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12. The first civilisations
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TOMBS AND FUNERAL CONSTRUCTIONS
Did you know?
In 1922, the British man Howard Carter discovered the tomb
of the young pharaoh Tutankhamen, the only one from this
civilisation that was found intact and hadn’t been robbed.
His offerings included statues, furniture, weapons, jewels
and fabrics, among others. Inside the stone sarcophagus
there were three richly decorated coffins, one inside the
other. The mummy of the pharaoh was found inside.
Many of the people involved in this discovery died in
mysterious circumstances during the following years. This
is why they talk of ‘the curse of the pharaoh’. It is said that
Carter found an inscription in the tomb which warned:
‘Whoever disturbs the rest of the pharaoh will meet with
death’.
Tutankhamen’s sarcophagus (detail)
Headdress
: symbolising
the rays of the sun
Vulture and cobra
:
symbols of Upper and
Lower Egypt
False beard
: attributed
to Osiris, symbolising
immortality
Sceptre or staff and
whip
: symbols of power
Temples
were
accessed by crossing the
dromos
, an avenue flanked
with sphinxes (imaginary animals with
the body of a lion and a human head). The
entrance was in the middle of an enormous wall with
inclined sides. Sometimes, on each side of the entrance, there
were obelisks (vertical monoliths with a pyramid-shape at the top)
and
colossal statues
. Through the entrance door there was a
courtyard surrounded by columns, which led into the
hypostyle
hall
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. At the back of the temple there was the sanctuary with the statue of
the god or goddess. Nearby there was a large pond symbolised the origin of life.
