The Contribution of Tutankhamen's Tomb to the History of Ancient Egypt

Figure 1 - Copy of Tutankhamen's Sarcophagus

     Dr. Marianne Eaton-Krauss gave a talk on Friday, April 5 at the Egyptological Seminar of New York entitled "The Contribution of Tutankhamen's Tomb to the History of Ancient Egypt".  The lecture covered some interesting material and acquainted me with a few facts and objects that I did not already know.

     One of the objects I had not seen before was a stele top that showed Tutankaten (yes, Tutankhaten) worshiping Amun and Mut. Clearly the return to religious orthodoxy started even before the young King changed his name to Tutankhamen.

     A new fact that Dr. Eaton-Krauss discussed (new to me anyway) was that the highest known regnal year for Tutankhamen before the discovery of his tomb was year six. A reference to year nine was found in the tomb.

     Some of the objects in the King's tomb may have been made for a female successor to Akhenaten. Dr. Eaton-Krauss mentioned a pectoral and the King's sarcophagus in particular as fitting into this category.

     All in all, the talk was informative and well presented and I was quite happy that I attended it.