Howard Carter - the archaeologist who found Tutankhamun's tomb
Howard Carter was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist who became world-famous after discovering the intact tomb of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun in November 1922. It remains the best-preserved pharaonic tomb of a mummy ever found in the Valley of the Kings, on the Nile near Luxor.
Howard Carter was born in Kensington in 1874. His father was an illustrator, and his young son followed in his footsteps. When Carter became interested in Ancient Egyptian artefacts, his artistic abilities allowed him to make a living in Egypt copying tomb decorations for archaeologists.
In 1899, Carter was appointed Inspector of Monuments for Upper Egypt in the Egyptian Antiquities Service (EAS). Based at Luxor, he oversaw a number of excavations and restorations at nearby Thebes, while in the Valley of the Kings he supervised the systematic exploration by the American archaeologist Theodore Davis. The Valley of the Kings is where for a period of nearly 500 years, from the 16th to 11th century BC, rock-cut tombs were excavated for the tombs of pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom.
Carter gained a reputation for his knowledge and methodical techniques, as well as for his irritability. Tensions were high between the Egyptian authorities and the often rich and imperious Westerners who found Egyptian government restrictions on their activities tiresome.
In 1907, he began archaeological work under the sponsorship of Lord Carnarvon. After interruption by the First World War, by 1922, Lord Carnarvon had become dissatisfied with the lack of results and agreed to fund only one more season of work. It was almost immediately that Carter and his workmen discovered some steps leading down under the sand.
On 26th November 1922 the Earl and Carter stood outside the sealed door that was Tutankhamun's tomb. Though the pair were supposed to wait for an Egyptian official, they made a hole in the door and saw the astonishing golden treasures within, before sealing it up again.
A total of 5,398 items were found in the tomb, and the discovery was an international sensation. Lord Carnarvon died of blood poisoning within six months - according to some, the result of a curse - but Carter continued to methodically catalogue the tomb contents for nearly 10 years. Most were taken to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
From 2021, the entire Tutankhamun collection has been housed in the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, near Cairo. Carter's discovery has meanwhile been the subject of a number of exhibitions in the UK, including the Tutankhamun Exhibition that's been in Dorchester, Dorset for thirty years, the first outside Egypt to feature an exact anatomical recreation of Tutankhamun's mummy, based on research, x-rays and experimentation to recreate the original mummy, and other related treasures.
Further reading
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