showcase: sandro vannini

Several alabaster artefacts were discovered inside the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62) by Howard Carter when he began excavating the tomb in 1922. The Canopic Shrine was one of the intruiging discoveries for how packed together it was, with a box containing several artefacts in a manner comparable to a Russian doll!

Anubis is the jackal-headed god for the afterlife and mummification, who is seen as a key figure for a Pharaoh to pass into the afterlife. The jackal was associated with associated with death and burials in Ancient Egyptian time for their reputation of scavenging human corpses and eating their flesh. It was common practice to place a figure of Anubis near the entrance of a tomb, and for the priest to don an Anubis mask during the embalming process.

Housed inside Cairo's Egyptian Museum are many of the artefacts from King Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) including the Ritual Figure of Sekhmet, which was discovered in 1922 by the great explorer Howard Carter and his financier Lord Carnarvon.

Egyptology photographer Sandro Vannini has been busy photographing tombs across Thebes for his new book "The Lost Tombs of Thebes: Lost in Paradise" and you can watch him at work in a Heritage Key video which also features Dr Zahi Hawass and Dr Janice Kamrin (Watch the video).

Four Senet boards were found inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun and suggests that the boy king was a keen player of the ancient game. In Ancient Egyptian society, senet was regarded as much more than just a game, however - it was a matter of life or death. The game involves throwing casting sticks or knucklebones, and over time became regarded as talismans for the journey into the afterlife with luck being a key deciding factor in the game.

When the entrance to the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62) was discovered by the great explorer Howard Carter and his financier Lord Carnarvon, they could never have dreamed of the treasures which awaited them inside.

Discovered inside the Tomb of King Tutankhamun, inside black resin-covered wooden shrines which were accessible via double doors, were 34 ritual figures. Of significant importance during the ritual ceremony, these statuettes are believed to assist the King Tut's passage to the afterlife. Upon discovering the shrines in KV62, the great explorer Howard Carter found only one of the boxes had been raided by tomb robbers, with the rest laying undisturbed since antiquity.

Many archaeological excavations are taking place across Egypt as the wonders of the Ancient World continue to reveal themselves to us. One such excavation taking place is at el-Assasif, Thebes at the site of TT34 - the Tomb of Montuemhat. The archaeological dig, led by Dr Farouk Gomaa, is searching for the yet undiscovered burial chamber of the diplomat Montuemhat.

There were six Ceremonial Chariots discovered in the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62), all dismantled in order to be able to take them down through the narrow corridors. In addition to the discovered chariots were miscellaneous fittings which would have belonged to other chariots. Sandro Vannini, the Egyptology photographer who has captured on film some of most stunning artefacts in history, took photographs of the State Chariot - the most beautifully decorated of the six found in the chamber - and the images are bought exclusively to the internet by Heritage Key.

Seti I is thought to have ruled over Egypt for between 11 to 15 years, overseeing the most vibrant artistic period in its dynastic history, and so it is fitting that his tomb was one of the most elaborate and beautifully decorated found in the Valley of the Kings. The well preserved tomb was found in 1817 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni, and is the longest discovered so far, stretching to at least 136 metres.