KV62, the Amarna aftermath, restoration of Amun, Luxor’s Opet colonnade, and how Howard Carter’s discovery made King Tut a household name.
Alternative names: King Tut, Tutankhamen, Tutankhamon; original name Tutankhaten.
Tutankhamun (14th century BCE; reigned c. 1333–1323 BCE) is ancient Egypt’s most famous boy-king chiefly because his tomb—KV 62 in the Valley of the Kings—was found largely intact in 1922. During his short reign, advisers rolled back the “Amarna revolution” of his predecessor Akhenaten, restoring traditional religion and art.
Origins and Accession
Parentage remains debated. A black fragment from Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna) calls him a king’s son beside princesses of Akhenaten. His mummy closely resembles remains from KV55—identified by some as Smenkhkare or even Akhenaten. After Smenkhkare’s death, the young Tutankhaten became king and married Ankhesenpaaten (later Ankhesenamun), likely the senior surviving royal daughter. Ay and general Horemheb guided the boy-king.
Restoration and Building
By his third year he left Amarna for Memphis, took the name Tutankhamun, and decreed restoration of the old gods’ temples, images, and priesthoods—especially Amon, damaged under Akhenaten. The Aten was not persecuted; army units and vineyards could still bear its name. He built at Karnak and a Theban memorial temple (mostly gone); the chief survivor is the Colonnade at Luxor Temple, carved with the Opet festival linking Karnak’s triad with Luxor Amun.
Death and Burial
He died around age nineteen—2010 research noted malaria and bone disease as possible factors. With no clear heir, Ay succeeded. A small Valley tomb was adapted in haste (his intended tomb may have gone to Ay). Like other Amarna-linked rulers, his name was later attacked and monuments usurped, especially by Horemheb. The tomb was entered in antiquity but re-hidden; workmen building nearby Ramesses VI shelters sealed its entrance until Howard Carter’s 1922 discovery.
The Treasures
Three nested coffins (innermost solid gold), golden mask, jewelry, four gilded shrines, chariots, furniture, and countless grave goods filled the chambers. Without that find, Tutankhamun would be a footnote; instead he became a global icon—especially after touring “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibitions. Masterpieces today anchor Cairo’s Egyptian Museum and the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Walk the Valley of the Kings and Luxor with Expedition Egypt—Tut’s story is clearest when you stand where Carter stood.
