Wen | Gu Yuanshan
Editor|Gu Yuanshan
The tomb of Tutankhamun is one of the most fascinating finds ever made, but it is not a complete archaeological find.
It was looted twice in ancient times, and Howard Carter estimates that the amount of jewelry stolen is considerable.
For three thousand years, about 300 pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt, but all Egyptian royal tombs were broken into by thieves, even King Tutankhamun's tomb. But in 1939, Pierre Monte made one of the most important discoveries in archaeological history, the Tanis Treasure.
He discovered a royal burial ground, which included three intact Egyptian pharaonic tombs and gold and silver treasures. This is the story of the gold treasures of ancient Egypt.
Gold is known as "the flesh of the Egyptian gods"
Why are people so fascinated by sparkling gold? At the dawn of ancient Egyptian civilization, people tried to make sense of the world around them. They envision it to begin as a sea of darkness and chaos.
But then an island, the sun, the gods appeared from the water, and dense vegetation grew on the mound. At night, instead of haze and chaos, they see order, as the stars move in unison.
Every day, the sun brings life to the world. Every year the Nile fertilizes drylands. As a result, they feel a divine harmony in the world around them. And the equilibrium point of this precision clockwork of life is the sun.
In the desert, one can find a metal in the rocks that is the same color as sunlight. It can be melted and shaped without tarnishing, so it seems timeless.
The elderly sun god "Ra" was described after his death as "his bones turned to silver, his flesh to gold, and his hair to true lapis lazuli". For the ancient Egyptians, the flesh of the gods was made of gold, the same substance as the sun.
Gold is a non-perishable material
This is the great misunderstanding of archaeologists or people about ancient Egyptian civilization. It is not a civilization with a pathological fascination with death, but the opposite of life and eternity.
Since the sun is reborn every morning, the Egyptian royal tombs were built in the west. The idea is to join the night trip of the sun and, like him, to be resurrected every morning.
This is how the pyramid expresses eternal rebirth. They were originally covered with smooth white stone with gold and silver tips that looked like the sun's rays.
In addition, they symbolize the primitive grassy mound, the regeneration of plant life. The Egyptian pharaoh built impressive tombs with the goal of resurrection by joining this circular commitment to eternal life.
The kings had a huge advantage over ordinary Egyptians who also wished for eternal life. Pharaoh was already a "good god" and in the afterlife he became a full-fledged god. During the day, he roams the sky with his father and at night he joins the stars.
Pharaoh, son of the sun, would meet the gods in the afterlife, so there would be golden flesh. Therefore, a golden mask, a golden coffin, and a golden amulet covering the king's body were needed for eternal protection.
Since Pharaoh is believed to be alive in the tomb, he had the same needs as earthly life. So he brought his gilded furniture and precious objects to the tomb.
Therefore, if there was gold wealth in the tomb of every king, how much would it accumulate over three thousand years? Can we even begin to imagine that they have hidden treasures?
A large amount of gold hidden in Egyptian tombs
The mausoleum of the little king Tutankhamun contains more than 5,000 items and is also the smallest royal mausoleum in the Valley of the Kings. What are the treasures of major Egyptian pharaohs such as Ramses II?
Before that, how could there be such a big pyramid? In total, more than 120 pyramids were built in ancient Egypt, including small pyramids for queens and princes.
Almost all the mummies and treasures were emptied, leaving only empty sad sarcophagi.
Not a single bit of gold, lapis lazuli or ivory can be found in the pyramidal chambers. At best, fragments of royal corpses: Josel's left foot, Seneferu's skull, Unas's left arm ...
Rare Egyptian pharaoh gold ornaments
Luckily, several royal jewelry masterpieces have survived, giving us an idea of what a lost treasure might look like. They were either discovered by thieves or by archaeologists.
Sometimes by chance, such as railroad workers stumble upon a jewelry treasure. Archaeologists suspect that it was already a hidden treasure buried by marauders two thousand years ago.
Among the treasures is a pair of gold and lapis lazuli bracelets engraved with the name of Ramses II. We don't know if he actually wore them, but it gives us a glimpse of the items lost in his grave.
In 1920, an archaeologist discovered a gold and lapis lazuli cobra in a pyramid. It was dropped by thieves while cleaning the tomb. To imagine what the rest might look like, one needs to look at Tutankhamun's golden mask.
No matter how impressive its gold treasure is, Tutankhamun's tomb is not intact, and thieves have visited it twice. Before Pierre Monte discovered Tanis, a complete royal tomb had never been found in ancient Egypt.
Archaeologists discover complete Egyptian tombs
A glorious chapter in the history of ancient Egypt ended with the death of Ramses XI. He had a resounding name, but without any power or achievements. Egypt entered one of its chaotic periods and split in two.
The Valley of the Kings was desecrated, and most of the treasure was emptied. The Egyptian pharaoh ruled the northern delta, and this is how the city of Tanis became the new capital.
But that era was put into the "decline" folder of Egyptian history. The city was built simply to make use of the nearby city built by the great Ramses as a convenient quarry.
Most of what remains of the high humidity environment is stone fragments, so it's unlikely that anything is hidden there that matches Tutankhamun's find.
With or without a minor king, Tanis was once the capital of ancient Egypt. After ten years of hard work, in the spring of 1939, Pierre Monte found the slate. Then there is a small piece of gold, the quality of which indicates that there is something special nearby. This is not the ground of the temple, but the roof of the underground cemetery.
Thieves existed in ancient times, and Monte entered the hole they dug and found an empty tomb. But it was the tomb of Pharaoh. Then another sarcophagus was found, also hollowed out by the robbers.
Then, there is a stone chamber that shows no signs of entry. After sliding into the small room, Monte saw "a silver coffin with an eagle's head, which appeared to be intact." Through a gap, you can see that there is a golden light shining inside."
Next to the silver falcon coffin, "under a large number of torn gold leaf there are two skeletons", the history of Egyptian archaeology is about to be rewritten.
The treasure of the royal tomb Tanis
Monte had just discovered a royal burial ground containing the tombs of more than a dozen Egyptian kings and princes. The coffin in the shape of a falcon contained the mummy of Pharaoh Psassenis II, a name that until then was completely unknown.
Thus, the discovery of the first royal tomb ever discovered shows that there is still a lot to be discovered in ancient Egypt.
Although the entire text on the mummy and papyrus was badly decayed, gold earned a reputation for eternal materiality. Everything made of wood is gone, but everything made of gold is intact.
Psassenis was buried in a silver coffin. He wore a gold mask, six gold or lapis lazuli necklaces, twenty-six bracelets, and two chest ornaments. The larger necklace weighs 8 kg and is made of thousands of individual gold nuggets. One can compare it to the 10 kg (22 lb) used for Tutankhamun's mask.
Each lapis lazuli necklace weighs 10 kg, the main gold necklace 8 kg (18 lbs) and one gold bracelet nearly 2 kg (4 lbs). One wondered if Psassenis could still move if he wore all his jewelry.
There is also a fourth lucky guest in the necropolis, a general named Jade, whose grave is intact. He is also in a silver coffin, covered with a mask of pure gold.
Together with Pharaoh Soshank II and Amenempu, the treasure of Tannis reached nearly 600 pieces. Three sterling silver coffins, four gold masks, honeysuckle vases, and a staggering collection of jewelry.
A pair of gold and lapis lazuli bracelets by Soshank, as well as many other pieces, show that in an era that is said to be in decline, jewelers can create miracles as stunning as Tutankhamun.
But there are also puzzling aspects to the Tanis Treasure. On the one hand, it is supposed to appear in the era of ancient Egypt in decline. How small and pitiful Egyptian tombs were, built with fragments taken from temples, huge statues and obelisks, these discoveries confirm this.
The sarcophagus was repurposed from the previous pharaohs, and the objects found bear the names of the previous pharaohs, such as Yahmose and Psassenis II.
King Tannis, however, had a large amount of gold and silver decoration. Soshank's reign was so short that it is difficult to know how long it lasted. So the question is, can we grasp the amount of gold held by the pharaoh?
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2. Eaton Krauss, Marianne. 2012. Making Sacred Gold: Royal Metalwork Manufacturing in the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period
3. Nicholson, Paul T. In 1998. "Reliance on Reinvention: Examples of the Use of Symbols of Domination," (pp. 51-74) Old Museum Press