The tomb belonging to king Tut (KV62), is located in the main wadi of the Valley of the Kings and survived for several reasons; Tutankhamun and his entire family were removed from history, the tomb of Ramesses VI (KV9) was built over the top of his tomb and the materials from the excavation covered the tomb entrance and later, workmen's houses were over the top. The general architecture and plan of the tomb is a bit unusual and is completely unlike any other tomb of the period.

circa 1450 BCE

The tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) was discovered on 4 November 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter, working under the patronage of Lord Carnarvon, after several seasons of systematic excavation in the Valley of the Kings. Initial steps uncovered the top of a flight of stone-cut stairs, which led to a sealed doorway bearing the cartouches of Tutankhamun. Upon clearing the descending corridor and a blocking wall at its end, Carter reached the antechamber on 26 November, famously peering inside and declaring that he saw “wonderful things.” The excavation proceeded in carefully controlled stages between 1922 and 1932, involving extensive documentation, photography, and conservation work due to the fragile and densely packed nature of the burial goods. Political tensions, including disputes with Egyptian authorities over excavation rights and artifact handling, led to a temporary suspension of Carter’s work in 1924. Despite these challenges, the project resulted in the most complete and well-preserved assemblage of royal burial equipment ever discovered in Egypt, fundamentally altering both Egyptology and public understanding of ancient Egyptian material culture.

circa 1450 BCE

Modern Superstructure
The modern superstructure (inspect) built at the entrance to Tutankhamun’s tomb consists of a protective shelter and stairways constructed to facilitate visitor access and ensure conservation of the site. A modest roof of durable materials spans the tomb entrance, shielding it from direct sunlight, rain, and wind-blown debris that could degrade the fragile rock-cut steps and doorway. Beneath this superstructure, a carefully engineered staircase (inspect) follows the alignment of the original entry stairway, allowing safe passage into Entryway A. This contemporary installation is reversible and minimally invasive, ensuring the preservation of the tomb’s architectural integrity while providing a stable and sustainable means for modern visitors and researchers to descend into the burial complex.

circa 1450 BCE

Entryway Stairs A
The entryway A serves as the undecorated initial descent into the tomb and comprises a straight stairway hewn directly into the native bedrock. Measuring approximately 1.66 meters in width and 5.61 meters in length, the stairway slopes downward toward Gate B, the formal architectural threshold into the tomb proper. The westernmost extent of this stairway is partially enclosed by the natural rock of the valley floor, forming a protective overhang. Notably, the final six steps of the stairway were deliberately cut back in antiquity, a modification undertaken in conjunction with the partial removal of the lintel and jambs of Gate B. This alteration appears to have been necessitated by the logistical requirement to accommodate the passage of outsized funerary equipment—most likely large gilded shrines or chariot components—into the tomb chamber beyond. These changes reflect adaptive interventions carried out during or shortly after the initial interment process, possibly under time constraints or due to miscalculations in original tomb design.

Carter discovered a wall had been built at the bottom of the stairs, this had to be removed before he could proceed, the wall led him to believe that the tomb of undisturbed.

During the course of excavation, Carter encountered a built wall situated at the base of Entryway A, immediately preceding Gate B. This blocking wall, constructed of rough stone and sealed with plaster, effectively concealed the entrance beyond and had to be carefully dismantled before further access into the tomb could be gained. The presence of this intact sealing initially led Carter to believe that the tomb lay undisturbed since antiquity. Its apparent completeness, in combination with the modest size and unassuming nature of the stairway, suggested to him that the burial had not been violated, reinforcing the growing anticipation that the tomb’s contents might be found intact.

circa 1450 BCE

Corridor B
Corridor B is an undecorated, rock-cut passage leading directly from the entrance stairway into the main tomb complex. It measures approximately 1.98 meters in height, 1.66 meters in width, and extends for a length of 7.67 meters. Carved into the natural limestone of the valley, the corridor maintains a consistent, linear profile with no architectural embellishment or surface decoration. Its plain walls and functional dimensions indicate a utilitarian role as a transitional space between the outer entry stairway and the deeper chambers of the tomb. The corridor's modest scale reflects the overall compact design of the tomb and suggests either a hasty construction or a tomb originally intended for a non-royal occupant before its reassignment to Tutankhamun.

The corridor originally held deposits associated with the funerary rites of Tutankhamun, including remains from the funeral banquet and materials used during the embalming process. These items, likely placed there temporarily or as part of ritual closure, were later cleared out following the tomb’s initial robbery. The majority of this material was transferred to KV54, a nearby cache that contained embalmers’ refuse linked to Tutankhamun. In an attempt to prevent further intrusion, the corridor was then intentionally backfilled with limestone chips and rubble. This measure proved ineffective, as a second group of tomb robbers succeeded in breaching the corridor by cutting a tunnel through the upper left portion of the fill. This tunnel was subsequently re-filled with rubble during the final phase of tomb resealing.

A secondary blocking wall was constructed at Gate I, the threshold leading from the corridor into the antechamber. This wall served a dual purpose: it reinforced the security of the tomb’s interior chambers, and it acted as a retaining structure to prevent the infill debris of Corridor B from spilling forward into the antechamber. This intervention contrasts with the situation in KV55, where a similar backfill had collapsed into the burial chamber, suggesting that the builders of KV62 had learned from earlier failures in tomb sealing methodology.

circa 1450 BCE

Chamber I
Chamber I, designated the antechamber by Howard Carter, now occupied by the King Tut's mummy, is a long rectangular space measuring approximately 2.74 meters in height, 7.86 meters in width, and 3.55 meters in length. The chamber is hewn directly into the bedrock, with rough, undecorated walls and no architectural ornamentation. Upon discovery, it contained over six hundred objects, many of which were related to daily life, ceremonial use, and funerary equipment. The density and variety of items placed within the space suggest that it functioned both as a storage area and as a transitional chamber into the more sacred parts of the tomb.

A small, low doorway near the southern end of the rear (east) wall provides access to Side Chamber Ia. On the north end of the west wall, the incomplete remains of a gate cutting indicate an abandoned architectural extension. Furthermore, evidence from the chisel marks on the ceiling of the adjacent burial chamber (J) implies that Chamber I was initially planned to extend approximately two meters further to the north before the design was modified. Additionally, a small rectangular recess is present near the floor in the center of the west wall, the function of which remains uncertain but may relate to support or placement of specific objects.

circa 1450 BCE

Side Chamber Ia
Side Chamber Ia, referred to by Howard Carter as the Annexe, measures approximately 2.63 meters in height, 4.3 meters in width, and 2.6 meters in length. It is cut directly into the rock adjacent to Chamber I, with a floor level approximately 0.9 meters lower than that of the main antechamber. The spatial relationship and contents suggest that it served a function analogous to the side chambers customarily accessed from the pillared chamber (Chamber F) in conventional Eighteenth Dynasty royal tombs, where storage of provisions and ritual items was common. The walls of the chamber are undecorated but retain visible masons’ control marks in red pigment, likely associated with planning or construction sequencing.

Upon discovery, the chamber was found to contain a dense and disordered assortment of objects, many of which had been shifted or overturned, likely due to ancient looting. The assemblage included wooden furniture, baskets filled with provisions, large wine jars, calcite (alabaster) vessels of various forms, model boats, and numerous shabti figures intended to serve the king in the afterlife. The disorderly state of the objects, combined with their diversity, suggests that the space was hurriedly filled during the burial preparations, with little regard for structured placement.

circa 1450 BCE

Burial Chamber J
The Burial Chamber is the only decorated room within the tomb of Tutankhamun, situated directly east of Chamber I on an east–west axis. Its floor lies nearly a meter below that of the preceding chamber. Measuring 3.68 meters in height, 6.4 meters in width, and 4.14 meters in length, the chamber is adorned with scenes from the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, prominently featuring Ay—Tutankhamun’s successor—performing rituals in the role of the king's son. The decoration, set against a golden-yellow background, departs from traditional artistic conventions: most figures are rendered in a non-traditional style and laid out according to a twenty-square grid, characteristic of the Amarna period, except for the south wall, which reflects the conventional eighteen-square grid.

circa 1450 BCE

Side Chamber Ja
Side Chamber Ja, referred to as the "Treasury" by Howard Carter, lies to the east of the burial chamber and is oriented along a north–south axis. It measures approximately 2.35 meters in height, 4.7 meters in width, and 3.83 meters in length. Functionally, this chamber served as the principal storeroom for the canopic shrine and other ritual objects associated with Tutankhamun's mortuary cult. It was designed in keeping with traditional storage spaces located east of burial chambers in other royal tombs of the period, aligning with the Egyptian symbolic geography in which the east was associated with regeneration.

The chamber held over five hundred individual items at the time of discovery, most of which were religious or funerary in nature. Central among these was the canopic shrine, which encased a calcite chest containing the king's embalmed viscera. Also present was a large black wooden figure of the god Anubis in recumbent jackal form resting on a shrine-like base. Additional contents included shrines containing divine statues, a model granary, ritual model boats, a chariot, wooden coffins containing two foetuses identified as probable offspring of Tutankhamun, and numerous chests. The concentrated presence of protective deities and symbolic models indicates the chamber’s intended function as a spiritual safeguard for the king’s transformation and rebirth in the afterlife.

circa 1450 BCE

Mummy
The Tutankhamun's Mummy was discovered by English Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team on October 28, 1925 in tomb KV62 of Egypt's Valley of the Kings. it currently resides inside the antechamber chamber, in its original resting place in the Valley of the Kings in the KV62.

circa 1450 BCE

Funerary Assemblage
The funerary assemblage of KV62, often referred to as the "Tutankhamun Collection", comprises an unparalleled array of more than five thousand artifacts distributed across the tomb's four chambers. These objects include ceremonial regalia, royal furniture, ritual statuary, personal adornments, weaponry, chariots, vessels, and numerous other items designed to support the king in his afterlife. Many of the most celebrated pieces, such as the golden funerary mask, the nested coffins, the quartzite sarcophagus, and the gilded shrines, reflect a synthesis of religious symbolism and royal iconography. Together, they offer profound insight into Eighteenth Dynasty beliefs surrounding death, kingship, and immortality, and they remain central to any study of the so called "Tutankhamun Collection".