Chariots of Tutankhamun

The chariots of Tutankhamun comprise a set of six ancient Egyptian chariots found during the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter alongside many other artifacts. The set consists of two large ceremonial chariots, a smaller highly decorated one and three light ones for daily use by Tutankhamun.^[1] They were designed for hunting, war and parades, with some featuring ingenious design for high speeds.

The chariots have been displayed in separate museums, such as the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, until 2018, when they were moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum alongside other ancient artifacts.^[2]

Description

Tutankhamun's chariot in combat on a contemporary painting, c. 1327 BC

Chariots as found in Tutankhamun's tomb, 1922

Four chariots were found in the Tutankhamun tomb's antechamber and two in the store room. All six chariots were initially found dismantled. Howard Carter referred to two of the most elaborately decorated chariots as "state chariots".^[3]

One of them (GEM 4940, Carter no. 122) was studied and found to be made with a bentwood body, 1.02 m wide and 0.44 m deep, partially filled with a thin wooden sheet. The frame is strengthened at the front with an additional top-rail and the space between it and the body is decorated with a hieroglyphic union symbol, with six foreign captives (one is now missing) on its right side.^[3] The exterior of the chariot body is decorated with glass-inlaid bands of feather patterns alternating with bands combining running spirals and rosettes.^[3] The central inner and outer panels feature a raised relief with a solar falcon, identified in the inscription as Horus of Behedet, from which descend crowned uraei.^[3] Below are Tutankhamun's prenomen and nomen, as well as the name of his consort, Queen Ankhesenamun. The lower part of the panels show two Rekhyt birds, representing the people of Egypt, that adore a djed pillar flanked by ankh signs while, below, foreign captives are shown entangled. This design was interpreted as the royal couple adored by the Egyptian people, ensuring the life and stability of the king and queen under the sun god hovering above and protecting them.^[3]

Studies

A study of Tutankhamun's chariots from 2000 found that the structure of the wheels, the spokes, the materials chosen for the sleeve bearings, the use of animal fat for lubrication and the design as a whole are remarkable, being comparable to European carts of the 19th century AD.^[4] The six-spoke wheels feature flexible wood rims, acting as tires, which adapted to soil irregularities.^[1] Those rims absorbed uniformly the loads transmitted by soil irregularities, so that the vibrations were damped by the wheels themselves, similar to modern car suspension.^[1] The chariots could reach speeds of 25 miles per hour (40 km/h).^[1] According to Bela Sandor, professor emeritus of engineering physics at University of Wisconsin–Madison, while there is no evidence of chariot racing from that era, Tutankhamun's chariots have many technical features that imply a racing origin.^[1]

More recent studies by Japanese and Egyptian experts under the Grand Egyptian Museum Joint Conservation Project confirmed that one of the chariots (GEM 4940, Carter no. 122) originally had a canopy attached to the chariot body, as first proposed by Edwin C. Brock in 2012 (previously the canopy had been considered as a portable sunshade). However, it is impossible to join these two artifacts together because of their fragile condition, so it was decided to display them separately.^[3] It is believed that this canopied chariot was used in royal parades and ceremonies, driven at a moderate pace. As the texts on this chariot mention both Tutankhamun and his consort Ankhesenamun, the chariot is thought to be designed for carrying the royal couple during parades.^[3] The chariot was introduced for royal parades earlier by pharaoh Akhenaten, although there is no pictorial evidence showing Tutankhamun riding on the chariot on such occasion.^[3]