ONE hundred years after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and over 3,000 years since his death, a farmer has carved a world record setting image of the boy King in his field of maize near York.
Farmer Tom Pearcy painstakingly cut over 5km of pathways into his 15-acre field containing over a million maize plants at York Maze to create the biggest ever image of Tutankhamun, marking the centenary of the opening of the burial chamber.
Mr Pearcy said: “I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt and the lives of the pharaohs. King Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus is such an iconic image, it makes a great maize maze which visitors can explore and try to find their way through. I have also set a tricky hieroglyphic quiz trail within the maze, a real cornundrum."
The entrance to the tomb was first discovered in November 1922, but it wasn’t until February 17 1923 that Howard Carter and his patron and co-explorer Lord Carnarvon broke through the sealed door to the burial chamber itself.
Covering an area the size of eight Wembley football pitches York Maze is believed to be the biggest maze in Europe and one of the largest in the world. When viewed from the air the York Maze design shows the iconic image of Tutankhamun. At over 100m in diameter the head of giant figure is bigger than the Royal Albert Hall.
The new attraction was was officially opened today (July 14) by George Herbert, eighth Earl of Carnarvon, the great-grandson on the fifth Earl of Carnarvon who along with Howard Carter was first to enter the tomb 100 years ago.
Mr Herbert said: "My great-grandfather the fifth Earl of Carnarvon was one of the great explorers and excavators of his time and a talented photographer. He would have been amazed, as I am, to see this incredible image of Tutankhamun carved into a field of maize.
"As a photographer my great-grandfather knew the power of an image to tell a story and made sure that when he and Carter entered the tomb photographs of the discovery were captured and sent around the world. It is fantastic that 100 years on this amazing image of Tutankhamun will also be sent around the world."
The Tutankhamun Centenary Maze is open for visitors to explore from Saturday (July 15) to Monday September 4, when the crop will be harvested. For details of opening times visit the York Maze website.
Last year, Tom and York Maze created a giant image of a LEGO minifigure breaking through a wall of LEGO bricks. The minifigure was more than 150 metres tall and was believed to be the biggest minifigure image ever created, according to the creators.
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