Gaby
When Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the find stunned the world. Alongside the body of the young ruler, more than 5,000 valuable artifacts were placed in the burial chamber, including his iconic golden funeral mask. But the tomb still holds its three-thousand-year-old secrets.
Dr. Nicholas Brown, an Egyptologist at Yale University, says the “humble” objects in the tomb haven’t been fully studied.
A new study by Dr. Brown’s team sheds light on the true purpose of artifacts that archaeologists have overlooked for decades. The researchers were particularly intrigued by clay trays and wooden sticks found near the sarcophagus. Dr. Brown thinks these items were essential to a burial ritual tied to Osiris, the god of the underworld.
What Did the Researchers Report?
Tutankhamun (likely 1345 – 1327 BC) became pharaoh as a boy and died about a decade later at roughly 19. Although his reign was brief, he is remembered as one of ancient Egypt’s most famous pharaohs, largely because of the incredible treasures Howard Carter uncovered in his tomb more than a century ago.
“During the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb, a mysterious set of items was found in the burial chamber. However, a closer examination of the religious and archaeological context of these artifacts allows for a different interpretation of their function,” the authors of the study wrote in their report.
Among the astonishing wealth uncovered were the famous golden mask, golden shoes, clothing, statues, and jewelry. Compared with these treasures, the clay trays and four wooden sticks, each about 90 cm tall and placed roughly 1.5 meters from the sarcophagus, looked like simple household objects.
The trays, made from mud from the Nile, were often thought to be stands. Dr. Brown has reinterpreted their purpose. He believes they were used for the ritual pouring of a drink—a symbolic offering to the god in memory of the deceased. People believed the liquid could revive the dead.
The wooden sticks, placed level with Tutankhamun’s head, may have played a central role in his “awakening.” The ritual comes from the Osiris myth, in which Osiris was commanded to rise when sticks touched his head.
The American Research Center in Egypt says the earliest description of the Osiris awakening ritual dates to the 19th Dynasty (1292–1189 BC). However, Tutankhamun ruled before that dynasty, according to the Daily Mail. Dr. Brown suggested the ritual might have been performed for the first time during the young pharaoh’s burial.
Osiris, one of ancient Egypt’s most important gods, ruled the underworld and judged the dead. According to the myth, he was killed by his brother Set, the god of chaos and evil.
“Tutankhamun and the officials acting on his behalf had the opportunity to adapt, modify, and transform royal burial practices and bring Osiris back into the narrative,” Dr. Brown said.
The findings of the study were published in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.
