26 King Tut’s Tomb

It has long been known that ancient Egyptian rulers, or pharaohs, were buried with great ceremony and lavish treasures that were to be used in the other world. Unfortunately, until 1922 no remains of any of the pharaohs in their tombs had ever been found. In that year, however, an archaeologist named Howard Carter and his sponsor, Lord Carnarvon, were at last successful. They found the tomb of King Tutankhamen, who was buried 3,200 years ago. King Tut's tomb was the first fully preserved burial site to be uncovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. The two men found wonderful treasures. Gold figures and magnificent furniture decorated with gold were found in the mural of secret rooms and tunnels within the pyramid.

The only disappointment for Howard Carter came when he found that King Tut's body was nothing but dust. Apparently a mistake had been made when the king's remains were mummified. Carter did, however, find 143 pieces of jewelry within the mummy case, mostly made of gold and precious stones.

Actually, despite all the publicity about the remarkable finds in his tomb, Tutankhamen's reign was old. The pharaoh was short and relatively uneventful. He died when he was just 18 years old.

There is an interesting story that goes along with King Tut's tomb. According to legend, a powerful curse was placed in it. This curse was to descend on anyone uncovering Tutankhamen's burial place. Not very long after the discovery, Lord Carnarvon, along with several of the workmen, died suddenly.

26 图坦卡蒙之墓

长期以来，人们都知道古埃及的统治者（法老）会以盛大的仪式下葬，并随葬大量供来世使用的珍宝。不幸的是，直到1922年，从未有人在法老的墓中发现过任何遗骸。然而在那一年，考古学家霍华德·卡特和他的赞助人卡那封勋爵终于取得了成功。他们找到了3200年前下葬的图坦卡蒙法老的陵墓。图坦卡蒙之墓是埃及帝王谷中第一个被发现的保存完好的墓葬。两人发现了大量奇珍异宝：金字塔内密室和隧道的壁画中，有黄金雕像和装饰着黄金的华丽家具。

霍华德·卡特唯一的失望是发现图坦卡蒙的尸体已化为尘土。显然，法老的遗体在木乃伊化过程中出了差错。不过，卡特在木乃伊棺椁中发现了143件珠宝，大部分由黄金和宝石制成。

实际上，尽管图坦卡蒙陵墓中的惊人发现备受关注，但他的统治时期很短，且相对平淡无奇。他去世时年仅18岁。

关于图坦卡蒙之墓还有一个有趣的故事。传说墓中被下了强大的诅咒，任何打开图坦卡蒙墓地的人都会遭到诅咒。发现陵墓后不久，卡那封勋爵和几名工人突然去世。