Study and Analysis of Plant remains from the tomb of Tutankhamun

When thinking about Pharaohs, Tutankhamun (1334–⁠1327 BC, 18th Dynasty) immediately comes to mind. The discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 remains one of the most spectacular archaeological finds, having occurred almost accidentally. Tutankhamun’s tomb is in fact famous for the presence of numerous golden objects and other prestigious artifacts, including the remarkable funerary mask, the fine jewelry and the shrine with poignant statues of goddesses. Howard Carter, the archaeologist famous for the discovery of the burial, also managed to acknowledge the potential value of less prestigious findings, including plant remains. After a selection of the most interesting elements of the “botanical treasure”, which included flowers, a dried pomegranate and a basket with Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart. (doum palm) fruits, the remaining plant material was swiped from the surfaces of the tomb and deposited in a big wooden box (200 x 50 x 50 cm ca.). The box was closed in 1933 and was stored in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo until 2017. In 2018 it was moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum. The big box not only contains plant (seeds, fruits, cuticles, wood) remains, but also organic remains of not yet clear origin. During the analysis a total of 50 liters of sediment were separated, resulting in more than 8000 plant remains. The carpological remains retrieved from the box are still in excellent condition, preserved by mummification, and generally allowed identification at a species level. Identified remains included fruits and seeds belonging to 14 families and 23 species, and few remains still under identification. The identified remains belong to food, ornamental, and medicinal plants and help in defining the plants available in Egypt to celebrate the immortality of a king in the fourteen century B.C.