ThE EgYpTiAn SuN BeAtS On YoUr BaCk As YoU DiG In ThE SaNd You feel like you’re covered in sand and might never be able to wash it away This thrills you You feel like you belong here in the Valley of the Kings You’re surrounded by a crew of other archaeologists and volunteers But you’re the leader of this expedition You’ve found gold pieces and jewelry scattered in the earth over the past weeks Your goal is to find the lost tomb of a king You press your shovel into the earth with all your weight Crack There’s solid stone behind the crumbling dirt You take your chisel and chip away as quickly as you can A hole forms in the stone You keep chiseling until the hole is large enough to look through You turn on a flashlight and peer through the hole All you see are glittering jewels and gold You’ve achieved your goal You’ve found a spectacular tomb in the Valley of the Kings 5
chapter WhAt ArE TOMBS MUMMIES In many prehistoric cultures the dead were laid to rest in their own homes By ancient times the dead were buried in separate chambers or vaults called tombs The purpose of tombs was to provide shelter and protection for the dead Many tombs were simple stone structures But some ancient civilizations buried their dead in elaborate tombs such as pyramids These tombs also served as memorials for people to enjoy Tombs can teach archaeologists much about the civilizations that built them So can the bodies buried within tombs Many ancient civilizations mummified bodies before placing them in tombs Mummification usually involved removing organs applying chemicals and wrapping the bodies in cloth This kept the bodies from decaying Mummification was often based on the belief that bodies needed to be preserved for their spirits to live on Certain cultures created tombs and mummies through the Middle Ages Since then people have more commonly been 1 6
Many tombs housed items such as food and personal possessions It was thought that these objects would accompany the dead to the afterlife cremated or buried in cemeteries Today tombs and mummies help archaeologists learn how ancient cultures lived and thought about death 7
