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Secondary sourceArtifact14th century BCE

Senet Game Box from Tutankhamun's Tomb

14th century BCE

A game box and pieces found in Tutankhamun's tomb, showing an everyday leisure object buried with the young king.

This game box and its pieces were found buried with Tutankhamun in his tomb.

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An ivory-colored Egyptian game box with hieroglyphic inscriptions on its top and side, its drawer partly pulled open, surrounded on a dark surface by carved game pieces including cone-shaped pawns, cylindrical pieces, and a small rolled-shaped piece.
Game box from Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62), now in the Cairo Museum. Photo by D. Denisenkov, 2012.

About this source

What it is

This is a game box with its drawer and playing pieces, found within the intact tomb of Tutankhamun, KV62. It is decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions and is now part of the Cairo Museum's permanent collection.

Why it matters

Board games were a popular pastime in ancient Egypt, played by people of all classes including royalty. Finding a game box among Tutankhamun's burial goods reminds us that he was a real person with ordinary interests, not just a symbol of power. Objects like this, preserved because the tomb stayed largely undisturbed, give historians rare insight into daily life at the royal court.

Look closer

  • What does burying a game with the king suggest about Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife?
  • Why might this object have survived so well compared to other ancient items?
  • What does this object reveal about Tutankhamun beyond his role as pharaoh?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Tutankhamun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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