Random picture thread for Friday

THE OTHER KING TUT

On November 26th of 1922 the British archeologist Howard Carter peered through a small hole in the sealed doorway of King Tutankhamen’s Tomb and when asked if he could see anything exclaimed, “Yes, wonderful things.”

Fast forward seventeen years later to March 17th of 1939 when on that day French archeologist Pierre Montet peered through a small hole in the roof of the burial complex of Pharaoh Psusennes I and wrote, “This day is a day full of wonders, worthy of a thousand and one nights.”

In the words of Pierre Montet, both men had seen for the first time in over 3,000 years “one of the most beautiful collections that antiquity bequeathed us.” Carter’s find was in southern Egypt’s Valley of the Kings and Monet’s in northern Egypt’s royal necropolis of Tanis.

Both men also shared the distinction of discovering the only mostly intact and unlooted tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs. In the case of Carter’s discovery King Tut’s tomb had been breached twice in antiquity and resealed with most of its contents, numbering over 5,000 pristine artifacts, continuing to remain untouched for over 3,000 years.

In the case of Montet’s discovery, however, three of the tombs he discovered, including that of King Psusennes, remained completely unplundered since their first sealing in antiquity.

Despite the similarity in these two discoveries, only Howard Carter’s caught the world’s attention to the degree it did at the time of its discovery. In retrospect, Montet himself wrote with regard to his discovery, “It would have held the top spot in Egyptian archeology if Tutankhamen’s tomb didn’t exist.”

In addition to primacy, King Tut also had the advantage of being found on a no news day whereas King Psusennes I came to light as the world was embroiled in the beginning of World War II. It probably didn’t help that abbreviating Psusennes to “King Psu” just doesn’t have the ring to it that Tutankhamen abbreviated to “King Tut” has.

Turning to how these parallel discoveries are recognized today, it remains the same. Most know of Carter’s discovery of King Tut and few have even heard of Monet’s arguably equal, if not more compelling discovery of “King Pau.” The arguments for Montet include that he was the first to discover any royal tombs of pharaohs in Tunis while many tombs of other pharaohs had been unearthed in the Valley of Kings. While Carter found one pharaoh, Montet discovered three in three different linked tombs. The other two were Shoshone II and Amenemope. Finally, as already noted, it was only Montet who found a King’s tomb that had never been robbed.

Focusing on the similarities of the discoveries the most evident is that both resulted in the finding of spectacular gold funerary masks. Without a doubt, King Tut’s mask is the most widely recognized ancient Egyptian artifact in the world. “King Psu’s” is arguably equally impressive despite its lack of notoriety. An ironic similarity is that to reach each of those gold masks required lifting through multiple nested sarcophaguses or coffins. In the case of King Tut the final inward coffin was made of gold and in the case of “King Psu” his was made of silver, a precious metal that was even rarer in Egypt at the time.

An intangible similarity between the two finds were rumors that accompanied each. In the case of Carter’s discovery the rumors were of curses that accompanied the discovery. In the case of Montet the rumors related to a forthcoming discovery of The Lost Ark.

It was rumored that one of the pharaohs discovered by Montet was that of Shishak as mentioned in the Bible’s 1st Kings 14:25 and in 2nd Chronicles as the king of Egypt who had invaded Jerusalem. Presumably he had taken back to Egypt treasures of the temple including the Ark of the Covenant. The pharaoh is known in Egypt as Shoshenq I. However it was his successor, Shoshenq II, who had been found in the tomb complex. Shoshenq II’s silver coffin as found by Montet in the Complex of Pharaoh Psusennes I is unique in depicting a hawk’s head on it rather than that of the king, although his face was on the gold mask inside. It was the glint off of this first found silver coffin that caught Montet’s eye when he first peered into the tomb from a hole in the roof above it.

That did not stop Steven Spielberg, however, from resurrecting the rumor in his “Raiders of the Lost Ark” which he filmed in Tunis. Shishak a/k/a Shoshenq I’s tomb has yet to be found although it was most likely robbed as the calcite-alabaster chest from it that held his internal organs as removed during the mummification process can be seen today in Berlin’s Neues museum which incidentally also houses the bust of Queen Nefertiti, arguably the most beautiful woman in the ancient world. (On the main level floor of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a partially completed bust of the Queen that comparably captures her beauty.)

To add context, King Tut reigned during Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty for ten years from 1333 BC to 1323 BC and died an early death at the age of 19. “King Psu” reigned during the later Twenty-first Dynasty for 49 years from 1043 BC to 994 BC. Between those Dynasties the burial of Kings had shifted from The Valley of Kings in southern Egypt outside of then Thebes to northern Egypt’s Tunis located on the Nile’s Delta. Thebes is today’s Luxor and Tunis is today’s San al-Hagar. Reasons for that shift included a weakening of political power by the Pharaohs in southern Egypt and concerns about grave robbers having found easy access to the tombs in the remote Valley of the Kings.

I must plead guilty to only having been familiar with King Tut and not King Psusennes I, or “King Psu” as I have termed him, prior to my own travel to Egypt last September. Even then it was only by unexpected circumstances that I came to see, photograph, and film his magnificent silver coffin and stunning gold funerary mask which remain today housed in The Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Our scheduled Egyptian itinerary had included Egypt’s new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza instead of the old Egyptian Museum in neighboring Cairo. As luck would have it our included flight to Cairo was cancelled and we had to move up a day to accommodate Egyptian Airline’s schedule. This left us with an extra day in Cairo which allowed for spending the day at Cairo’s Egyptian Museum where not only we saw the silver coffin and gold funerary mask of “King Pau,” but also the gold coffin and gold funerary mask of King Tut in an adjoining room on the upper level of the museum.

King Tut’s coffins and mask had been delayed in their transfer to the new GEM museum in Giza where the King Tut exhibits are now housed.

(Later in our travels I would also have the opportunity to see, photograph, and film King Tut’s tomb along with his outer sarcophagus and mummy itself in the Valley of Kings.)

THE BELOW LINKED VIDEO:

While King Tut’s famous Gold Mask and Gold Coffin have been relocated from Cairo’s Egyptian Museum to The Great Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, there remains the Gold Mask and Silver Coffin of Egypt’s other King Tut “King Psu” as I have termed him and commonly known as the pharaoh Psusennes I.

Like King Tut he was discovered in an intact royal tomb surrounded by burial artifacts that had escaped being plundered by grave robbers.

Like King Tut his gold mask was revealed only after nesting sarcophaguses or coffins had been lifted open.

Like King Tut his discoverer, Pierre Montet, was an Indiana Jones like archeologist who devoted his life to discovery of antiquities.

Tut was found in 1922-23 and “Psu” in 1939-40.

Link to Music Video of "The Other King Tut" as I filmed his Gold Mask and Silver Coffin in Cairo's Egyptian Museum:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bvB2QBH229A

CONCURRENTLY TAKEN PHOTOS AT CAIRO'S EGYPTIAN MUSEUN

THE GOLD MASK OF THE OTHER KING TUT, "KING PSU:"

THE SILVER COFFIN OF THE OTHER KING TUT, "KING PSU:"

ARCHIVAL PHOTOS OF PIERRE MONTET'S DISCOVERY OF "KING PSU'S" SILVER COFFIN AND GOLD MASK IN HIS TANIS TOMB:

THE HAWK HEADED SILVER COFFIN FIRST SEEN BY PIERRE MONTET WHEN HE FIRST PEERED INTO ONE OF THE LINKED TANIS TOMBS:

THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM IN CAIRO:

THE ABOVE REFERENCED UNCOMPLETED BUST OF QUEEN NEFERTITI AT THE EGYPTION MUSEUM IN CAIRO:

A REPLICA OF QUEEN NEFERTITI'S COMPLETED BUST AS ABOVE REFERENCED AS BEING IN A BERLIN MUSEUM:

VIDEO PLAYLIST OF THE ABOVE REFERENCED VISIT TO KING TUT'S TOMB IN EGYPT'S VALLEY OF THE KINGS:

Thumbnails of the three videos taken at King Tut's tomb in the playlist:

In 1922 Howard Carver was the first human being since 1323 BC to discover and view King Tut's Tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Lighted by oil burning torches his view of the magnificently preserved color images on the walls of the tomb was limited.

Fast forward 103 years to 2025 with Apple's release of the iPhone 17 Pro Max and using its advanced low light gathering technology you can view those same images as Carter and the world never could as shared in the black and white photographs taken by his team.

Judge for yourself if the images as captured by the just released iPhone 17 Pro Max with its advanced low light gathering capability are not the best.

The four videos in this Playlist of King Tut's Tomb are as follows:

1. Entry into the tomb descending to its depths from the valley floor.

2. The deep chamber in which the elaborate colored images and slab upon which King Tut's Mummy was found encased in layered coffins by Howard Carter. (Including the gold funeral mask now on display at Cairo's Museum of Antiquities, along with the gold coffins, consist of over 25 pounds of gold.)

3. The entrance chamber to King Tut's Tomb where his mummy has been relocated along with closeup views of the mummy itself. (His is the only mummy of a Pharaoh remaining in the Valley of the Kings as the others now are housed in Cairo's Museum of Ancient Civilization.)

4. Transitioning from the deep chamber with its elaborately decorated walls to the entrance chamber which remain uncompleted given the premature death of King Tut as a teenager.

Link to Video Playlist of views into and inKing Tut's Tomb including his Mummy:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLtb5zi734BfZnDyzRI_PI6oW86E-vMEkp

CONCURRENTLY TAKEN PHOTOS AT KING TUT'S TOMB IN EGYPT'S VALLEY OF THE KINGS:

THE BURIAL CHAMBER WITH INTACT SARCOPHOGUS AS HOWARD CARTER FIRS SAW IT:

KING TUT'S MUMMY AS REMOVED FROM THE BURIAL CHAMBER TO AN ADJACENT ROOM IN HIS TOMB:

KING TUT'S GOLD MASK:

THE NEW GRAND EGYPTIAN MUSEUM {GEM} IN GINZA WHERE KING TUT'S GOLD MASK AND COFFIN HAVE NOW BEEN MOVED:

SEQUEL

The two most magnificent gold burial masks in the world once shared viewing in adjoining rooms on the upper level of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. Both were restricted from being photographed.

As King Tut’s Gold Mask was pending transfer to the new Great Egyptian Museum (GEM) in neighboring Giza, a rare opportunity opened to allow me to photograph and film the second Gold Mask. The mask was that of King Psusennes I that had been discovered in 1940 by French archaeologist Pierre Montet in Egypt’s ancient city of Tanis when he lifted the lid of an equally spectacular silver coffin.

This video includes both the Gold Mask as well as the equally restricted silver coffin.

Both were found in a tomb that had remained sealed since King Psusennes I’s death in 1,001 BC. The three adjoining tombs found undisturbed by Montet are the only ones in Egypt that were not broken into by grave robbers, King Tut’s included.

Link to Rare Video of King Psusennes I'd Gold Mask and Silver Coffin:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PN1vK4U_gyo

Concurrently taken photos:

GOLD MASK OF KING PSUSENNES I

SILVER COFFIN OF KING PSUSENNES: I

REVISED NARRATIVE:

THE OTHER KING TUT

On November 26th of 1922 the British archeologist Howard Carter peered through a small hole in the sealed doorway of King Tutankhamen’s Tomb and when asked if he could see anything exclaimed, “Yes, wonderful things.”

Fast forward seventeen years later to March 17th of 1939 when on that day French archeologist Pierre Montet peered through a small hole in the roof of the burial complex of Pharaoh Psusennes I and wrote, “This day is a day full of wonders, worthy of a thousand and one nights.”

In the words of Pierre Montet, both men had seen for the first time in over 3,000 years “one of the most beautiful collections that antiquity bequeathed us.” Carter’s find was in southern Egypt’s Valley of the Kings and Montet’s in northern Egypt’s royal necropolis of Tanis.

Both men also shared the distinction of discovering the only mostly intact and unlooted tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs. In the case of Carter’s discovery King Tut’s tomb had been breached twice in antiquity and resealed with most of its contents, numbering over 5,000 pristine artifacts, continuing to remain untouched for over 3,000 years.

In the case of Montet’s discovery, however, three of the tombs he discovered, including that of King Psusennes I, remained completely unplundered since their first sealing in antiquity.

Despite the similarity in these two discoveries, only Howard Carter’s caught the world’s attention to the degree it did at the time of its discovery. In retrospect, Monte himself wrote with regard to his discovery, “It would have held the top spot in Egyptian archeology if Tutankhamen’s tomb didn’t exist.”

In addition to primacy, King Tut also had the advantage of being found on a no news day whereas King Psusennes I came to light as the world was embroiled in the beginning of World War II. It probably didn’t help that abbreviating Psusennes to “King Psu” just doesn’t have the ring to it that Tutankhamen abbreviated to “King Tut” has.

Turning to how these parallel discoveries are recognized today, it remains the same. Most know of Carter’s discovery of King Tut and few have even heard of Montet’s arguably equal, if not more compelling discovery of “King Psu.” The arguments for Montet include that he was the first to discover any royal tombs of pharaohs in Tunis while many tombs of other pharaohs had been unearthed in the Valley of Kings. While Carter found one pharaoh, Montet discovered three in three different linked tombs. The other two were tombs of king Shoshenq II and King Amenemope. Finally, as already noted, it was only Montet who found a King’s tomb that had never been robbed.

Focusing on the similarities of the discoveries the most evident is that both resulted in the finding of spectacular gold funerary masks. Without a doubt, King Tut’s mask is the most widely recognized ancient Egyptian artifact in the world. “King Psu’s” is arguably equally impressive despite its lack of notoriety. An ironic similarity is that to reach each of those gold masks required lifting through multiple nested sarcophaguses or coffins. In the case of King Tut the final inward coffin was made of gold and in the case of “King Psu” his was made of silver, a precious metal that was even rarer in Egypt at the time.

An intangible similarity between the two finds were rumors that accompanied each. In the case of Carter’s discovery the rumors were of curses that accompanied the discovery. In the case of Montet the rumors related to a forthcoming discovery of The Lost Ark of the Covenant.

It was rumored that one of the pharaohs discovered by Montet was that of Shishak as mentioned in the Bible’s 1st Kings 14:25 and in 2nd Chronicles as the king of Egypt who had invaded Jerusalem. Presumably he had taken back to Egypt treasures of the temple including the Ark of the Covenant. The pharaoh is known in Egypt as Shoshenq I. However it was his successor, Shoshenq II, who had been found in the tomb complex. Shoshenq II’s silver coffin as found by Montet in the Complex of Pharaoh Psusennes I is unique in depicting a hawk’s head on it rather than that of the king, although his face was on the gold mask inside. It was the glint off of this first found silver coffin that caught Montet’s eye when he first peered into the tomb from a hole in the roof above it.

That did not stop Steven Spielberg, however, from resurrecting the rumor in his “Raiders of the Lost Ark” which he filmed in Tunis. Shishak’s, a/k/a Shoshenq I, tomb has yet to be found although it was most likely robbed as the calcite-alabaster chest from it that held his internal organs as removed during the mummification process can be seen today in Berlin’s Neues museum which incidentally also houses the bust of Queen Nefertiti, arguably the most beautiful woman in the ancient world. (On the main level floor of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a partially completed bust of the Queen that comparably captures her beauty.)

To add context, King Tut reigned during Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty for ten years from 1333 BC to 1323 BC and died an early death at the age of 19. “King Psu” reigned during the later Twenty-first Dynasty for over 45 years from 1047 BC to 1001 BC. Between those Dynasties the burial of Kings had shifted from The Valley of Kings in southern Egypt outside of then Thebes to northern Egypt’s Tunis located on the Nile’s Delta. Thebes is today’s Luxor and Tunis is today’s San al-Hagar. Reasons for that shift included a weakening of political power by the Pharaohs in southern Egypt and concerns about grave robbers having found easy access to the tombs in the remote Valley of the Kings.

I must plead guilty to only having been familiar with King Tut and not King Psusennes I, or “King Psu” as I have termed him, prior to my own travel to Egypt last September. Even then it was only by unexpected circumstances that I came to see, photograph, and film his magnificent silver coffin and stunning gold funerary mask which remain today housed in The Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Our scheduled Egyptian itinerary had included Egypt’s new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza instead of the old Egyptian Museum in neighboring Cairo. As luck would have it our included flight to Cairo was cancelled and we had to move up a day to accommodate Egyptian Airline’s schedule. This left us with an extra day in Cairo which allowed for spending the day at Cairo’s Egyptian Museum where not only we saw the silver coffin and gold funerary mask of “King Psu,” but also the gold coffin and gold funerary mask of King Tut in an adjoining room on the upper level of the museum.

King Tut’s coffins and mask had been delayed in their transfer to the new GEM museum in Giza where the King Tut exhibits are now housed. A rare opportunity opened up to allow me to photograph and film the otherwise restricted, and off limits to photography, gold mask and silver coffin of King Psusennes I.

(Later in our travels I would also have the opportunity to see, photograph, and film King Tut’s tomb along with his outer sarcophagus and mummy itself which remain in the Valley of Kings.)

ADDED PHOTOS:

ARCHIVAL PHOTOS OF PIERRE MONTET WITH THE GOLD MASK AND SILVER COFFIN IN THE TUNIS TOMB OF KING PSUSENNES I

THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM IN CAIRO WHERE THE GOLD MASK AND SILVER COFFIN OF KING PSUSENNES I ARE DISPLAYED

@JWP said:

I had one but it was all red. ,It was one of my favorite cars of all time.