Howard Carter and his team discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922. In the process of foraging this great archaeological accomplishment, he destroyed a great aspect of the room that contained the treasures and sarcophagus of the king. On all four walls of the room, the Ancient Egyptians painted murals that were dedicated to the gods and to their burial rituals. Covering the wall that Carter ruined was a mural that was dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, which caused the world to lose a priceless piece of history and art that can never be replaced. In order to retrieve King Tutankhamun's sarcophagus and his treasures, we had to create a plan of action based on research and the current uses of technology for excavation and archaeology. 

Together, our group began to collaborate and discuss how we could retrieve the items of King Tutankhamun without destroying the mural of the goddess Isis. Some of our failed ideas included going over the wall and cutting some of the wall but not touching the mural and digging beneath it so that a person could just go in and push King Tutankhamun's articles out. Yet, this would not work because the most important artifact, the sarcophagus, weighs 3000 pounds and is not easily moved. We also tried to employ the use of a crane to simply dig through the sand and take off the roof of the tomb. This would not work because it would expose the ancient mural to the elements of the sun, wind, and sand; this could potentially ruin the mural. The last failed idea was to use lasers to cut through the floor and underneath the mural. Our groups found this to be wildly unrealistic and would cost entirely too much. We came to a consensus that we should create a tunnel system that uses a hydraulic cart and a conveyor belt that would take the sarcophagus and the other treasures under the mural while keeping it completely intact. 

We first needed to find the position of the sarcophagus, given that it is the most cumbersome artifact that would be retrieved. As an excavation team, we would drill a very small hole in the corner of the mural and put a camera through the hole to better evaluate the positioning of the sarcophagus. It can be assumed that the sarcophagus would rest directly in the middle of the room because of the Ancient Egyptian's knowledge of math and perfect symmetry as shown in many of its artifacts (Crystallinks.com). We also needed to find the dimensions of the sarcophagus so we could determine how large the tunnel system would need to be. We found that the sarcophagus is about nine feet high by five feet wide by nine feet long (king-tut.org.uk). Once the positioning and size of the sarcophagus is determined, the excavation team would have to begin to dig around ten feet wide into the floor of the antechamber. From there, the team would dig straight down for about ten feet. The close to the mural the team gets, the space would have to be smaller. This presents the issue of how to keep the mural in place while digging under it. In order to correct this problem, iron rods would have to be welded into braces that would hold the soil beneath the mural in place. These iron braces would be reminiscent of the braces that keep coal mines from collapsing. Once the team has dug and welded the braces into place, they would have to dig upward into the burial chamber into the area that is near the sarcophagus. This hole would also have to be about ten feet wide in order to accommodate the size of the sarcophagus. 

Removal of the sarcophagus proves to be a very daunting task given that it weighs approximately 3000 pounds. In order to reduce friction and assist with moving the sarcophagus, the team would have to employ the use of friction reducing plates that would allow the sarcophagus to be pushed onto the hydraulic cart. Placing the sarcophagus on hydraulic cart would be done by the excavation team that would push it while they rest on the friction reducing disks. 

The hydraulic cart would be lifted up to the top of the hole and would hold the sarcophagus. Once the sarcophagus is fully resting upon the cart, a person would then have to lower the cart back down into the tunnel. This cart would be equipped with wheels that would allow for it to roll easily through the tunnel. The cart would roll best as long as the ground is flat. The flattening of the ground would be done as the excavation team dug under the mural. It would then be pushed through the tunnel, beneath the Isis mural. The excavation team would have to make the hydraulics lift up into the antechamber, Then the sarcophagus would be moved from the cart as it was placed on with the incorporation of the friction reducing disks. 

Though our plan is very thorough and well thought out, there are still problems that could be associated with it. For example, a problem with what to do with all of the extra dirt that is taken out as the excavation team digs. In order to fix the problem, we would have to have a machine that is similar to a vacuum that could suck the soil into it. Also we could use carts that would carry the dirt from the tunnel and the tomb. Yet, both of these solutions could be very cumbersome and could cost a lot of money. 

My main contribution to the group was the concept of having the iron braces that would support the soil that is beneath the Isis mural. I came up with this idea after finding the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Within this encyclopedia there is an article that describes Howard Carter and his excavation and discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun. It also discusses the process that archaeologists use to find treasures. From this I generated the idea of having a tunnel system that would have braces to stabilize the earth beneath the Isis mural. 

Link to the plan

Works Cited

Andrews, Mark. "King Tut's Golden Shrines." Egypt Travel, Tours, Vacations, Ancient Egypt from Tour Egypt. Web. 4 Nov. 2009.http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tutshrines.htm.

Descroches-Noblecourt, Christiane.  Tutankhamen Life and Death of a Pharaoh.  George Rainbird, World Books, 1967.  Print.

"King Tutankhamen's Tomb - Crystalinks." Crystalinks Metaphysical and Science Website. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. http://www.crystalinks.com/tutstomb.html. 

"Sarcophagus." King Tut. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. <http://www.king-tut.org.uk/tomb-of-king-tut/king-tut-sarcophagus.htm>

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