A TOMB BUILDER'S GUIDE TO DESIGNING KING TUT'S TOMB
Congratulations! You've finally gotten your dream job. You have been assigned to lead the design committee for the tomb of the great pharaoh Tutankhamun. Sure, it will be years before he passes on to the afterlife--he is only a teenager--but as any great architect knows, it is always good to be prepared for any situation. So where to start? There are so many things to think about.
SIZE
A tomb for a pharaoh should be huge! You decide it should have twenty rooms, each filled with treasures. Since the boy king is so young, you will have plenty of time to finish his tomb, so you divide the construction up into stages. The first stage will consist of the entry stairway, the entrance passageway, and four main rooms: the antechamber, the annex, the burial chamber, and the treasury. The other stages can come after you finish these rooms. After much consideration, you decide on the following measurements.
Entry stairway: 6' wide by 16 steps
Entry passageway: 6' wide by 27' deep by 7' high
Antechamber: 26'wide by 12' deep by 9' high
Annex: 15' wide by 9' deep by 9' high
Burial Chamber: 14' wide by 21' deep by 12' high
Treasury: 16' wide by 13' deep by 8' high
LAYOUT
You know that the layout of a tomb is important so the dead pharaoh will properly be able to reach the underworld and pass into the Fields of the Blessed. You decide that the entrance should be from the east, the same way Khepri the giant dung beetle god makes the sun rise each morning. The burial chamber should be at the northwest, and the treasury should be at the northeast. The annex should be in the southwest, and the antechamber should be in the center. You pray for guidance, and the gods seem pleased with your decisions.
PROTECTION
Great! Now that the technical stuff is out of the way, what is the best way to protect this tomb that you've built? For starters, sealed doors at all the main intersections are a must. That way, if thieves do break into the tomb, they may not have the time or equipment to make it to the really special rooms (like the burial chamber or the treasury).
After the sealed doors are in place, a curse inscribed above the entry door is always nice. Statistics show that a powerful curse can keep away over sixty percent of potential thieves. After all, who would want to bring down a curse upon themselves? For great Pharaoh Tutankhamun, you think about the curse for two weeks straight, trying to come up with the perfect words. Finally you have it!
Death Shall Come on Swift Wings To
Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King
Once the sealed doors and the curse are solidly in place, cover the entire tomb in sand. With luck, nobody will ever find it.
SIZE
A tomb for a pharaoh should be huge! You decide it should have twenty rooms, each filled with treasures. Since the boy king is so young, you will have plenty of time to finish his tomb, so you divide the construction up into stages. The first stage will consist of the entry stairway, the entrance passageway, and four main rooms: the antechamber, the annex, the burial chamber, and the treasury. The other stages can come after you finish these rooms. After much consideration, you decide on the following measurements.
Entry stairway: 6' wide by 16 steps
Entry passageway: 6' wide by 27' deep by 7' high
Antechamber: 26'wide by 12' deep by 9' high
Annex: 15' wide by 9' deep by 9' high
Burial Chamber: 14' wide by 21' deep by 12' high
Treasury: 16' wide by 13' deep by 8' high
LAYOUT
You know that the layout of a tomb is important so the dead pharaoh will properly be able to reach the underworld and pass into the Fields of the Blessed. You decide that the entrance should be from the east, the same way Khepri the giant dung beetle god makes the sun rise each morning. The burial chamber should be at the northwest, and the treasury should be at the northeast. The annex should be in the southwest, and the antechamber should be in the center. You pray for guidance, and the gods seem pleased with your decisions.
PROTECTION
Great! Now that the technical stuff is out of the way, what is the best way to protect this tomb that you've built? For starters, sealed doors at all the main intersections are a must. That way, if thieves do break into the tomb, they may not have the time or equipment to make it to the really special rooms (like the burial chamber or the treasury).
After the sealed doors are in place, a curse inscribed above the entry door is always nice. Statistics show that a powerful curse can keep away over sixty percent of potential thieves. After all, who would want to bring down a curse upon themselves? For great Pharaoh Tutankhamun, you think about the curse for two weeks straight, trying to come up with the perfect words. Finally you have it!
Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King
Once the sealed doors and the curse are solidly in place, cover the entire tomb in sand. With luck, nobody will ever find it.
