Tutankhamun’s Wishing Cup

In 1922, Howard Carter had spent the last thirty years excavating ancient tombs in Egypt. As one of the world’s foremost experts in the field, he often worked under the patronage of the fabulously wealthy antiquities collector, Lord Carnarvon, who hired him to oversee excavations in the Valley of the Kings along the Nile River.

Carter resided in a modest mud-brick house as he scoured the area in search of an elusive tomb that he believed might contain the remains of Tutankhamun, the enigmatic pharaoh of the 18th dynasty who ruled between 1332 and 1323 B.C. Known as “King Tut,” he ascended the throne at the age of nine or ten and died around age 18, making his story particularly captivating.

By 1922, Lord Carnarvon informed Carter that he would only fund the search for one more year unless pay dirt was found. As time was running out, on November 4, Carter’s water boy stumbled upon steps in the sand leading to an important burial site. An elated Carter immediately wired his patron, and the excited Lord Carnarvon soon arrived with his entourage to visit the site.

Carter’s hands were trembling when he exposed the tomb in Carnarvon’s presence. “At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker,” Carter later wrote, “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.” Carter was dumbstruck with amazement, prompting the impatient Lord Carnarvon to ask, “Can you see anything?” The gaping archaeologist eventually composed himself enough to reply, “Yes, wonderful things!”

The Antechamber — exactly as the British archeologist Howard Carter saw it when he opened the tomb. It is stashed with furniture and other items to accompany Tutankhamun into the next life.

What they beheld were the astonishingly wealthy contents of a royal tomb untouched for almost 3,400 years. It was their initial view of over 5,500 artifacts, carefully packed into four small chambers surrounding Tutankhamun’s mummified body, intended to provide everything he might require in the afterlife, where it was thought he would reside eternally.

The first discovery for Carter was the alabaster Wishing Cup, adorned with an inscription wishing the king an afterlife spanning “millions of years,” a sentiment that encapsulates the profound significance of this splendid burial.

The alabaster WIshing Cup in the shape of a lotus flower. The King’s titles are in the square, and circling the top is the inscription wishing Tutankhamun an afterlife of “Millions of Years”

Climaxing Carter’s discovery was Tutankhamun himself. Four progressively smaller shrines encased the sarcophagus, within which were three nested coffins. The innermost coffin, crafted from solid gold, held the mummified king. His head was adorned with jewel-encrusted bandages, and nestled within was the breathtaking and now globally renowned gold mask.

The gold mask that crowned the king’s mummified body weighs 10kg (22 lb) and is made of gold inlaid with precious stones. The eyes are quartz, and pupils obsidian. Carter described it as “placid but beautiful”.

Howard Carter opens the door of the second of the four golden shrines that protected the king’s body — he was staring at another wall

From 2020 onwards, you can view all these treasures just as Carter and Carnarvon did, now housed in the new billion-dollar Grand Egyptian Museum near Cairo at Giza. You could spend an entire day at the Museum captivated not only by the unimaginable richness of the tomb’s contents but also by the exceptional craftsmanship.

Tutankhamun’s life and death mark one of the most dramatic chapters in Egypt’s history. While some details remain debated, it appears he was the son of Amenophis IV, who famously condensed Egypt’s vast pantheon of gods to just one — the sun-god Aten — and established a new capital called Akhetaten, now known as Amarna — a ruin on the east bank of the Nile.

Tutankhamun ascended the throne at nine or ten years old, married his half-sister, and, plagued by malaria and other disabilities, died after a brief reign of only nine years. He began his life amidst his father’s controversial belief in a single deity, which conflicted with the traditional Egyptian polytheism. Tutankhamun was persuaded to steer Egypt back to its old religious customs and relocated the capital back to Thebes.

Despite his relatively unremarkable reign, Tutankhamun’s burial ensured his enduring fame.

Tyler Wall is the founder of Cyber NOW Education by night and works full time in the cybersecurity industry as his day job. He creates cybersecurity training material in his free time, often after feeling the need to shout what he’s just learned and also because a little bit of passive income never hurt anyone.

He holds bills for a Master of Science from Purdue University, and also CISSP, CCSK, CFSR, CEH, Sec+, Net+, A+ certifications

You can connect with him on LinkedIn.