Treasure of a Teenage King

Almost 2000 fabulous objects, including gold figurines and masks and priceless jewellery, were found when British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in November 1922. It was one of the most stunning archeological finds of all time. Carter, asked what he could see as he peered into the tomb, could only gasp: “Wonderful things….” Yet Tutankhamun, who died in about 1352 BC at the age of 18 or 19, was only a minor pharaoh. Far more amazing treasures must have been buried with the more important pharaohs. But their larger and more conspicuous tombs were emptied by grave-robbers thousands of years ago. [caption id="attachment_20478" align="aligncenter" width="158"] Very fine linen - thought to have been as sheer as modern nylon stockings and probably worn by both men and women - was fashionable for centuries in ancient Egypt. This revealingly dressed statue of Selket, a scorpion goddess, was made of gilded wood for the tomb of Tutankhamun in the 14th century BC.[/caption]