King Tut had already started planning his tomb before his untimely death, but because it was still unfinished when he died, he was buried in another, smaller tomb. The manner of King Tut’s burial illustrates the ancient Egyptian belief in an afterlife, which was believed to be accessed through the spells and incantations contained in a book called The Book of the Dead. It was believed that a person’s heart would be weighed against a feather; a good heart would be light, and those with light hearts would be allowed to continue to the afterlife.

It was believed that items could accompany the deceased, and for this reason, the pharaohs’ tombs were always filled with the possessions that the pharaohs enjoyed in life. The largest Pharaonic tombs are the three pyramids of Giza, which were built 1,000 years before King Tut lived. These pyramids took over 80 years to build. They were built by paid workers rather than enslaved people. Unfortunately, these pyramids, along with many other Pharaonic tombs, were raided over the centuries. In an attempt to mitigate this eventuality, many tombs featured traps that were designed to thwart thievery. Although King Tut was a relatively minor