The Tattoo Travel

King Tut wows visitors in golden New York show

NEW YORK CITY — King Tut, the boy king who became the face of ancient Egypt, could easily have become a mere footprint in time rather than one of the most famous names in history.
Though considered a God, he died at age 19 with no great accomplishments to his name from his decade on the throne.
The reason Tutankhamun is so famous now is the 1923 discovery of his tomb by archeologists – the only tomb from ancient Egypt that had not already been stripped clean by grave-robbers.
The riches of that tomb quickly made the name King Tut extremely well-known, but how many people have actually seen the famous artifacts?
At the Discovery Center at Times Square New York City through January 17, there is an exhibit of a small portion of the items found in King Tut’s tomb. There are 50 objects from the tomb and about 80 more from his royal ancestors.

Pectoral made of gold, inlaid with silver, glass and semiprecious stones. It depicts the king with the god Ptah and his wife, the goddess Sekhmet, both reinstated by Tut. Photo provided.

Some of the most interesting objects from the exhibit are the ones that depict everyday life: a beautiful painted dog collar, a worn and well-used chariot.
Sarah Haberlack and Emily Macklin, both 14-year-olds from Massapequa, N.Y., said it was cool to see the Egyptian culture firsthand.
While the most famous objects, such as King Tut’s mummy and his burial mask, remained in Egypt, there were some extremely cool objects that came to America for the exhibit.
For example, there was a coffin and burial mask from one of his ancestors, both made of solid gold.

Symbols of Tut’s royal rule, found in his tomb. Photo provided.

“I like the gold because it shines. It shows how much of a king he was, how much power he had,” said 15-year-old Denzel Walters of Yonkers New York.
The exhibit included another mummy that could be viewed instead of King Tut’s.
Along with the fascinating artifacts from King Tut’s ancestors, there were some intriguing things from the boy king himself. For instance, the exhibit had the case that once held King Tut’s mummified liver.
Haberlack said that Tutankhamun’s chairs in the exhibit were “really intricate.”
Also taken to the United States for the show were some really good sculptures of King Tut.
It was “set up very well,” she said, because you begin with the “quotes and the dig, and end up with the mummy, which tops it all off.”
The exhibit was quite detailed, according to many visitors.
“I thought it was really cool to see how everything was intricate and detailed,” said Stephanie Perrotti, a 17-year-old student at Newtown High School in Connecticut.
“There was a lot to see,” said her older sister, Krystal Perrotti.
Krystal Perrotti, a 19-year-old from Newtown, Conn., a student at the University of Connecticut, said she liked the design of the exhibit within the old New York Times building near Times Square.

Mary Majerus-Collins, Luke Pearson and Kiernan Majerus-Collins are Reporters for Youth Journalism International.

The Discovery Center at Times Square (Mary Majerus-Collins/YJI)

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