Tutankhamun in Philadelphia
King Tutankhamen
as he looked in life
The family and a couple of friends and I travelled to Philadelphia this past weekend to check out the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute , and as previously promised here’s my posting on the whole museum adventure. I would sure love to show you some of our photos of the artifacts, but unfortunately no photography was allowed. You’ll just have to content yourselves with the few stock photos I’ve dug up.
Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, Tutankhamen has fascinated the world. His name is synonomous with glittering gold and a life that was tragically cut short at the age of 19 by means that are still mysterious. It was once thought he died from a blow to the head, but recent CT scans have refuted this explanation.
Only about 8 or 9 years old when he came to the throne of Egypt in 1332 B.C. King Tut was an heir to immense realm that stretched north to nearly the Euphrates River and south to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. Egypt’s economy was based on conquor and booty which they brought back to fill the royal coffers. Amenhotep III, believed to be Tutankhamen’s grandfather had a stable kingdom, but when his son, believed to be Tutankhamen’s father, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti (not Tut’s mother) changed the state religion from a polytheist one to that of a single god – the Sun Disk Aten great upheavels occurred.
In his reign Tutankhamen rejected the teachings of Akhenaten and brought back the old religion. He died at 19 and left no heir as did his successor Aye. It is speculated that because of his association with Akhenaten the next kings wiped his memory and name from all public writings. Go figure – by trying to erase him they also made him invisible to future grave robbers and thus helped to create his now famous legacy.Because his tomb was untouched his wealth that was buried with him remained for us to remember him by.
Overall I enjoyed out time in the museum. the tickets need to be bought inadvance so plan ahead! They are timed tickets which mena you will be in with the artifacts – no mummies, sorry – and actually beabale to see them despite the fact there may be the occassional brat that isn’t being controlled by their parents. There are many things that were actually buried with the King – some of which were personal items like a game he played called Senet.
My kids even enjoyed it though I would recommend you DO NOT bring smaller children. They would like all the hands on science display in the other parts of the Franklin Institute more I think, and your fellow museum goers would appreciate you better too. It was amazing to me to see things buried in the sand for more than 3000 years that still looked beautiful. Reed chairs and a leather dog collar looked remarkably well preserved, as well as the gold inlaid chests and jewelry and alabaster canopic jars that contained the internal organs of Tutankhamen. In the 70’s you might remember the King Tut mania that swept the US when some of these artifacts toured then. It was in Germany that a statue was damaged and this caused the Egyptian government to say that they should never again leave Egypt – in fact Tut’s mummy still is interred in his tomb today.
Luckily after two decades these artifacts are back with a change of heart from Egypt, so I suggest Strange Readers you get some tickets and make the drive to Philly. You may never have the chance again. Tickets are timed and dated. Reserve in Advance. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST 1-877-TUT-TKTS (888-8587) February 3rd to September 30
Individual Rates*
Monday – Thursday
Adult (12+) $27.50
Senior/Student/Military** $24.00
Child (4-11) $17.50
Add one IMAX show $5.00
Individual Rates*
Friday – Sunday
Adult (12+) $32.50
Senior/Student/Military** $30.00
Child (4-11) $17.50
Add one IMAX show $5.00
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