Tutankhamen by Joyce Tyldesley Read Free Book Online Page B

sent to Djahy to widen the frontiers of Egypt, it met with no success at all. If one prayed to a god to ask things of him, [in no wise] did he come. If one made supplication to a goddess in like manner, in no wise did she come. Their hearts were weak of themselves (with anger); they destroyed what had been done.
    After some days had passed by this, [His Majesty appeared] on the throne of his father; he ruled the countries of Horus, the Black Land and the Red Land were under his dominion, and every land was in obeisance to his might. Behold His Majesty was in his palace… Then His Majesty took counsel with his heart, searching out every excellent occasion, seeking what was beneficial to his father Amun… And His Majesty has made monuments for the gods, [fashioning] their statues of real fine-gold, the best of foreign lands, building anew their sanctuaries as monuments of eternal age, they being endowed with property for ever, establishing for them divine gifts as a lasting daily sacrifice, and supplying them with food-offerings upon earth. He has added to what was in former time, he has [surpassed that] done since the time of the ancestors, he has inducted priests and prophets, children of the notables of their towns, each the son of a noted man, and one whose name is known; he has multiplied their [wealth?] with gold, silver, bronze and copper, without limit of [all things?], he has filled their storehouses with slaves, men and women, the fruit of His Majesty’s plundering. All the [possessions?] of the temples are doubled, trebled and quadrupled with silver, gold, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, all rare costly stones, royal linen, white cloth, fine linen, olive oil… 7
    It was highly unlikely that this self-proclaimed traditionalist would have been buried anywhere but the Valley of the Kings or the Western
Valley. The logical conclusion was that Tutankhamen had somehow evaded removal by the necropolis restorers, and was still resting in his Theban tomb. But where was his tomb?

    There were plenty of Egyptologists eager to search for the missing king, but Antiquities Service regulations, devised to protect Egypt’s heritage from naked plundering, stipulated that only one would be allowed to work in the Valley at a time. Theodore Monroe Davis, a retired and extremely wealthy American lawyer fuelled by a burning obsession to find an intact royal tomb, was the chosen one. He had been granted the coveted Valley concession in 1902, and was to retain it for twelve years. This rather curious choice of excavator makes perfect sense when the practicalities of the arrangement are considered. Davis, who had neither the skills nor the inclination to excavate alone, paid for Antiquities Service excavations conducted by three successive, highly competent Inspectors: first Carter, then James Quibell and finally Arthur Weigall.
    Quibell was funded by Davis when, on 5 February 1905, he discovered the most intact Valley tomb yet. KV 46 housed the double burial of Yuya and Thuya, parents-in-law to Amenhotep III. Their tomb was cut into the south-east branch of the main Valley. A man-sized hole in the blocked doorway indicated that the burial had been disturbed in antiquity, but Yuya and Thuya still lay in their undecorated tomb, surrounded by a remarkable collection of grave goods. Davis could barely contain his excitement as he entered the burial chamber with the elderly Gaston Maspero, Director General of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, and Weigall, Quibell’s successor as Inspector:
    Though we had nothing but our bare hands, we managed to take down the upper layers of stones, and then Monsieur Maspero and I
put our heads and candles into the chamber, which enabled us to get a glimpse of shining gold covering some form of furniture, though we could not identify it. This stimulated us to make the entry without further enlarging the opening. I managed to get over the wall and found myself in the sepulchral chamber. With