Skip to main content

Primary sourceArtifact

Tutankhamun's Trumpets

A pair of silver and bronze trumpets found in Tutankhamun's tomb, among the oldest playable instruments in the world.

These trumpets were part of Tutankhamun's tomb goods, likely used for royal or military signalling in his reign.

Ask Tutankhamun about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black and white photograph of two long, slender trumpets lying diagonally side by side against a pale background. Each has a flared bell at the top and a long straight tube. The left trumpet has a banded bell rim; the right has a perforated, lattice-patterned bell. A number label reads 175 in the lower right corner.
Tutankhamun's trumpets, found in his tomb in 1922. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

About this source

What it is

These are two trumpets, one of sterling silver and one of bronze or copper, found in 1922 by Howard Carter in Tutankhamun's tomb. They are considered the oldest operational trumpets in the world and the only surviving examples from ancient Egypt, now held at the Egyptian Museum.

Why it matters

Decorated with images of gods and the king's name, the trumpets were likely used for military signalling, linking Tutankhamun to Egypt's army. In 1939 they were sounded in a famous BBC broadcast heard by millions, connecting an ancient object directly to a modern audience, though the fragile instruments have rarely been played since.

Look closer

  • Why might a trumpet be placed in a king's tomb rather than left for soldiers to use?
  • What does the risk of damage when playing the trumpets tell us about balancing preservation and understanding of ancient objects?
  • What stories, like claims about the trumpet causing wars, show how objects can gain new meanings over time?

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.

More Tutankhamun sources

Meet the AI Tutankhamun →
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

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.Artifact

Primary source

Tomb of Tutankhamun

14th century BCE

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

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Tutankhamun now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions