Tutankhamun is the most famous of all the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, though ruled over his kingdom for only nine years.
He ascended to the throne age of eight or nine during the 18th Dynasty kingdom, helped by the advisors of his father, Akhenaten.
Under his — and their — watch he introduced several policies to counter many of the unfavourable aspects of Akhenaten’s reign.
Until 1922, Tutankhamun was unknown to the outside world and only came to public knowledge when archaeologist Howard Carter and his team discovered his tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
They found a tomb filled with relics, though were perplexed at its small size — something Egyptologists of today say was caused by a more sinister aspect of Ancient Egypt.
One of the biggest reasons why Tutankhamun wasn’t known before 1922 is because his tomb had escaped centuries of grave robbers.
While tombs all around the Valley of the Kings had been looted, Tut’s remained sealed and hidden, mostly because it was completely unremarkable and nondescript.
It betrays the Tutankhamun’s power and the prestige he would have had in ancient society. Why might one of Ancient Egypt’s greatest pharaohs have been buried in such a destitute tomb?
Aliaa Ismail, an Egyptologist who appeared during National Geographic’s documentary, ‘Lost Treasures of Egypt’, believes she has discovered why.
Tutankhamun’s successor, Ay, had been an advisor to his mother, Neferneferuaten, and father, Akhenaten, during their reign.
According to Ms Ismail, he wiped Tutankhamun from Egypt’s history on coming to power and moved his body from his original and grand tomb to the smaller and unprepared one.
Analysing Ay’s tomb, she pointed to a large wall covered in finely painted baboons. “Both Tut and Ay opted for the same scene, almost like the same person chose what goes in each tomb,” she said.
Ay and Tutankhamun’s tombs are almost identical in their artwork and layout, suggesting that a shared hand was at work in both.
Yet, only Ay’s tomb was fit for a pharaoh. “It’s very similar to the tomb of Tutankhamun — the style, the artwork, the sarcophagus, but, it’s so much bigger,” Ms Ismail noted.
The narrator added: “The artistic style of the two tombs suggests that Ay may have been responsible for decorating both.”
Because Tutankhamun died quite unexpectedly, researchers believe that the majestic tomb he had ordered of himself was unfinished.
Usually, tombs for pharaohs would have been started during their reign to ensure they reached their proper versions, but with Tut having died at 18, little time was left for this.
They say Ay may have seized the moment and ordered a much smaller tomb to be built, eventually burying Tutankhamun there and keeping his larger tomb for himself.
“Ay buried Tutankhamun in the smaller tomb, so he could have the bigger tomb for himself,” Ms Ismail said. “This is the tomb that was intended for Tutankhamun, the tomb of Ay.”
Tutankhmaun’s father was hated by Egyptian society after he enforced monotheism on a culture that had for thousands of years worshipped multiple gods. This helped Ay and his successors smear both Akhenaten and more importantly Tutankhamun’s name.
It could, according to the experts, explain why Tut’s tomb was so poorly built and how Ay so easily managed to erase him from the memory of history.
