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King Tut's Chariot a Marvel of Ancient Engineering

Posted by kdawson on from the ride-like-an-egyptian dept.

astroengine writes "King Tutankhamun, who ruled Egypt over 3,000 years ago, looks as if he was chauffeured around the desert in one of the earliest-known high-performance vehicles. Tut's chariots surpass all monumental structures of the pharaohs in engineering sophistication. 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. 'These vehicles appear to be the first mechanical systems which combine the use of kinematics, dynamics and lubrication principles,' said Alberto Rovetta, professor in robotics engineering at the Polytechnic of Milan."

4 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. Re:bwahahahahaha by blair1q · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Suddenly it's twitter in here...

  2. Re:HOLY AMAZING! by kanto · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    It's the Italian take on things; if the chariot wins, it's beautiful. Probably why they've never won a war or mass-produced a decent car (30 Rock).

  3. Re:HOLY AMAZING! by ChrisMP1 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    First principle of karma whoring: the self-fulfilling prophecy. If you mention you'll probably (or probably not) get modded a certain way, and you want to, you won't be. If you don't want to, you will be.

    Nice job.

    --
    <sig>&nbsp;</sig>
  4. One thing that may have been lost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Other guy: Philosophers can drive me nuts... "It's only a pillow because we view it as a pillow." No, it's a pillow because it's a goddamn pillow.
    Me: Yeah, sometimes you wonder what drugs are involved. Though, in all seriousness, many of Plato's dialogues were written as Socrates having a discussion with friends at a party, discussions lubricated by alcohol.
    Me: That class did have some interesting lessons about historical provenance - Plato, who was one of Socrates' student/followers, is among the few surviving sources.
    Him: What, burned in the library of Alexandria?
    Me: Wouldn't be surprised.
    Me: "Caesar...not cool."
    Him: Biggest disaster in the history of knowledge.
    Me: What was #2? The invention of organized religion?

    Eh, Electricity would have made it stop working anyways, but it's a big help while you're behind.