King Tutankhamen

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

There were 332 known pharaohs that existed in ancient Egypt.

Little is known about the majority of those pharaohs, but in this lesson series, Famous Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, you will learn about the life and legacy of four of ancient Egypt's most well-known pharaohs.

In this first Related Lesson, you will learn about King Tutankhamen, or King Tut for short, who become one of the best-known pharaohs with the discovery of his lavish tomb in the early 1900s.

Information about the ancient Egyptian pharaohs is limited because during the time of the ancient Egyptians, computers did not exist to store a lot of information. Everything was written on paper, which can be easily lost of destroyed.

The information we do have about ancient Egypt comes from archeological discoveries. A great deal can be learned about a pharaoh when his or her tomb is discovered.

In the early 1900s, several small artifacts were discovered, indicating a pharaoh by the name of Tutankhamun had been laid to rest somewhere in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, a region west of the Nile River that houses many tombs of ancient pharaohs.

Archeologists spent years searching for Tutankhamun's tomb and, in 1922, a remarkable discovery was made.

An Englishmen uncovered a stairway leading to a sealed door in the Valley of the Kings. Markings around the door indicated that this was indeed the tomb of King Tutankhamun. When the tomb was opened, the team of archaeologists discovered more than they could have possibly imagined.

There were rooms filled with golden statues that were more than 15 feet tall, ancient Egyptian furniture stacked to the ceiling, ornate artwork, and the golden sarcophagus of King Tut. King Tut's tomb is so large that radar scans made in 2016 revealed that the tomb still contains rooms that have yet to be unlocked.

The discovery of King Tut's tomb is one of the most important archeological discoveries of recent times. Not only does the tomb provide in-depth insight into the life of King Tut, but it also provides new information about life in ancient Egypt.

The discovery of the tomb in 1922 made King Tut one of the most famous ancient Egyptian pharaohs because it stirred public interest in ancient Egypt. After the discovery, Egyptian style began to influence clothing and architecture in Europe and North America, and people began traveling to Egypt, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous pharaoh's tomb.

• Why do you think the discovery of King Tut's tomb made people so interested in ancient Egyptian culture?

Explore the inside of King Tut's tomb as you read the article below and look at the images. As you do, visualize why this archeological discovery was so important and make a list of all the objects you see that were stored in the tomb.

See historic discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in COLOUR for the first time

When you are finished with the article, look at your list and consider the following questions.

• Which item(s) inside King Tut's tomb did you find most interesting? Why?
• Select three items from your list. Why do you think these items would have been buried with King Tut?
• How does the discovery of the tomb and its contents help us have a better understanding of ancient Egypt?

Now you know why King Tut has become one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs.

Move on to the Got It? section to discover what was learned about his life and legacy after his tomb was discovered.

*NOTE: Because it is often difficult to translate exactly from one language to another, sometimes the name is spelled either "Tutankhamun" or "Tutankhamen." He is not here to correct us!