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Primary sourceArtifact14th century BCE

Tomb of Tutankhamun

14th century BCE

The small tomb (KV62) in the Valley of the Kings where Tutankhamun was buried and found largely intact in 1922.

This is Tutankhamun's own burial place, built and furnished for him after his premature death.

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Interior wall of an Egyptian tomb painted gold, with rows of painted baboon figures and hieroglyphs in boxed panels, a boat scene at top left, and a painted standing figure of a pharaoh at right. A glass display case is visible at the bottom.
Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, 18th dynasty.

About this source

What it is

This is the tomb of Tutankhamun, known as KV62, in the Valley of the Kings. It probably began as a tomb for a non-royal person and was enlarged after the young king's sudden death. It was discovered by Howard Carter and his patron Lord Carnarvon in 1922.

The tomb has four small chambers and was packed with thousands of burial goods. Robbers entered twice shortly after the burial, but the mummy and most goods survived, and the low, hidden entrance kept it safe from later looting.

Why it matters

Because the tomb survived nearly intact, it became the most famous archaeological find in Egyptology, revealing enormous detail about the wealth and craftsmanship surrounding a pharaoh, even though it told historians less about Tutankhamun's actual reign.

Look closer

  • Why might a tomb built in a hurry still contain so many treasures?
  • What does the crowding of objects suggest about how quickly it was sealed?
  • What can a tomb tell us, and what can it not tell us, about a ruler's life?

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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Photograph of the gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun against a black background. The mask shows a stylized face with inlaid blue eyes and eyebrows, a striped blue and gold headdress, a vulture and cobra emblem on the brow, a blue false beard, and a collar of colored inlays.Artifact

Primary source

Mask of Tutankhamun

c. 1333 BCE

Black and white photograph of a wooden figure wearing a striped royal headdress with a uraeus cobra, crossed arms holding ceremonial objects, and hieroglyphic inscriptions in columns on the lower body.Photograph

Primary source

Photograph of Tutankhamun's Shawabti Figure

Harry Burton · 1920s

Black and white photograph of two men inside a tomb opening the carved, hieroglyph-covered gilded doors of a shrine. One man in a light cap kneels and reaches toward the doors, while another man in a jacket leans over from the right. Carved relief figures and inscriptions cover the panels.Photograph

Primary source

Opening the Doors of the Fourth Shrine in Tutankhamun's Tomb

Harry Burton · 1920s

Photo of the Restoration Stela, a tall round-topped reddish stone stele in a museum with carved relief figures at the top and rows of hieroglyphic text below, with a diagonal crack running through it.Document

Primary source

Restoration Stela

Tutankhamun · c. 1326 BCE

Black and white photograph of an ancient Egyptian shrine interior. Carved hieroglyphic panels line open gilded doors, and a stone sarcophagus with a winged carved design is visible between them in shadow.Photograph

Primary source

First Published View of Tutankhamun's Sarcophagus Between the Shrine Doors

Harry Burton · 1920s

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