The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb back in 1922 was one of the most remarkable finds of the 20th century.
Located in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, the young pharaoh was found with more than 5,000 priceless treasures including his iconic golden mask.
Now, more than a century later, Tutankhamun’s tomb is still yielding secrets, according to a new study.
Dr Nicholas Brown, an Egyptologist at Yale University, claims the significance of a ‘humble’ set of objects in the tomb has until now been overlooked.
In his new study, he explains the true significance of clay trays and wooden staffs positioned near Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus.
The clay trays and staffs were a key part of the ‘Osirian funerary rite’ relating to Osiris, the god of the underworld, which Tutankhamun himself pioneered.
Tutankhamun came to the throne as a young boy in 1332 BC and died around a decade later at the age of 18 or 19.
Although he only ruled for 10 years, Tutankhamun is one of the best known Ancient Egyptian pharaohs due to the fabulous treasures discovered when British archaeologist Howard Carter opened his tomb in 1922.
Tutankhamun came to the throne as a young boy in 1333 BC. Although he only ruled for 10 years Tutankhamun is one of the best known Ancient Egyptian pharaohs due to the fabulous treasures discovered when British archaeologist Howard Carter opened his tomb in 1922. Pictured, gold and lapis lazuli funerary mask of Tutankhamun, King of Egypt, c1323 BC
The gold coffin was covered in a black perfumed resin and here, British Egyptologist Howard Carter and a colleague are cleaning it, using a small hammer and a solvent
'While excavating the tomb of Tutankhamun, an enigmatic set of objects was discovered in the burial chamber,' Dr Brown says in his study.
'However, closer examination of the religious and archaeological context of the artefacts enables another interpretation of their function.'
Tutankhamun's tomb was provided with vast quantities of wealth, such as the famous golden funerary mask, golden shoes, clothing, statues, jewelry and more.
But the clay trays and four 3-ft-tall wooden staffs – placed about 5 feet from the head of the pharaoh’s sarcophagus – initially seemed plain in comparison.
Originally, the clay troughs were believed to be merely functional, acting as stands for more captivating emblems found nearby.
But now Dr Brown argues in favour of a new interpretation of the clay trays, which were originally crafted using mud from the River Nile.
The academic believes the trays were used for 'libations' – the ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a deity, in memory of the dead.
Likely poured into them was water from the Nile, in the belief that the water's purity could help revive the body of the deceased.
The clay trays (pictured) shaped with Nile mud were likely used for 'libations' – the ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a deity
Originally, these clay troughs were believed to be stands for the emblems found nearby and in close association to them
Sarcophagus containing the gold coffin of the pharaoh Tutankhamun (ruled 1333-1323 BC) which held his mummy. From the Cairo Museum, Egypt
Meanwhile, the wooden staffs, placed near the pharaoh’s head, may have played a central role in ritually 'waking' Tutankhamun.
For example, in ancient Egyptian myth, god of the underworld Osiris is commanded to wake by staffs held behind his head.
Dr Brown says the arrangement of the trays and staffs recalls the Awakening of Osiris – a famous ancient Egyptian myth involving the god.
According to the American Research Centre in Egypt, the earliest depiction of the Awakening of Osiris Ritual comes from Egypt's 19th Dynasty (1292 BC to 1189 BC).
But Tutankhamun ruled earlier, during the 19th Dynasty, so Dr Brown suggests that Tutankhamun pioneered this ritual when he died.
'I’m pretty convinced that what we’re seeing within Tutankhamun’s burial chamber is probably the earliest iteration of this ritual that we can see in the archaeological record,' he told New Scientist.
One of the most important gods of ancient Egypt, Osiris was the 'Lord of the Underworld' and judge of the dead.
According to the myth, Osiris was killed by his brother Seth and hacked into pieces that were scattered across Egypt.
In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the mask in Tut's lavish tomb in the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile River
A room inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun, died at the age of 18 or 19, in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. The tomb has undergone numerous and meticulous restoration works over many years
According to the myth, Osiris, god of the deceased, was killed and hacked into pieces that were scattered across Egypt. Depicted is Osiris on the facade of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Egypt
After finding all of the pieces and making her husband whole again, his wife (and sister) Isis was able to resurrect him for a time.
Dr Brown said Tutankhamun's predecessor, Akhenaten, shifted the country's religious beliefs to the religion focused on Aten the sun-disk.
'This also affected the official afterlife beliefs focused on resurrection through Osiris, which was no longer permitted,' he told .
'Tutankhamun and the officials acting on his behalf had the opportunity to adapt, alter, and change royal funerary practice and bring back Osiris into the picture.'
Jacobus van Dijk, an Egyptologist at the University of Groningen who was not involved in the study, agrees that the trays had a ritualistic purpose, although it's unclear what he makes of the staffs.
But he thinks they may have represented part of a different – and even more unusual – ritual known as the 'spell of the four torches'
In the ritual, four torchbearers stand at the corners of the sarcophagus – an act that intended to guide the king through the underworld. The torches are then extinguished in the clay trays, which were filled with 'milk of a white cow'.
Dr Brown's study, published in Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, comes more than 100 years since Tutankhamun's tomb was found by London-born archaeologist Howard Carter and his financial backer Lord Carnarvon.
A colourised version of a black and white photograph of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon as they break into the burial chamber in the tomb of Tutankhamun Photographer: Harry Burton
Lord Carnarvon was rewarded with a great discovery - wonderful, priceless and hidden for 3,000 years, including, ultimately, the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun
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On November 4, 1922, in the Valley of Kings, Carter's group found steps leading to a doorway stamped with oval seals and hieroglyphics.
They spent several months cataloguing am antechamber filled with thrones, alabaster vases, musical instruments and dismantled chariots.
Less than three weeks later, Carter made a breach in the corner of a second door deeper underground, which enabled him to peer in by candlelight.
'Can you see anything?' Lord Carnarvon famously asked him, before Carter's astonished reply: 'Yes – wonderful things!'
Finally, in February the following year, the team opened the burial chamber and discovered the sarcophagus – the stunning stone coffin containing the mummified pharaoh.
The tomb is considered one of the most lavish to be discovered in history, filled with precious objects to aid the young Pharaoh on his voyage to the afterlife.
KING TUTANKHAMUN: THE PHARAOH WHO RULED EGYPT MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS AGO
The face of Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC. Right, his famous gold funeral mask
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC.
He was the son of Akhenaten and took to the throne at the age of nine or ten.
When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten.
He died at around the age of 18 and his cause of death is unknown.
In 1907, Lord Carnarvon George Herbert asked English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings.
On 4 November 1922, Carter's group found steps that led to Tutankhamun's tomb.
He spent several months cataloguing the antechamber before opening the burial chamber and discovering the sarcophagus in February 1923.
When the tomb was discovered in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter, under the patronage of Lord Carnarvon, the media frenzy that followed was unprecedented.
Carter and his team took 10 years to clear the tomb of its treasure because of the multitude of objects found within it.
For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt's glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty from 1569 to 1315 BC.
Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass (3rd L) supervises the removal of the lid of the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in 2007.