaeologist who in 1922 discovered King Tut’s tomb. His search caused great
damage to the King’s preserved body.
Zahi Hawass: The Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. He scanned King Tut’s
mummy for an accurate forensic reconstruction.
Amenhotep III: King Tut’s father or grandfather, was’a powerful ruler who ruled for almost four decades.
Amenhotep IV: He promoted the worship of Aten and changed his name to Akhenaten. He outraged the
country by attacking Amun, a major God, by smashing his images and closing his temples.
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Tutankhamun
• Birth: 1341 BC
• Father: Akhenaten
• Wife: His wife was his half-sister.
• Children: Two still born girls.
• Death: 1321 BC
Summary
Death of King Tut
King Tut “was just a teenager when he died. He was the last heir of a powerful family that had ruled Egypt
and its empire for centuries. He was buried and forgotten over the years. But after the discovery of his
tomb in 1922, the modern world wondered about the cause of his untimely death. He was brought out of
his tomb and recently a CT scan was done to ascertain the reason of his death.
At 6 pm on 5th January, 2005, the world’s most famous mummy (preserved body) was taken out from its
burial tomb. As the mummy of King Tut was being put into the scanner for performing a CT scan, angry
winds stirred and dark clouds covered the stars. The weather had been overcast all day and the night sky
was hidden by dark-bellied clouds. The CT scan was being done to unearth the remaining medical
mysteries that surrounded the untimely death of this young King who died more than 3300 years ago.
King Tut’s tomb lies 26 feet underground in the ancient Egyptian cemetery known as the Valley of the
Kings. Tourists from around the world came to visit the tomb to pay their respects. They gazed at the
murals on the walls of the burial chamber and looked at King Tut’s gilded face on the lid of his outer coffin.
The visitors were curious and thoughtful. Some feared the pharaoh’s curse would befell those who
disturbed him.
Howard Carter was a British archaeologist who in 1922 discovered King Tut’s tomb after years of futile
searching. Its contents remain the richest royal collection ever found. There were dazzling works of art in
gold that had caused a sensation then and continue to draw people’s attention even today. King Tut was
also buried with everyday things such as board games, a bronze razor, cases of food, clothes, wine etc
that he would need in the life after death. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of
Antiquities, explained that the mummy was in a very bad condition because of what Howard Carter did to
it. Howard Carter found King Tut’s body in three nested coffins. In the first coffin, he found a shroud
decorated with garlands of willow and olive leaves, wild celery, lotus petals and cornflowers which
indicated that the burial took place in March or April. When he finally reached the mummy, he ran into
trouble. The ritual resins had hardened, cementing King Tut to the bottom of the solid gold coffin.
Howard Carter tried to loosen the resins by putting the mummy outside in the sun that heated it to 149
degrees Fahrenheit. For several hours the mummy was set outside in blazing sunshine but nothing
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happened. He reported that the tough material had to be cut from under the limbs and trunk to free the
King’s remains. The royals in King Tut’s time believed that they could take their fortune with them after
death. Hence, King Tut was buried with all his expensive belongings. To separate King Tut from his
ornaments, Howard Carter’s men removed the mummy’s head and cut off nearly every major joint; then
they reassembled the remains of the body on a layer of sand in a wooden box with padding.
Archaeology has changed since then, focusing less on treasures and more on the fascinating details of life
and fascinating mysteries of death. It also uses more sophisticated tools. In 1968, more than 40 years after
Howard Carter’s discovery, an anatomy professor X-rayed the mummy and revealed an astonishing fact
that beneath the resin that caked King Tut’s chest, his breast bone and front ribs were missing. King Tut’s
demise was a big event, even by royal standards, as he was the last ruler of his family. His funeral meant
the end of a royal dynasty. But the facts of his death and its consequences are unclear.
King Tut’s father or grandfather, Amenhotep III, was a powerful King, who ruled for almost four decades.
His son Amenhotep IV succeeded him. He was a very strange King. He promoted the worship of Aten, the
sun disk, and changed his name to Akhenaten. He moved the religious capital from Thebes to Akhetaten,
now known as Amarna. He shocked the country by attacking a major god ‘Amun’ by breaking his images
and closing down his temples.
Ray Johnson, Director of the University of Chicago’s research centre in Luxor, called this King very odd. He
said it must have been a terrible time for the people because the family that had ruled for centuries was
coming to an end. After Akhenaten’s death, Smenkhkare, a mysterious ruler, ruled for a brief period and
departed with hardly any sign. It was then that a very young King Tutankhaten took over the throne. The
boy soon changed his name to Tutankhamun, known as King Tut today. He oversaw revival of the old
ways. King Tut ruled for nine years and then died unexpectedly.
King Tut is one mummy among many in Egypt. No one knows how many mummies there are in Egypt. The
Egyptian Mummy Project has recorded almost six hundred and is still counting. King Tut’s mummy was
the first mummy to be CT scanned to ascertain the secret of his death by a portable scanner donated by
National Geographic Society and Siemens. King Tut’s entire body was scanned. On the night of the scan,
workmen carried him from the tomb and rose it on a hydraulic lift into a trailer that held the scanner.
However, initially the costly scanner could not function properly because of sand in the cooler fan. But
soon all the hurdles were crossed and after the scan, the King was returned to his coffin to rest in peace.
The CT scan showed an astonishing image of King Tut and his entire body very clearly. It showed a grey
head, neck vertebrae, a hand, several images of the rib cage and a section of the skull. Zahi Hawass was
relieved that nothing had seriously gone wrong. As the-technicians left the trailer, they saw the star
constellation which the ancient Egyptians knew as the soul of Osiris, the God of the afterlife. They felt as
if the God was watching over the boy King.
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Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Chapter Highlights
➢ Tutankhamun or King Tut died as a teenage pharaoh and was buried laden with gold. He was the
last king of a powerful family that ruled Egypt for centuries.
➢ On 5th January, 2005 his mummy was brought out of his tomb and a CT scan was done to ascertain
the reason of his death.
➢ Multitudes of tourists from around the world came to visit the tomb to pay their respects.
➢ Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the mummy
was in a very bad condition because of what Carter did to it.
➢ Howard Carter, the British archaeologist, discovered king Tut’s tomb in 1922 and investigated its
contents.
➢ Carter faced difficulty in extracting the mummy out of the coffin. The ritual resins had hardened,
resulting in cementing
➢ King Tut’s mummy to the bottom of his gold coffin.
➢ Howard Carter tried to loosen the resins using the sun, but in vain. His men thus removed the
mummy’s head and cut off nearly every major joint before reassembling it.
➢ In 1968, an anatomy professor X-rayed the mummy and revealed a startling fact. He claimed that
the breast bone and the front ribs of the mummy were missing.
➢ Amenhotep III — King Tut’s father or grandfather – was a powerful king. He was succeeded by
Amenhotep IV, who promoted the worship of Aten, the sun disk, and changed his name to
Akhenaten. He made some other changes.
➢ King Tut’s mummy was one of the first mummies to be scanned. The CT scan showed a grey head,
neck vertebrae, a hand, and several images of the rib cage and a section of the skull.
➢ Zahi Hawass was relieved to find that nothing had gone seriously wrong with the mummy.
➢ After their observations, when they left, the wind had stopped and there was complete silence.
Just above the entrance to
➢ King Tut’s tomb stood Orion, the constellation watching over the boy king.
Word-Meaning
S.No. Word Meanings Meanings (in hindi)
6 Pharaoh → a ruler in ancient Egypt प्राचीन समस्त्र के िाजाओं की धमि संबंधी नाम
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8 Ghostly → eerie and unnatural; unreal आध्यात्ममक
12 Scudded across → moving quickly; it refers to the movement of the dark-bellied clouds
पाि कि गया
14 Casket → a small ornamental box or chest for holding jewels, letters, or other valued
objects. डडब्रबया
22 Murals → a painting or other artwork executed directly on the wall सिवि चचर
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30 Resurrection → restoration to life पुनस्र्ज्जीवन
31 Funerary Treasures → the valuable things with which the king was buried फन्नेिी खजाना
41 Apron → a protective garment worn over the front of one's clothes and tied at the back.
वस्त्रों के ऊपि ससर्फि सामने की ओि पहना जाने वाला कपड़ा
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51 death rattle → the gurgling sound produced in the throat of a person who is about to die
ममृ युपूवि ििािए गले से र्नकली आवा़ि
53 Eerie detail→ strange image of Tut’s head as visible with the help of CT scan ियानक ववस्त्ताि
55 Anatomy → the branch of science which deals with the bodily structure of humans, animals
or other living beings शिीि-िचना
58 Pallbearers → a person who helps to escort a coffin at a funeral कर्फन उठाने वाला
60 Hydraulic lift → a lift that uses a machine to lift or move heavy objects with a pressure
हाइड्रोसलक सलफ़्ट
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Passage 1
“The mummy is in very bad condition because of what Carter did in the 1920,” said Zahi Hawass, Secretary-
General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, as he leaned over the body for a long first lock. Carter-
Howard Carter, that is was the British archae¬ologist who in 1922 discovered Tut’s tomb after years of
futile searching. Its contents, though hastily ransacked in antiquity, were surprisingly complete. They
remain the richest royal collection ever found and have become part of the pharaoh’s legend. (Page 23)
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Questions:
(a) antiquities
(b) pharaoh
Answer:
(i) Zahi Hawass is the Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. He commented that
the mummy was in bad condition because of what Carter did in the 1920s.
(ii) Howard Carter was a British archaeologist who discovered Tut’s tomb in 1922.
(iii) The contents of King Tut’s tomb were highly valuable. They are said to be are of the richest royal
collection ever found.
(iv) Howard Carter was able to discover Tut’s tomb after years of useless searching.
Passage 2
Archaeology has changed substantially in the intervening decades, focusing less a treasure and more on
the fascinating details of life and intriguing mysteries of death. It also uses more sophisticated tools,
including medical technology. In 1968, more than 40 years after Carter’s discovery, an anatomy professor
X-rayed the mummy and revealed a startling fact. Beneath the resin that cakes his chest, his breast-bone
and front ribs are missing. Today diagnostic imaging can be done with computed tomography, or CT, by
which hundreds of X-rays in cross section are put together like slices of bread to create a
three¬dimensional virtual body. (Page 25)
Questions:
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(b) the science of body structure.
Answers:
(i) Archaeology is now focusing more on the fascinating details of life and the hidden mysteries of death.
(ii) Now the archaeologists carry on their research by using more sophisticated tools, including medical
technology.
(iii) In 1968 an anatomy professor X-rayed the Tut’s mummy and revealed the startling fact that at his
breast-bone and front ribs were missing.
(iv) These days the diagnostic imaging is done with computed tomography or CT.
(b) anatomy.
Passage 3
Amenhotep III—Tut’s father or grandfather was a powerful pharaoh who ruled for almost four decades at
the height of the eighteenth dynasty’s golden age. His son Amenhotep IV succeeded him and initiated one
of the strangest periods in the history of ancient Egypt. The new pharaoh promoted the worship of the
Aten, the sun disk, changed his name to Akhenaten, or “servant of the Aten”, and moved the religious
capital from the old city of Thebes tq the new city of Akhetaten, known now as Amama. He further
shocked the country by attacking Amun, a major God, smashing his images and closing his temples, (Pages
25-26)
Questions:
(a) evidence
(b) ancient
Answers:
(i) Amenhotep III ruled for almost four decades. That was the height of the 18th dynasty’s golden age.
(ii) Amenhotep IV or Akhenaten succeeded Amenhotep III and he initiated one of the strangest periods in
the history of ancient Egypt.
(iii) Amenhotep IV, who later changed his name to Akhenaten, promoted the worship of the Aten, the sun
disk.
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(iv) The country was shocked because Akhenaten attacked Amun, a major god, smashed his images and
closed his temples.
(v)
(a) The evidence turned hostile and the real culprit could not be punished.
(b) India is an ancient country whose culture and civilization are very old.
Passage 4
Regardless of his fame and the speculations about his fate, Tut is one mummy among many in Egypt. How
many? No one knows. The Egyptian Mummy Project, which began an inventory in late 2003, has recorded
almost 600 so far and is still counting. The next phase: scanning the mummies with a portable CT machine
donated by the National Geographic Society and Siemens, its manufacturer. King Tut is one of the first
mummies to be scanned—in death, as in life, moving regally ahead of his countrymen. (Page 26)
Questions:
(a) donated
(b) recorded.
Answers:
(i) The Egyptian Mummy Project is keeping the record of the mummies since 2003.
(ii.) So far 600 mummies have been recorded and they are still counting.
(iii) The next phase is scanning the mummies with a portable CT machine.
(iv) The portable CT machine has been donated by the National Geographic Society and by its
manufacturers Siemens.
(b) record.
Passage 5
ACT machine scanned the mummy head to toe, creating 1700 digital X-ray images in cross section. Tut’s
head, scanned in 0.62 millimeter slices to register its intricate structures, taking an eerie detail in the
resulting image. With Tut’s entire body similarly recorded, a team of specialists in radiology, forensics and
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anatomy began to probe the secrets that the winged goddesses of a gilded burial shrine protected for so
long. The night of the scan, workmen carried Tut from the tomb in his box. Like pallbearers they climbed
a ramp and a flight of stairs into the swirling sand outside, then rose on a hydraulic lift into the trailer that
held the scanner.
Questions:
(a) examine
Answers:
(i) ‘The mummy’ refers to the preserved dead body of King Tut.
(ii) The CT machine created 1700 digital X-ray images in cross section.
(iii) Tut’s head was scanned in 0.62 millimeter slices to register its intricate structures, taking a strange
and frightening detail in the resulting image.
(iv) A team of specialists in radiology, forensics, and anatomy began to proble the secrets about Tut’s life
and death.
(b) trailer.
Answer: Carter was investigating the tomb of King Tut in 1922. Amazingly, the tomb’s contents were in
fact in spite of having been ransacked in antiquity. Carter found king Tut’s Mummy in three nested coffins,
the most important find of all. To Carter’s dismay he found he could not study the mummy as it was stuck
to the bottom of the coffin due the hardening of the funerary raisins Carter tried ‘legitimate force’ but
could not dislodge the mummy from its these in the coffin.
So he cut the mummy in several parts, removed its head and severed almost all the joints. Carter’s action
was highly condemnable as he nearly destroyed the mummy. His defence was that if not be robbers and
vandals would have done the same. Historians, however, have not forgiven Carter for this disfigurement.
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Question 2. “The mummy is in very bad condition because of what Carter did in the 1920s,” said Zahi
Hawaas, the expert on Egyptian antiquity. How far is the statement true? Discuss.
Answer: The above statement is partially true. Carter easily opened two of the three nested coffins and
established the time of burial by the presence of lotus petals and dried cornflowers. In the third coffin,
the ritual resins had hardened, cementing the body to the bottom of the coffin.Placing the coffin in 149
degrees temperature was of no avail. Thus Carter cut the mummy free.
To separate Tut from the ornaments he was covered with, Carter’s men severed the head and every major
joint. They had reassembled them on a layer of sand and laid it back in a padded box, concealing the
damage. Had thieves reached there ahead of Carter, they would have circumvented the guards and ripped
apart the mummy to take away the gold. Also, archaeology in those times lacked sophisticated tools. Thus
Carter’s actions were dictated by circumstances and not willful destruction.
Question 3. Who was King Tut? What do you know about him?
Answer: King Tut was the last heir of a powerful family that ruled Egypt for centuries. His funeral was the
death rattle of a dynasty. Though his death remains a mystery, his funeral, even by royal standards, was
a big event. His father or grandfather Amenhotep III was a powerful ruler, the son, King Amenhotep IV
was an eccentric personality who initiated one of the strangest periods of Egyptian history.
After his death, a mysterious ruler Smenkhkare, succeeded him, but exited without a trace. I Tutankhamen
succeeded him, while still a boy. He changed his name to Tutankhamen,the living image of Amun.
Tutankhamen restored the old ways. He reigned for nine years and died suddenly. He was buried with
fabulous wealth in gold and jewellery. His tomb was first discovered by Howard Carter, a British
archaeologist. His mummy is the first to be scanned by a portable CT Scanning machine donated by the
National Geographic Society.
Question 4. Imagine you are Howard Carter. You were fortunate to find King Tut’s tomb intact. Describe
what you saw in the burial chamber. Describe King Hit’s coffins and their contents.
Answer: I have searched for many years and today my search has come to a fruitful end. I have found the
tomb of King Tut. The year 1922 has become historic in archaeology. The burial chamber is small, rock cut
and 26 feet underground and has murals on the wall. King Tut’s outer coffin shows his features in a gilded
and painted face. There are three nesting coffins. In the first, I found a shroud adorned with garlands of
spring flowers. The innermost coffin contained the body of King Tut wearing gold collars, inlaid necklaces
and bracelets, rings, amulets, a ceremonial apron, sandals, sheaths for his fingers and toes of pure gold
and a painted mask of great beauty. Besides, in the burial chamber, there are articles of everyday needs
like board games, a bronze razor, linen undergarments and cases of food and wine.
Question 5. Discuss the suitability of the title, ‘Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues’.
Answer: The title is appropriate for describing the attempts to discover the truth about King Tut. The tomb
had been raided in the remote past, but had remained largely intact till it was discovered in 1922 by
Howard Carter. King Tut had died young. The reason of his death remains a mystery even today. The
possibility of murder has not been ruled out. Therefore, continuous efforts go on to unravel the mystery.
In 1922, Carter had cut the mummy into pieces to remove it from its coffins. He had carefully examined
the funerary treasures buried with King Tut.
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Sophisticated tools of archaeology including medical technology have been used since the 20th century
to unravel King Tut’s mystery. In 1968, the mummy was X-rayed. In 2005, the mummy was brought out
from its deep burial chamber for CT scan. The focus now is not on the treasures but on Tut’s life and his
mysterious death. In the coming years, the attempt to discover the whole truth about Tut will continue.
Riteish Gopal Sharma [RGS Sir] Email: [email protected] Call/Whatsapp - +91 7499 888 280