Lesson #3: Biography of King Tutankhamun
Prepared by Shannon Parker
Audience: Second grade students
Standards: Virginia SOLs:
2.3— The student will identify and compare changes in community life over time in terms of buildings,
jobs, transportation, and population.
National Standards for History Grades K-4 (Standards in Historical Thinking)
Thinking Standard 1. Chronological Thinking
A. Distinguish between past, present, and future time.
B. Identify in historical narratives the temporal structure of a historical narrative or story
C. Establish temporal order in constructing their [students'] own historical narratives.
F. Create time lines.
Standard 3. Historical Analysis and Interpretation
D. Analyze historical fiction.
E. Distinguish between fact and fiction.
F. Compare different stories about a historical figure, era, or event.
H. Consider multiple perspectives.
Materials/Time/Space: document camera, pencils, writer’s notebook/paper, butcher paper,
Howard Carter’s story1, King Tut curse story2, “The Story of King Tut,”3 2 teacher
assistants/parent volunteers; 1 hour; ~20 students, typical classroom spaced, desks grouped 3
small groups, small group for reading/discussing stories and time line construction, whole group
for class discussions
Objectives: Given selections on King Tutankhamun, students will:
1. Separate historic facts from legend.
2. Identify key events in King Tutankhamun’s life and place them on a timeline.
3. Write about a key event in King Tutankhamun’s life that demonstrates citizenship
Lesson Content:
Introduction: Tell students that today, they are going to have to use their imagination. Tell them
that you all are going to play a “Let’s Pretend” game. Have them close their eyes and imagine
that they are the son or daughter of a king. The king gets too old, and now they have to rule the
entire kingdom when they are only nine years old (or seven or eight depending on the age of
students)! Tell them to think about how they would feel, what they might do, who might be able
to help them, etc. Write these guiding questions on the document camera. Then have students
write their thoughts down in their writing journals.
Content focus: Separate students into three groups. Assign the news article to one group, the
King Tut curse story to one group, and “The Story of King Tut” to one group. Station a teacher
assistant at each group and have them read the assigned story to the group. After the reading is
finished, instruct the students to work together as a group to come up with a summary of what
they learned. Have the students critically discuss the piece, and make decisions on what might be
fact, or what can be historically proven, and what cannot be historically proven Then have the
students present it to the whole class, using butcher paper to write out main points.
1
"Entering King Tut's Tomb, 1922," (2000). EyeWitness to History. Retrieved from www.eyewitnesstohistory.com
Krystek, L. (1999). Howard Carter and the “curse of the mummy”. The Museum of unnatural mystery. Retrieved
from http://www.unmuseum.org/mummy.htm
3
Silverman, D. P. & Hawass, Z. (2007). The story of King Tut. Tutankhamun and the golden age of the pharaohs.
Retrieved from http://www.fieldmuseum.org/tut/story.asp
2
After each group has presented, discuss the credibility of each selection. Ask students
“Based on what you read, what do you think might be historical fact and what do you think
might not be able to be proven?” Discuss that King Tut becoming pharaoh and dying are
historical fact, or can be proven. The legend of the curse cannot be proven, so we cannot claim
that it is historical fact. Review terms such as fact and fiction, and discuss the source of each
selection (a news article, a first person narrative from Howard Carter, and an internet website).
Share with students that recent medical examinations of King Tut showed that he probably had
to use a cane to walk, and that he was often very sick. They used x-rays to find this, so this
information can be proven.
As a class, have students list important events that occurred in King Tut’s life. Ask them
to think about what events, in particular, had an impact on the community, and what events
demonstrated King Tut’s role as a leader. Write the events on the board or on the document
camera. Review with them what a timeline is, and have them work in their groups to place the
events on a timeline, using butcher paper.
After the timeline is complete, instruct the students to pick an event on the timeline that
demonstrates King Tutankhamun’s role as a leader or shows how he overcame adversities, and
write about it in their notebooks. Encourage them be as historically accurate as possible.
Closing: Have the students look back in their journal to when they wrote about what they would
do if they were in King Tut’s position. Lead them in a discussion comparing and contrasting
their imagined scenario with what really happened. Emphasize King Tut’s role as a leading
citizen. Close by telling the students “King Tut was just one well-known person in Ancient
Egypt, but that soon you will get a chance to learn what life was like for normal people like you
and me.” (Lead to lesson #4).
Assessment:
Formative: Check for understanding through questioning and by walking around the classroom
to ensure that students are on task and understanding what they should be doing.
Summative: Which of the following is not a historical fact about King Tutankhamun?
A) He became pharaoh when he was ten years old.
B) He died when he was twenty years old.
C) There was a curse on his tomb.
Background Information/Content:
King Tutankhamun, born with the name Tutenkhaten, was the son of the Pharaoh
Akhenaten. His father died when he was young, and Tutenkhaten became pharaoh at the young
age of ten. During his reign, he served as the head of the military and, like all other pharaohs,
was considered a god on earth. He had many advisors because of his young age. Evidence also
shows that he dealt with disabilities other than his young age, including having to use a cane to
get around. One of the things King Tut is most well known for is the restoration of traditional
Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs. His father had forced the people into monotheism,
worshipping only the sun god, Aten, and forbidding all other worship. King Tut realized that the
Egyptian people were not happy with this, and he restored polytheism, even changing his name
from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun. King Tut died after reigning for only ten years, and was
buried in a lavish tomb. His tomb was one of the few that grave robbers did not discover. It was
not found until Howard Carter’s search for it in 1922. There is a myth stating that King Tut’s
tomb was cursed, and that members of the team that discovered the tomb suffered because of it,
but this myth has proven unfounded.
Howard Carter’s Story
Howard Carter, an English Egyptologist, had a hunch that
Tutankhamen lay beneath the Valley of the Kings even
though conventional archeological wisdom declared that
all the area's tombs had been found. In 1914, supported
by his British benefactor Lord Carnarvon, Carter began
his search in earnest. For seven years his efforts bore no
fruit. In November 1922, during the last season of
exploration that Lord Carnarvon said he could support,
Carter's luck changed. His Egyptian laborers uncovered a
series of steps leading down to a sealed door.
Into The Tomb
The golden mask that
adorned Tut's inner
coffin
Breaking through the sealed door, Carter found a passageway filled with stone and
rubble. Clearing this passageway revealed another sealed door marked with the
royal impressions of Tutankhamun. Carter was sure he had found the king's tomb,
but he was afraid it may have been pillaged - its contents removed. On November
26th Carter, with Lord Carnarvon at his side, started to break through this second
sealed door. It was, as Carter described, "the day of days, the most wonderful
that I have ever lived through."
"Slowly, desperately slowly it seemed to us as we watched, the remains of passage
debris that encumbered the lower part of the doorway were removed, until at last
we had the whole door clear before us. The decisive moment had arrived. With
trembling hands I made a tiny breach in the upper left hand corner. Darkness and
blank space, as far as an iron testing-rod could reach, showed that whatever lay
beyond was empty, and not filled like the passage we had just cleared. Candle tests
were applied as a precaution against possible foul gases, and then, widening the
hole a little, I inserted the candle and peered in, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn [Lord
Carnarvon's daughter] and Callender [an assistant] standing anxiously beside me to
hear the verdict. At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the
chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew
accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist,
strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by - I was struck dumb
with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any
longer, inquired anxiously, 'Can you see anything?' it was all I could do to get out
the words, 'Yes, wonderful things.' Then widening the hole a little further, so that
we both could see, we inserted an electric torch."
Entry into the burial chamber
Finally, Carter was ready to break through a
fourth sealed door into what he believed
would be King Tut's tomb - the holy of
holies where the pharaoh would be found in
his golden casket. On February 16, 1923
Carter began to pick away at the sealed
door:
"My first care was to locate the wooden
lintel above the door: then very carefully I
chipped away the plaster and picked out the
small stones which formed the uppermost
The Tomb
layer of the filling. The temptation to stop
and peer inside at every moment was
irresistible, and when, after about ten minutes' work, I had made a hole large
enough to enable me to do so, I inserted an electric torch. An astonishing sight its
light revealed, for there, within a yard of the doorway, stretching as far as one
could see and blocking the entrance to the chamber, stood what to all appearances
was a solid wall of gold. For the moment there was no clue as to its meaning, so as
quickly as I dared I set to work to widen the hole...
With the removal of a very few stones the mystery of the golden wall was solved.
We were at the entrance of the actual burial-chamber of the king, and that which
barred our way was the side of an immense gilt shrine built to cover and protect
the sarcophagus. It was visible now from the Antechamber by the light of the
standard lamps, and as stone after stone was removed, and its gilded surface came
gradually into view, we could, as though by electric current, feel the tingle of
excitement which thrilled the spectators behind the barrier...
“It was, beyond any question, the sepulchral chamber in which we stood, for there,
towering above us, was one of the great gilt shrines beneath which kings were laid.
So enormous was this structure (17 feet by 11 feet, and 9 feet high, we found
afterwards) that it filled within a little the entire area of the chamber, a space of
some two feet only separating it from the walls on all four sides, while its roof,
with cornice top and torus moulding, reached almost to the ceiling. From top to
bottom it was overlaid with gold, and upon its sides there were inlaid panels of
brilliant blue faience, in which were represented, repeated over and over, the
magic symbols which would ensure its strength and safety. Around the shrine,
resting upon the ground, there were a number of funerary emblems, and, at the
north end, the seven magic oars the king would need to ferry himself across the
waters of the underworld. The walls of the chamber, unlike those of the
Antechamber, were decorated with brightly painted scenes and inscriptions,
brilliant in their colours, but evidently somewhat hastily executed. "
Howard Carter and the "Curse of the Mummy"
The rumor of an ancient curse didn't stop this archaeologist from opening the
tomb of King Tut.
Death Shall Come on Swift Wings To Him
Who Disturbs the Peace of the King... Supposedly engraved on the exterior of King
Tutankhamen's Tomb
The king was only nineteen when he died, perhaps
murdered by his enemies. His tomb, in comparison
with his contemporaries, was modest. After his
death, his successors made an attempt to expunge his
memory by removing his name from all the official
records. Even those carved in stone. As it turns out,
his enemy's efforts only ensured his eventual fame.
His name was Tutankhamen: King Tut.
The ancient Egyptians revered their Pharaohs as
Gods. Upon their deaths the King's bodies were
carefully preserved by embalming. The mummified
corpses were interned in elaborate tombs (like the
Great Pyramid) and surrounded with all the riches the
royals would need in the next life. The tombs were
A statue of a Pharoah looks
then carefully sealed. Egypt's best architects
silently on as archaeologists
designed the structures to resist thieves. In some
disturb sacred ruins.
cases heavy, hard-granite plugs were used to block
passageways. In others, false doorways and hidden
rooms were designed to fool intruders. Finally, in a few cases, a curse was placed on
the entrance.
The Search for the Missing King
In 1891 a young Englishman named Howard Carter arrived in Egypt. Over the years
he became convinced that there was at least one undiscovered tomb. That of the
almost unknown King Tutankhamen. Carter found a backer for his tomb search in
the wealthy Lord Carnarvon. For five years Carter dug looking for the missing
Pharaoh and found nothing.
Carnarvon summonded Carter to England in 1922 to tell him he was was calling off
the search. Carter managed to talk the lord into supporting him for one more
season of digging. Returning to Egypt the archaeologist brought with him a yellow
canary.
A Few Authentic
Curses from Mummy
Tombs
"A golden bird!" Carter's foreman, Reis Ahmed,
exclaimed. "It will lead us to the tomb!"
Perhaps it did. On November 4th, 1922 Carter's workmen
discovered a step cut into the rock that had been hidden
As for anybody who
shall enter this tomb in by debris left over from the building of the tomb of
his impurity: I shall ring Ramesses IV.. Digging further they found fifteen more
leading to an ancient doorway that appeared to be still
his neck as a bird's.
sealed. On the doorway was the name Tutankhamen.
As for any man who
shall destroy these, it
is the god Thoth who
shall destroy him.
When Carter arrived home that night his servant met him
at the door. In his hand he clutched a few yellow
feathers. His eyes large with fear, he reported that the
canary had been killed by a cobra. Carter, a practical man,
As for him who shall
told the servant to make sure the snake was out of the
destroy this inscription:
house. The man grabbed Carter by the sleeve.
He shall not reach his
home. He shall not
embrace his children.
He shall not see
success.
"The pharaoh's serpent ate the bird because it led us to
the hidden tomb! You must not disturb the tomb!"
Scoffing at such superstitious nonsense, Carter sent the
man home.
The day the tomb was opened was one of joy and
celebration for all those involved. Nobody seemed to be concerned about any curse.
Rumors later circulated that Carter had found a tablet with the curse inscribed on
it, but hid it immediately so it would not alarm his workers. Carter denied doing so.
The tomb was intact and contained an amazing collection of treasures including a
stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus contained three gold coffins nested within
each other. Inside the final one was the mummy of the boy-king, Pharaoh
Tutankhamen.
The Curse Strikes?
A few months after the tomb's opening tragedy struck. Lord Carnarvon, 57, was
taken ill and rushed to Cairo. He died a few days later. The exact cause of death
was not known, but it seemed to be from an infection started by an insect bite.
Legend has it that when he died there was a short power failure and all the lights
throughout Cairo went out. His son reported that back on his estate in England his
favorite dog howled and suddenly dropped dead.
Even more strange, when the mummy of Tutankhamun was unwrapped in 1925, it
was found to have a wound on the left cheek in the same exact position as the
insect bite on Carnarvon that lead to his
death.
The press followed the deaths carefully
attributing each new one to the
"Mummy's Curse" By 1935 they had
credited 21 victims to King Tut. Was
there really a curse? Or was it all just
the ravings of a sensational press?
Outside the tomb of King Tut shortly
after it was opened in 1922.
The Story of King Tut
When British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered the
remarkably preserved tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, he created a
worldwide sensation. The only tomb of its era found intact and full of
indescribable treasures, it was also the first major discovery in the age
of easy worldwide communication. That, along with rumors of a
mysterious curse, helped make Tutankhamun the most popular of the
Egyptian pharaohs in the modern world.
But what was Tutankhamun’s world really like? Who were the men
who helped this boy king run an empire? Crowned at the tender age of
ten, how did this child train for his roles as head of the state, church,
and military? And what led to his death before his twentieth birthday?
Tut as Pharaoh
Tutankhamun began life with the name Tutankhaten (“Living
Image of the Aten”). Most likely the son of the heretic King
Akhenaten and his lesser wife Kiya, the young prince would have
grown up at Akhetaten, the controversial new capital city.
Near the time of his father’s death, Tutankhaten
married Ankhsenpaaten—probably his half-sister and the
daughter of Akhenaten by Nefertiti, the famous beauty and
chief wife.
Tutankhamun’s Early Reign
Sometime soon after Akhenaten’s passing, the ten-year-old Tutankhaten ascended the throne of
Egypt. His coronation would have been a grand affair, full of pomp and
pageantry.
One of Tutankhaten’s first actions as pharaoh was to move away
from the Amarna religion, because his father's belief in one god, the
Aten, had proved to be quite unpopular with the people.
Restoring Traditional Beliefs
Tutankhaten quickly re-established the orthodox belief in the pantheon
of the gods and reopened their temples. By his second year, King
Tutankhaten and his queen had changed their names to Tutankhamun and
Ankhsenamun.
Although they did not abandon Amarna completely, members of
the royal family re-established the old capitals and now spent most of
their time at the traditional administrative center of Memphis.
Tutankhamun’s Political Role
Because he was still a child, Tutankhamun was particularly dependent on his advisors. A small group
of men stood by ready to assist him with his more challenging responsibilities and decisions.
Advisors to The King
The man closest to Tutankhamun seems to have been the Commander in Chief of the army and
Overseer of All Works, General Horemheb. Another key figure was an elderly man name Aye, who
was Commander of the Horses and may have been Nefertiti’s father.
Aye and Horemheb most likely took principle responsibility
for major decisions during Tutankhamun’s childhood. Interestingly,
both men later ruled as pharaohs after Tutankhamun’s death.
The highest officials in the royal administration were the
viziers. There were two of these, one each for the north and south
(Upper and Lower Egypt). In addition, the king’s Viceroy of Kush was
responsible for the province of Nubia, and thus for the flow of gold
from the south into the royal coffers.
These men, along with many others, performed the tasks
that ensured the effective day-to-day running of the empire.
Tutankhamun’s Military Role
Tutankhamun was the last of a line founded by warrior pharaohs. The empire built by his
forefathers had enjoyed stability and relative peace for many years. But during Akhenaten’s time,
the situation in the Near East changed dramatically.
Egypt’s Enemies
The Hittites, one of the six great kingdoms of the ancient Near East, managed to take Egypt’s
northernmost territories during Akhenaten’s time. Wall scenes in the tomb of General Horemheb
hint at military conflict during the reign of Tutankhamun, with the three principal enemies indicated
as the Nubians, the Hittites, and the Libyans.
Tut as Head of the Army
To resolve these problems, the pharaoh traditionally would have led the army in battle, but scholars
disagree about whether Tutankhamun himself marched or if Horemheb went in his stead.
Some scholars have suggested that perhaps Tutankhamun was not physically strong enough
to perform his duties. He was buried with 130 walking sticks and staffs of various sorts, some ritual
and some clearly used in life. He is also shown sitting while engaged in activities such as hunting,
where normally he should be standing.
However, fragmentary battle scenes from Thebes suggest that
the young king did in fact lead the Egyptian troops into at least one
major confrontation.
A Warrior’s Training
Whether or not Tutankhamun actually went into battle, he was trained
from youth to be a warrior. Six chariots were found in his tomb, at least
one of which was a lightweight training or hunting vehicle. A pharaoh’s
weapon of choice was the bow, and Tutankhamun was buried with almost
fifty bows of various types and sizes, many of them showing signs of use.
Whatever the reality of Tutankhamun’s experience in battle,
clearly the message portrayed repeatedly on all tomb objects was that
the king was victorious over all enemies—an essential part of the royal
propaganda.
Tutankhamun’s Religious Role
As king of Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, Tutankhamun was also high priest of all the gods. Early in
his reign he worshipped the sun disc Aten, but he soon turned back to the traditional gods.
We cannot know what prompted his return to orthodoxy—true belief, fear of the power of
the Amun priesthood, the desire of his advisors, or simply convenience—but we do know his feelings
about his heretic father’s actions, preserved on a monument from Karnak. In this “Restoration
Stela,” he claims:
The temples of the gods and goddesses from Elephantine to the Delta were destroyed,
their sanctuaries allowed to decay. They had become rubbish heaps, overgrown with weeds….
The land was in sickness, the gods had turned their backs….”
Tutankhamun goes on to describe how he “rose upon the throne of his father” and immediately
determined to right the situation.
Restoring Egypt’s Traditional Beliefs
One of Tutankhamun's first acts of restoration included
fashioning images of Amun, Ptah, and the other gods out of
precious materials. He rebuilt their temples and made offerings
to them, paying for it all out of the royal treasury.
After this restoration, Tutankhamun and his queen would
have spent much of their time in religious celebrations. They
would have traveled to Thebes, Abydos, and other major cult
sites to officiate at the many deities’ festivals.
Tut’s Death and Burial
After a brief, nine-year reign, the boy king passed away unexpectedly
before reaching his twentieth birthday. The cause of Tutankhamun’s
death remains uncertain. A 1968 x-ray seemed to show damage to the
base of the skull, perhaps due to a blow to the head, but CT scans have
disproved that theory.
Recent examination showed a compound fracture of the left
thigh. If Tutankhamun sustained such an injury, he could have quickly
died of infection, but the soft tissue is too damaged to provide
conclusive proof. Whatever the cause of death, Tut’s advisors quickly
saw to his funeral arrangements.
Beliefs about Death
The Egyptians believed that at the moment of death, the ba and ka—two
parts of the person’s total identity—separated from the body:
The ka was the life force, perhaps the most crucial part of a
person’s identity. In order to function in the afterlife, the ka
needed food, drink, incense, clothing and perpetual ritual care.
The ba can be understood as the soul or personality.
Represented as a bird with a human head, it could leave the tomb
and affect the lives of loved ones left behind on earth.
It was only through the properly mummified body and well-executed
funerary rites that the ba, ka, and body could be reunited, allowing the
deceased to become an akh, an effective and blessed spirit that could
dwell in peace for eternity.
King Tut was born.
He was the son of
the Pharoah.
King Tut was
trained to be
a warrior.
King Tut restored
the popular
religion—the one
the people wanted.
[SAMPLE TIMELINE]
10 yrs old
King Tut becomes
Pharoah of
Ancient Egypt
King Tut lead the
Ancient Egyptians in
battle or ruled them
during a time of war.
King Tut worked to
rebuild traditional
religious temples and
participated in traditional
religious ceremonies.
19 years
old
King Tut died,
possibly from an
injury and infection.