Can see you anything? Yes, wonderful things!

It was 26th November 1922. Howard Carter, an archaeologist, was in the Valley of the Kings in the south of Egypt. He was looking for tombs, the places where the bodies of the Egyptian pharaohs were buried under the ground. The pharaohs were the ancient rulers of Egypt in the time when the pyramids were built. Many of these tombs had been found before. In some of the tombs, people had found interesting and valuable things, but many of the tombs were empty. There were no treasures in the tombs because robbers had already taken them. Howard Carter found a new tomb. It was not empty. Robbers had not visited the tomb. Howard Carter asked his workmen to dig into the sand and rock on the side of a small hill. The workmen made a big hole and they found some stairs. They moved more sand and rock. At the bottom of the stairs, they found a door. The door was made of rock. There was some writing on a piece of wax on the door. Howard Carter looked at the writing. He could see the name of Tutankhamen. Who was Tutankhamen? Howard Carter knew Tutankhamen was a pharaoh, but he didnt know very much about Tutankhamen. Lord Carnarvon was a rich man. He was paying Howard Carter to look for tombs. Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter were standing at the bottom of the stairs, in front of the door. Howard Carter made a hole in the door, then he looked through the hole. Can you see anything? said Lord Carnarvon. Yes, Howard Cater replied, wonderful things! They had discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen! Howard Carter wrote in his diary: At first, I could see nothing but as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, I could see a room. In the room there were statues, strange animals and gold, -- everywhere the glint of gold. Later, Howard Carter said The 26th November was the day of days. It was the most wonderful day I have ever lived.

Exploration of the tomb

There were four rooms in the tomb. The entrance to each room was blocked with a wall. One room was the burial chamber for the body of the dead pharaoh. In this room they found a large sarcophagus, a large box which was painted and decorated with gold. When they opened this box, they found the mummified body of Tutankhamen. His head was covered with a beautiful mask. The mask was made from solid gold! You can see this gold mask and many more treasures from Tutankhamens tomb at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

Lesson submitted by Clarissa Dalby pearsonELT.com

Worksheet
1 Vocabulary
pharaohs robber

Complete the sentences with words from the box. treasure statue hole sarcophagus mask tomb gold archaeologist

1. An archaeologist looks for historical things from the past. 2. A tomb is a place where we put dead bodies. 3. The ancient rulers of Egypt were called pharaohs. 4. A treasure is a valuable thing. 5. If you make a hole in a door, you can see into the room. 6. A robber is a person who enters a place and takes expensive things. 7. Gold is a valuable yellow-coloured metal. 8. A statue is a model of a person or animal made from rock or stone. 9. You can put a mask on your head to hide your face. 10.A sarcophagus is a decorated box for a dead body.

Comprehension
Read the sentences. Mark them [T] true or [F] false. 1. In November 1922, Howard Cater was in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. T/F 2. He was looking for treasures in museums. T/F 3. Pharaohs were the work men who built the pyramids. T/F 4. Pharaohs were buried in tombs in the Valley of the Kings. T/F 5. Howard Carter found robbers in many of the tombs. T/F 6. Robbers put treasures in many of the tombs. T/F 7. Howard Carter found a new tomb on the side of a small hill. T/F 8. Howard Carter asked Lord Carnarvon to dig a big hole. T/F 9. They found some stairs in the side of the hill. T/F 10.There was a door at the bottom of the stairs. T/F 11.The workmen opened the door. T/F 12.There was a piece of wax on the door. T/F 13.There was some writing on the wax, but Howard Carter couldnt read it. T/F 14.Tutankhamen was famous and Howard knew a lot about all about him. T/F 15.Lord Carnarvon made a hole in the door and looked through it. T/F 16.Howard Carter saw wonderful things. T/F 17.There were many different things in the first room. T/F 18.There were four empty rooms in the tomb. T/F 19.They found the body of Tutankhamen in the burial chamber. T/F 20.The body was inside a painted box. T/F

Lesson submitted by Clarissa Dalby pearsonELT.com

Language Prepositions
Complete the sentences with prepositions from the box. inside through with in under at down from of

1. Tutankhamens mask is at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. 2. Robbers took all the treasures from the tombs. 3. Tutankhamens head was covered with the gold mask. 4. Tutankhamens body was inside a sarcophagus. 5. Cairo is the capital of Egypt. 6. The tombs were under the sand. 7. They walked down the stairs to the door. 8. Howard Carter made a hole in the door. 9. He looked through the hole. 10.Howard Carter saw the statues and strange animals on 26th November.

Interaction

Student A: Read the text below. Ask Student B WH questions to complete the gaps in the text. Howard Carter, an archaeologist, was in _______. He was looking for the tombs of the pharaohs. Most of the tombs were in _____________ in the south of Egypt. A rich man, ___________, was paying Howard Carter to look for tombs. Most of the tombs were empty because _______________. Howard Carter found _________ in the side of a hill. His workmen dug a big hole. They found some stairs. At ______________ they found a door. There was a piece of wax on the door. The name Tutankhamen was written on ___________. Howard Carter made a hole in the door. He looked through __________ and saw wonderful things. Student B: Read the text below. Ask Student A WH questions to complete the gaps in the text. Howard Carter, _____________, was in Egypt. He was looking for _____________________. Most of the tombs were in the Valley of the Kings in ___________. A rich man, Lord Carnarvon, was paying _____________ to look for tombs. Most of the tombs were empty because robbers had taken all the treasures. Howard Carter found a tomb in the side of a hill. ___________ dug a big hole. They found some ______. At the bottom of the stairs they found a door. There was a _________ on the door. _____________was written on the piece of wax. Howard Carter made a hole __________. He looked through the hole and saw _____________.

Lesson submitted by Clarissa Dalby pearsonELT.com

Research
Look on the internet. Try to find the answers to these questions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. How old was Tutankhamen when he became a pharaoh? How old was he when he died? What was the name of his brother? Did he like fishing? How do we know? Where are his sandals? How did Egyptians mummify dead bodies? What is the legend of the curse of Tutankhamen?

Lesson submitted by Clarissa Dalby pearsonELT.com