Imagine it’s the year 5387 A.D. Archaeologists make a dramatic discovery in the American Southwest, where the Luxor pyramid in The Entertainment Capital of the World was unearthed and found to have a perfectly preserved mezzanine level. They find an Atrium Showroom, guarded by the beautiful Fantasy showgirls and where a mischievous deity named Carrot Top maintained a collection of sacred amusing artifacts. Even after stumbling upon those riches, they are unprepared for the wealth of relics that lay ahead as they explore the chambers inside Discovering King Tut’s Tomb—The Experience.
Of the 64 monarchs of Egypt’s New Kingdom buried in the Valley of the Kings, only Tutankhamun’s tomb was left undisturbed by looters. King Tut died young, reigning for roughly 10 years, but images of his likeness are some of the most iconic visual representations of Ancient Egypt. A large-scale representation of his 3,000-year-old golden death mask above the entrance makes locating the attraction effortless for contemporary explorers.
A re-creation of a wood statue covered in resin and gold that guarded the burial chamber provides the first life-sized effigy of the 18th dynasty ruler. The statue wears a nemes headdress, the striped cloth couture worn by pharaohs of Egypt’s Old and New Kingdoms made easily recognizable to viewers of Hollywood films.
The story of Tut’s tomb begins with archaeologist Howard Carter, whose persistence paid off, some legends have it, when a 12-year-old water boy named Hussein Hassan Abdel Rassuhl stumbled across rock-carved steps to the tomb on Nov. 4, 1922. Carter and his team broke into an antechamber filled with treasure. They went on to find a lower-level annex, a sarcophagus and nested coffins of King Tut.
It took them three months to meticulously uncover the mummy itself, but becoming familiar with the features at Discovering King Tut’s Tomb is a far less arduous process. It is possible to peer inside a replicated sarcophagus and look closely at demons, gods and protective symbols depicted on golden shrines much as they would have appeared to Carter himself.
Some artifacts are simple home items. Drinking vessels, tableware and bowls are included along with statues, statuettes and carvings that would have been common items of domestic décor. Sandals and walking sticks the crippled king could have used are part of the collection, as well as a crook and flail a royal would have held to the chest as a symbol of authority. The presence of gold is ubiquitous, from the casing to a polished bronze mirror to models of boats and chariots.
Replications of Tut’s three nested golden coffins and his golden shrine provides climactic dazzle to Imagine Exhibitions’ homage to an archaeological wonder that went undiscovered for 3,000 years and can now be part of anyone’s rediscovery of Las Vegas in general, and Luxor in particular. Enter Discovering King Tut’s Tomb—The Experience, and modern life is left behind with little danger of disturbing an actual mummy or becoming the recipient of a resulting curse.
Luxor, kingtutvegas.com
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