Ancient Egypt for Kids
King Tut's Tomb and Howard Carter

King Tut is short for King Tutankhamen. His name is actually pronounced like this: Toot-ong-kah-men. King Tut was only Pharaoh for about 9 years. Yet he is probably one of the most famous pharaohs of all.

King Tut was nine years old when he became Pharaoh. He was a teenager when he died. His people did not have time in nine years to built a huge tomb for him. They had to quickly finish a tiny tomb. Because his tomb was so small, grave robbers most probably did not discover it.

It was not until 1922 that Howard Carter entered Tut's tomb. He found a bag of gold rings dropped on the floor. But it might have fallen accidentally. If robbers had been there, they did not take very much. There was still a solid gold mask on King Tut's face. The tomb was full of treasures.

All over the modern world, ancient Egypt was the hot topic of conversation. Movies were made. Jewelry was created. Clothing was sewn using Egyptian designs. This enormous interest in all things Egyptian generated funding, which helped Egyptologists (archaeologists who study ancient Egypt) continue to discover more about this fascinating ancient civilization.

Tut's Tomb Adventure (bbc)

All about Howard Carter (with help from the Biography Channel, bio.com)

King Tutankhamen Song - Listen and Learn

King Tut - The Boy King

Hear Tut's Trumpet

Ancient Egyptian Tombs

Interactive Quiz about Ancient Egypt (with answers)