Interior of Box

Many of Tutankhamun’s seventy-one boxes likely came from the palace, where they were used to pack his belongings for the tomb. Labels on these boxes did not necessarily match the contents. Howard Carter, the director of the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb, thought that such mismatches happened when priests hastily cleaned up after ancient thieves. However, this does not explain the box shown here and in TAA 252. Its interior features a built-in stand that was probably meant to hold a wig, but a label on the exterior indicates that the content should be shabti figurines (neither were found inside). A more recent interpretation suggests that the boxes were reused and repacked but not relabeled during the preparations for the funeral.