The Tomb of Tutankhamen Exhibit in Hamburg

The Golden Mask  of Tutankhamen

King Tut's Tomb Exhibit is traveling the world, it is in Hamburg this year until the end of August, it goes to Madrid afterwards. So we took the opportunity to see it this past weekend. It was like a mini-history lesson for the kids, it is very well laid-out and presented.

It tells the story of Howard Carter's excavation efforts and how he found the grave, all the articles found in what is to date the most exquisite collection of Egyptian antiquities ever discovered, and the only Tomb in the Valley of the Kings that had not already been pillaged by robbers.

At the entrance, there is first the story of the Rosetta Stone and how it helped decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphics. At the beginning of the Exhibit there is a movie explaining the explorations of Howard Carter who was aided financially by his sponsor Lord Carnarvon,  the search that for seven hard years in the desert had brought nothing, and how the steps leading to the sealed Tomb were found right at the end of what was to be the last effort due to financial concerns.

Then you move into the first exhibits  and  what Howard Carter saw for the first time, peering through a hole, with a single candle on his hand:  "Strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold."

View into the Antechamber

These exhibits show the precise position of the items as they were found in the early excavation works. This was possible due to the work of the photographer Harry Burton, who documented every single aspect of the excavation of King Tutankhamen's Tomb, as all items were inventoried and brought to the museum.

There were two antechambers like this, filled with all sorts of artifacts before reaching the Burial Chamber which contained the gilded shrine where the sarcophagus and the several coffins  would be found.

 The outer coffin is lifted

 The outer coffin contained two other coffins that protected the inner coffin,

with the inner coffin containing the mummy of the young King:

 Then as you move to the rest of the exhibits, you see the more than 1,000 treasures found, with descriptions of their purpose in the journey to the afterlife, here's a small selection:

Detail of the innermost coffin which contained the mummy of King Tutankhamen

  The Golden Throne of the Pharaoh

The Pharaoh's Chariot

The Golden Shrine and Anubis, God of the Dead, protecting it

The King's Jewelery

These are not the original artifacts, the real relics are found in the Cairo Museum, however, this exhibition is the only way to see the way the burial and treasure chambers were found in the Valley of the Kings, the quality of the reproductions is superb, and the entire exhibit, including movies and other multimedia has been carefully and precisely executed.  It sure beats reading the history books!

Click here for more information on the Tomb of Tutankhamen Exhibit in Hamburg, hours of operation, directions and ticket prices.