Two Big Treasures

Tut’s Tomb
The search for King Tut’s tomb started with clues. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, archaeologists found objects bearing the seal of King Tutankhamun (a.k.a. King Tut). These objects told archaeologists that King Tut was a real king. Since no tomb for King Tut had been found, it seemed like one must exist somewhere. Howard Carter began searching for it. He believed that the tomb would be found in the Valley of Kings in Egypt, so he started looking there in 1914. World War I got in the way, and then in 1920, the search started again. They found nothing. In 1921, Carter decided to start looking near another tomb. After tearing down an old hut, they uncovered a step. This step marked the start of a buried staircase that led to the burial chamber.

Through some fluke, King Tut’s tomb had been buried and forgotten. It lay there for thousands of years waiting for someone to discover it. The only reason Carter started looking for it was because of tiny clues that pointed to the unknown king.

Carter's team wanted to be very careful to document everything in the tomb and how it was arranged, so they spent almost 10 years taking everything out. They photographed and cataloged everything. The most important part of the tomb was Tut's gold coffin and mummy. There were also hundreds of statues, pieces of furniture, pieces of jewelry and religious objects in the tomb. Today, Tut's riches are housed in the Egyptian museum in Cairo.

Finders Keepers? Image © Anna Dzondzua/Shutterstock If you would like to try treasure hunting on your own, one of the easiest ways to start is to buy or rent a metal detector and then use it to see what you can find. You can look at the beach, in parks and even on some historic battlefields. Or try this: You will sometimes see people using metal detectors at the beach. When you see someone, ask what he or she has found recently. People with metal detectors often have amazing stories to tell.

China’s Terracotta Army
In China, there was a giant terracotta army buried underground. More than 8,000 life-size soldiers made of fired clay, along with real weapons, clay horses and chariots stood in a huge chamber. They had stood there for more than 2,000 years before they were discovered.

Archaeologists had no idea this army existed. Therefore, they were not looking for it. Instead, farmers were digging a well and they discovered the chamber by accident. It is considered one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. Hundreds of thousands of people must have worked to create the massive site that spans several acres.

The army was built for a reason; it surrounds a tomb that was built for an emperor. But the tomb has not been opened yet. It is written by Chinese historians of that era that the emperor was buried with a model of the universe covered in jewels, along with many treasures. The terracotta army was placed there to guard the tomb in the afterlife.

You can visit the terracotta army today at its museum near the city of Xi’an in China. Millions of people visit every year.