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Tutankhamun Tutankhamun, the “boy king”, as he is often called, is perhaps the most famous of Egypt’s pharaohs. This is not because he had a particularly brilliant reign (he died at eighteen years of age), but because his was the first practically untouched tomb discovered by Egyptologists. The tomb, in the Valley of the Kings, was opened by Howard Carter in November 1922. On first glimpsing the interior of the burial chamber by torchlight, Carter breathlessly stated that he could see “wonderful things.” The flickering torchlight revealed “everywhere the glint of gold.” The vast store of treasure included a beautifully carved and gilded throne, statues of the gods and goddesses and canopic jars, which contained some of the internal organs of the deceased pharaoh. All around the tomb were found ushabti – tiny ornaments representing servants who would work for him in the afterlife. Food was also found, together with flowers, probably placed on the body by the young king’s widow. Tutankhamun’s bandaged body was encased in three golden coffins and an outer sarcophagus. Directly on top of the bandages, over the face of the mummy, was the death mask – the most famous of the funeral treasures. This mask was made of gold inlaid with lapis lazuli, a precious gemstone, dazzling blue in colour. The treasure of Tutankhamun still attracts thousands of visitors to the Cairo museum, where it rests today. The public can also see his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The boy king has become more famous in death than he ever was during his lifetime.