Archaeology Magazine — March-April 2018

20 ARCHAEOLOGY • March/April 2018

A

lthough the treasure of the Egyptian pharaoh Tut-

ankhamun’s grave, one of the most famous archaeo-

logical discoveries of all time, was found nearly 100

years ago, researchers are still learning new things about

ancient Egyptian society by studying the grave assemblage.

In 1922 , British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered the

lavish 3 , 300 -year-old tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Now, a

German-Egyptian project has analyzed hundreds of embossed

decorative gold items from the grave for the first time. The

fragmented gold pieces were boxed up shortly after they had

been discovered and remained in museum storage until recently.

Experts have painstakingly reassembled the ornamental

applications, which would have been attached to objects in the

pharaoh’s tomb, such as quivers, bow cases, and bridles. They

were surprised to detect decorative motifs foreign to Egyptian art

at the time. Scenes such as fighting animals and goats at the tree

of life were typical of Mesopotamian art, and their presence on

the objects from Tutankhamun’s grave demonstrates how Egyp-

tian artists were cognizant of and influenced by outside cultural

styles that had seemingly passed to Egypt through the Levant.

Although chemical analyses of the gold artifacts with Egyptian

motifs and those with foreign motifs showed that they had

different chemical compositions and sources, it is not thought

that the eastern-style objects were imported. Instead, they were

likely created in workshops specializing in Mesopotamian styles.

—Jason UrbanUs

FROM THE TRENCHES

TUT’S MESOPOTAMIAN SIDE

Wooden box

Gold fragments

Embossed

gold sheet