ch-9 Tutankhamun Uncovered

Unlike the tomb of Smenkhkare, which lay almost opposite on the other side of The Valley, this small crypt now had sufficient space to accommodate, packed tight, every bit of the trappings necessary to sustain Pharaoh in his celestial flight. The elder brother’s reign had been yet more foreshortened than that of Tutankhamun, and there had been no time to extend the tomb beyond a single chamber. It had been necessarily light in all but the most essential of grave goods – by now a good deal lighter following the intrusions of the general.

Ugele took one last look around. He recalled the great corridors of the tomb of Pharaoh Akhenaten, extending seemingly forever into the bowels of the earth: the furnishings, the food, the clothing, the jewellery, all arranged comfortably about the many chambers, corridors and ancillary rooms, as they had been in life – a virtual household for the dead. Nevertheless, for Tutankhamun, one way or another it would all be there, crowding the three chambers surrounding the royal remains. With everything to hand, the king would be able to rearrange it to his liking in the halls of his heavenly Osiride palace.