Howard Carter - Tutankhamen The Discovery of His Tomb

The discovery of Tutankhamens tomb in 1922 aroused unprecedented excitement in the field of Egyptology. In the tomb of a colourless youth, who reigned for a few years only, were found unmatched riches, the study of which has led to numerous insights into ancient Egyptian civilization. The author of this fascinating text discusses the tombs discovery, the significance of its discovery and contents, tomb-robbers and the ethics of desecration.

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Series Advisor

Geoffrey Thorndike Martin

Edwards Professor of Egyptology Emeritus, University College London

The Amarna Age James Baikie

Ancient Egypt the Light of the World Gerald Massey

Ancient Egyptian Literature Adolf Erman

Ancient Egyptian Scarabs and Cylinder Seals Percy Newberry

Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt W. M. Flinders Petrie

Burial Customs of the Ancient Egyptians John Garstang

The Cat in Ancient Egypt N. LANGTON AND B. LANGTON

A Century of Excavation in the Land of the Pharaohs James Baikie

Egyptian Art Gaston Maspero

Egyptian Mummies G. E. Smith and Warren R. Dawson

Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus-Hunting James Baikie

Egyptian Temples Margaret Murray

Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria Gaston Maspero

First Steps in Egyptian EA. Wallis Budge

From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt E. A. Wallis Budge

The Gods of the Egyptians E. A. Wallis Budge

A Guide to the Antiquities of Upper Egypt Arthur E. P. Weigall

Index of Names and Titles of the Old Kingdom Margaret A. Murray

The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians E. A. Wallis Budge

The Lost Pharaohs Leonard Cottrell

Luxor and Its Temples A. M. Blackman

The Mechanical Triumphs of the Ancient Egyptians F. M. Barber

Notes for the Nile Hardwicke D. Rawnsley

Notes for Travellers in Egypt E. A. Wallis Budge

Osiris E. A. Wallis Budge

Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers Amelia B. Edwards

A Popular Account of the Ancient Egyptians J. Gardner Wilkinson

The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh W.M. Flinders Petrie

Researches in Sinai W. M. F. Petrie

In Search of the Woman Pharaoh Hatshepsut H.E. Winlock

Seventy Years in Archaeology W. M. F. Petrie

Travels in the Upper Egyptian Deserts Arthur E. P. Weigall

Tutankhamen and the Discovery of His Tomb G. Elliot Smith

First published in 2005 by

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ISBN: 0-7103-1005-6

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CHAPTER

FIG.

Mummy of Thothmes IV

Ancient Plan of the Tomb of Rameses IV

The Mummies of Ynaa and Tnaa

Tutankhamen receiving Ethiopian tribute from Huy

Part of the Asiatic tribute presenteted to Tutankhamen by Huy

Part of a mace-Bead, showing early Egyptian kings

Portrait of Hesi, circa 3000 B.C.

The packed mummy of a Queen of the Twenty-first Dynasty

Drawing from Book of the Dead

The end of the desolate Valley of the Tombs of the Kings at Thebes

An ancient Egyptian drawing (circa 1400 B.C.) illustrating the arrangement of the tomb and temple

The great cliffs behind Deir el Bahiari.

Lid of the coffin which contained the re-wrapped mummy of Amenliotep III.

An inscribed stone showing Akhenaton, his queen Nefertiti, and their daughters

A painted wooden portrait bust of Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaton.

The skull of Akhenatou

Cow carrying a dead man to heaven.

Narmers belt with four Hathor cows heads, curca 3044 B.C

Three couches represented on the walls of the tomb of Seti I

A lion-couch, a mummy with three solar emanations

Three givers of divinity, the cow, the hippopotamus, and Horus on guard.

The goddess Astarte borne on her lioness

DURING the period when the newspapers were publishing daily reports of the progress of the work in Tutankhamens tomb and Air Harry Burtons photographs, which gave us so vivid an impression of the objects that were being found, I wrote for the Daily Telegraph. a series of articles discussing the wider significance of the startling discoveries. They did not describe the tomb itself or the wonderful collection of funerary equipment, but were merely a general commentary on the meaning of the information being given by the reporters from the Theban necropolis. Nor was any attempt made to collect the few facts concerning Tutankhamen himself, or even to discuss the events of his time. The exploration of the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, for which the late Lord Carnarvon and Mr Howard Carter were responsible, had brought to light the tomb of the youthful nonentity Tutankhamen, which sheds a dazzling searchlight on one particular phase of the history of civilization thirty centuries ago. What I set out to attempt was to interpret the deeper meaning of those Egyptian beliefs which found such brilliant expression in the luxuriously extravagant equipment of his tomb.

I have been urged to collect these articles into the more convenient form of this little book. As they were merely comments on the descriptions of the actual tomb and its contents the separate issue of these topical and ephemeral notes seemed at first to lack any justification, but I have received so many requests for information and guidance that I thought it might serve some useful purpose to redraft my articles and give such bibliographical references as would help the general reader to understand the results that have so far been attained and to appreciate the value of the more important discoveries that next seasons work will certainly reveal.