King Tut's Chariots Marvels of Engineering

King Tutankhamun, the pharaoh who ruled Egypt more than 3,300 years ago, rode full speed over the desert dunes on a Formula One-like chariot, according to new investigations into the technical features of the boy king's vehicle collection.

Discovered in pieces by British archaeologist Howard Carter when he entered King Tut's treasure-packed tomb in 1922, the collection consisted of two large ceremonial chariots, a smaller highly decorated one, and three others that were lighter and made for daily use.

"They were the Ferrari of antiquity. They boasted an elegant design and an extremely sophisticated and astonishingly modern technology," Alberto Rovetta, professor in robotics engineering at the Polytechnic of Milan, told Discovery News.

SLIDE SHOW: Find out why King Tut's chariots may be the most sophisticated engineering achievement ever to come out of ancient Egypt.

Of the six chariots, one made its longest ride yet last week when it traveled outside Egypt for the first time in three millennia to the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibit in New York's Discovery Times Square Exposition.

"My feeling is that this is the chariot the king actually did use in his war and hunting rides. It is smaller, much lighter, much faster and lacks in decoration. One tire is extremely worn, the other is newer. You don't replace things unless you expect to re-use them," David Silverman, curator of the exhibition, told Discovery News.

Amazing Engineering in Tut's Time
The chariot, which is usually on display at the Luxor museum, represents the high level of engineering sophistication reached by the Egyptian chariot builders at King Tut's time, according to Rovetta.

"These vehicles appear to be the first mechanical systems which combine the use of kinematics, dynamics and lubrication principles," Rovetta said.

Further studies, in collaboration with Nasry Iskander at the conservation department of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, showed the unique interplay of form and function in King Tut's chariots. These technical underpinnings involve the design of the wheels, the naves, the bearings, and the pole between the cart and the yoke.