On the 4th November 1922, Howard Carter uncovered archery equipment in the tomb of Tutankhamun. There were numerous self bows and 27 composite bows and some of the bows were actually gilded.
There was also a bowcase so the Pharaoh could store away his precious bows and protect them from damage caused by insects which could be a problem in ancient times. In the Odyssey, Odysseus turned his bow ‘on every side, making trail of it here and there in case grubs had eaten the pieces of horn’.
The bowcase shows Tutankhamun hunting and a chest also found in the tomb portrays him hunting with the composite bow. I don’t know if any of these will be on display in the O2 exhibition in London!
The British Museum have 4 Egyptian bows, which date from between 2,300-1,400BC. Three of them are made of acacia wood and they vary in length. The Egyptians used reed arrows which were fletched with three feathers and tipped with flint, hardwood and later with copper and bronze.
