Tutankhamun
Tutankhamen, Tutankhaten, Tutankhamon[1] possibly Nibhurrereya (as referenced in the Amarna letters)
Mask of Tutankhamun's mummy, the popular icon for ancient Egypt at The Egyptian Museum.
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	ca. 1332–1323 BC, 18th Dynasty
Predecessor	Smenkhkare
Successor	Ay
Royal titulary See Tutankhamun#Names
Consort(s)	Ankhesenamun
Children	Two stillborn daughters
Father	Akhenaten[2]
Mother	"The Younger Lady"
Born	ca. 1341 BC
Died	ca. 1323 BC (aged ca. 18)
Burial	KV62

Tutankhamun (alternately spelled with Tutenkh-, -amen, -amon) Egyptian twt-ˤnḫ-ı͗mn, [təwaːt ʕaːnəx ʔaˈmaːn]; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (ruled ca. 1332 BC – 1323 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. He is popularly referred to as King Tut. His original name, Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living Image of Amun". In hieroglyphs, the name Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a phrase to show appropriate reverence.^[3] He is possibly also the Nibhurrereya of the Amarna letters, and likely the 18th dynasty king Rathotis who, according to Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years — a figure which conforms with Flavius Josephus's version of Manetho's Epitome.^[4]

The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter and George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon^[5][6] of Tutankhamun's nearly intact tomb received worldwide press coverage. It sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's burial mask remains the popular symbol. Exhibits of artifacts from his tomb have toured the world. In February 2010, the results of DNA tests confirmed that he was the son of Akhenaten (mummy KV55) and his sister/wife (mummy KV35YL), whose name is unknown but whose remains are positively identified as "The Younger Lady" mummy found in KV35.^[7]

Life[link]

Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV) and one of Akhenaten's sisters.^[8] As a prince he was known as Tutankhaten.^[9] He ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, at the age of nine or ten, taking the reign name of Tutankhamun. His wet-nurse was a woman called Maia, known from her tomb at Saqqara.

When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenepatan, who later changed her name to Ankhesenamun. They had two daughters, both stillborn.^[7] CT studies released in 2011 revealed that one daughter died at 5–6 months of pregnancy while the other at 9 months of pregnancy. No evidence was found of congenital anomalies or the apparent cause of death in either mummy.^[10]

Reign[link]

Given his age, the king probably had very powerful advisers, presumably including General Horemheb, the Vizier Ay, and Maya, the "Overseer of the Treasury". Horemheb records that the king appointed him 'lord of the land' as hereditary prince to maintain law. He also noted his ability to calm the young king when his temper flared.^[11]

Domestic policy[link]

In his third regnal year, Tutankhamun reversed several changes made during his father's reign. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to supremacy. The ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood. The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten abandoned.^[12] This is also when he changed his name to Tutankhamun.

As part of his restoration, the king initiated building projects, in particular at Thebes and Karnak, where he dedicated a temple to Amun. Many monuments were erected, and an inscription on his tomb door declares the king had "spent his life in fashioning the images of the gods". The traditional festivals were now celebrated again, including those related to the Apis Bull, Horemakhet, and Opet. His restoration stela says:

The temples of the gods and goddesses ... were in ruins. Their shrines were deserted and overgrown. Their sanctuaries were as non-existent and their courts were used as roads ... the gods turned their backs upon this land ... If anyone made a prayer to a god for advice he would never respond.^[13]

Foreign policy[link]

The country was economically weak and in turmoil following the reign of Akhenaten. Diplomatic relations with other kingdoms had been neglected, and Tutankhamun sought to restore them, in particular with the Mitanni. Evidence of his success is suggested by the gifts from various countries found in his tomb. Despite his efforts for improved relations, battles with Nubians and Asiatics were recorded in his mortuary temple at Thebes. His tomb contained body armour and folding stools appropriate for military campaigns. However, given his youth and physical disabilities, which seemed to require the use of a cane in order to walk (he died at age 18), historians speculate that he did not take part personally in these battles.^[7][14]

Health and appearance[link]

Tutankhamun was slight of build, and was roughly 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) tall.^[15] He had large front incisors and the overbite characteristic of the Thutmosid royal line to which he belonged. He also had a pronounced dolichocephalic (elongated) skull, although it was within normal bounds and highly unlikely to have been pathological. Given the fact that many of the royal depictions of Akhenaten often featured such an elongated head, it is likely an exaggeration of a family trait, rather than a distinct abnormality. The research also showed that Tutankhamun had "a slightly cleft palate"^[16] and possibly a mild case of scoliosis, a medical condition in which the spine is curved from side to side.

Probable product of incest[link]

According to the September 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine, Tutankhamun was the result of an incestuous relationship and, because of that, may have suffered from several genetic defects that contributed to his early death.^[17] For years, scientists have tried to unravel ancient clues as to why the boy king of Egypt, who reigned for 10 years, died at the age of 19. Several theories have been put forth; one was that he was killed by a blow to the head, while another was that his death was caused by a broken leg.

Various diseases invoked as possible explanations to his early demise included Marfan syndrome, Wilson-Turner X-linked mental retardation syndrome, Fröhlich syndrome (adiposogenital dystrophy), Klinefelter syndrome, androgen insensitivity syndrome, aromatase excess syndrome in conjunction with sagittal craniosynostosis syndrome, and Antley-Bixler syndrome or one of its variants.^[18] In June 2010, German scientists said they believed there was evidence that he died of sickle cell disease. However, other experts have rejected the hypothesis of homozygous sickle cell disease^[19] based on logics based on survival beyond 5 year age and the location of the osteonecrosis which is characteristic of Freiberg-Kohler syndrome rather than sickle-cell disease.

Research conducted by archaeologists, radiologists, and geneticists who started performing CT scans on Tutankhamun in 2005 found that he was not killed by a blow to the head, as previously thought.^[17] That same team began doing DNA research on Tutankhamun's mummy, as well as the mummified remains of other members of his family, in 2008. DNA tests finally put to rest questions about Tutankhamun's lineage, proving that his father was Akhenaten, but that his mother was not one of Akhenaten's known wives. His mother was one of Akhenaten's five sisters, although it is not known which one. New CT images discovered congenital flaws, which are more common among the children of incest. Siblings are more likely to pass on twin copies of harmful genes, which is why children of incest more commonly manifest genetic defects.^[20] It is suspected he also had a partially cleft palate, another congenital defect.^[21]

The team was able to establish with a probability of better than 99.99 percent that Amenhotep III was the father of the individual in KV55, who was in turn the father of Tutankhamun.^[22] The DNA of the so-called Younger Lady (KV35YL), found lying beside Queen Tiye in the alcove of KV35, matched that of the boy king. Her DNA proved that, like Akhenaten, she was a child of Amenhotep III and Tiye; thus, Tutankhamun's parents were brother and sister.^[23] Queen Tiye held much political influence at court and acted as an adviser to her son after the death of her husband. Some geneticists dispute these findings, however, and "complain that the team used inappropriate analysis techniques."^[24]

While the data are still incomplete, the study suggests that one of the mummified fetuses found in Tutankhamun's tomb is the daughter of Tutankhamun himself, and the other fetus is probably his child as well. So far only partial data for the two female mummies from KV21 has been obtained.^[25] One of them, KV21A, may well be the infants' mother and thus, Tutankhamun's wife, Ankhesenamun. It is known from history that she was the daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, and thus likely to be her husband's half-sister. Another consequence of inbreeding can be children whose genetic defects do not allow them to be brought to term.

The research team consisted of Egyptian scientists Yehia Gad and Somaia Ismail from the National Research Centre in Cairo. The CT scans were conducted under the direction of Ashraf Selim and Sahar Saleem of the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University. Three international experts served as consultants: Carsten Pusch of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany; Albert Zink of the EURAC-Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy;^[26] and Paul Gostner of the Central Hospital Bolzano.^[27] STR analysis based DNA fingerprinting analysis combined with the other techniques have rejected the hypothesis of gynecomastia and craniosynostoses (eg, Antley-Bixler syndrome) or Marfan syndrome, but an accumulation of malformations in Tutankhamun's family was evident. Several pathologies including Köhler disease II were diagnosed in Tutankhamun; none alone would have caused death. Genetic testing for STEVOR, AMA1, or MSP1 genes specific for Plasmodium falciparum revealed indications of malaria tropica in 4 mummies, including Tutankhamun's.^[28] However their exact contribution to the causality of his death still is highly debated.

As stated above, the team discovered DNA from several strains of a parasite proving he was infected with the most severe strain of malaria several times in his short life. Malaria can trigger circulatory shock or cause a fatal immune response in the body, either of which can lead to death. If Tutankhamun did suffer from a bone disease which was crippling, it may not have been fatal. "Perhaps he struggled against others [congenital flaws] until a severe bout of malaria or a leg broken in an accident added one strain too many to a body that could no longer carry the load," wrote Zahi Hawass, archeologist and head of Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquity involved in the research.

Death[link]

There are no surviving records of Tutankhamun's final days. What caused Tutankhamun's death has been the subject of considerable debate. Major studies have been conducted in an effort to establish the cause of death.

Although there is some speculation that Tutankhamun was assassinated, the consensus is that his death was accidental. A CT scan taken in 2005 shows that he had badly broken his leg shortly before his death, and that the leg had become infected. DNA analysis conducted in 2010 showed the presence of malaria in his system. It is believed that these two conditions (malaria and leiomyomata) combined, led to his death.^[29]

Tomb[link]

Tutankhamun's chest now in the Cairo Museum.

Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb that was small relative to his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, so that his mummy was buried in a tomb intended for someone else. This would preserve the observance of the customary seventy days between death and burial.^[30]

King Tutankhamun's mummy still rests in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. On November 4, 2007, 85 years to the day after Carter's discovery, the 19-year-old pharaoh went on display in his underground tomb at Luxor, when the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus to a climate-controlled glass box. The case was designed to prevent the heightened rate of decomposition caused by the humidity and warmth from tourists visiting the tomb.^[31]

Discovery of tomb[link]

Tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings

Tutankhamun seems to have faded from public consciousness in Ancient Egypt within a short time after his death, and remained virtually unknown until the 1920s. His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity, but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb after the intrusions, it seems clear that these robberies took place within several months at most of the initial burial. Eventually the location of the tomb was lost because it had come to be buried by stone chips from subsequent tombs, either dumped there or washed there by floods. In the years that followed, some huts for workers were built over the tomb entrance, clearly not knowing what lay beneath. When at the end of the Twentieth Dynasty the Valley of the Kings burials were systematically dismantled, the burial of Tutankhamun was overlooked, presumably because knowledge of it had been lost and his name may have been forgotten.

Exhibitions[link]

The gilded bier from the base of Tutankhamun's Sarcophagus.

A pectoral belonging to Tutankhamun, representing his Prenomen.

Relics from Tutankhamun's tomb are among the most traveled artifacts in the world. They have been to many countries, but probably the best-known exhibition tour was The Treasures of Tutankhamun tour, which ran from 1972 to 1979. This exhibition was first shown in London at the British Museum from March 30 until September 30, 1972. More than 1.6 million visitors came to see the exhibition, some queuing for up to eight hours and it was the most popular exhibition in the Museum's history.^{[citation needed]} The exhibition moved on to many other countries, including the USA, USSR, Japan, France, Canada, and West Germany. The Metropolitan Museum of Art organized the U.S. exhibition, which ran from November 17, 1976 through April 15, 1979. More than eight million attended.

In 2004, the tour of Tutankhamun funerary objects entitled Tutankhamen: The Golden Hereafter, consisting of fifty artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb and seventy funerary goods from other 18th Dynasty tombs, began in Basle, Switzerland and went on to Bonn Germany on the second leg of the tour. This European tour was organised by the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), and the Egyptian Museum in cooperation with the Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig. Deutsche Telekom sponsored the Bonn exhibition.^[32]

In 2005, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, in partnership with Arts and Exhibitions International and the National Geographic Society, launched a tour of Tutankhamun treasures and other 18th Dynasty funerary objects, this time called Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. It features the same exhibits as Tutankhamen: The Golden Hereafter in a slightly different format. It was expected to draw more than three million people.^[33]

The exhibition started in Los Angeles, California, then moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Chicago and Philadelphia. The exhibition then moved to London^[34] before finally returning to Egypt in August 2008. An encore of the exhibition in the United States ran at the Dallas Museum of Art from October 2008 to May 2009.^[35] The tour continued to other U.S. cities.^[36] After Dallas the exhibition moved to the de Young Museum in San Francisco, followed by the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York City.^[37]

In 2011 the exhibition visited Australia for the first time, opening at the Melbourne Museum in April for its only Australian stop before Egypt's treasures return to Cairo in December, 2011.^[38]

The exhibition includes 80 exhibits from the reigns of Tutankhamun's immediate predecessors in the Eighteenth dynasty, such as Hatshepsut, whose trade policies greatly increased the wealth of that dynasty and enabled the lavish wealth of Tutankhamun's burial artifacts, as well as 50 from Tutankhamun's tomb. The exhibition does not include the gold mask that was a feature of the 1972-1979 tour, as the Egyptian government has determined that the mask is too fragile to withstand travel and will never again leave the country.^[39]

A separate exhibition called Tutankhamun and the World of the Pharaohs began at the Ethnological Museum in Vienna from March 9 to September 28, 2008, showing a further 140 treasures.^[40] Renamed Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, this exhibition began a tour of the US and Canada in Atlanta on November 15, 2008. It is scheduled to finish in Seattle on January 6, 2013.^[41]

Curse[link]

For many years, rumors of a "Curse of the Pharaohs" (probably fueled by newspapers seeking sales at the time of the discovery^[42]) persisted, emphasizing the early death of some of those who had first entered the tomb. However, a recent study of journals and death records indicates no statistical difference between the age of death of those who entered the tomb and those on the expedition who did not.

Aftermath of death[link]

With the death of Tutankhamun and the two stillborn children buried with him, the Thutmosid family line came to an end. The Amarna letters indicate that Tutankhamun's wife, recently widowed, wrote to the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I, asking if she could marry one of his sons. The letters do not say how Tutankhamun died. In the message to the Hittite king, Ankhesenamun says that she was very afraid, but would not take one of her own people as husband. However, the son was killed before reaching his new wife. Shortly afterward Ay married Tutankhamun's widow and became Pharaoh as a war between the two countries was fought, and Egypt was left defeated.^[43] The fate of Ankhesenamun is not known, but she disapears from record and Ay's second wife Tey became Great Royal Wife. After Ay's death, Horemheb usurped the throne and instigated a campaign of damnatio memoriae against him. Tutankhamun's father, stepmother, his wife, half sisters and other family members were also included. Not even Tutankhamun was spared. His images and cartouches were also erased. Horemheb himself was left childless and willed the throne to Paramessu, who founded the Ramesside family line of pharaohs.

Significance[link]

Tutankhamun receives flowers from Ankhesenamen

Tutankhamun was nine years old when he became pharaoh and reigned for approximately ten years. In historical terms, Tutankhamun's significance stems from his rejection of the radical religious innovations introduced by his predecessor and father, Akhenaten.^[44] Secondly, his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered by Carter almost completely intact — the most complete ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found. As Tutankhamun began his reign at such an early age, his vizier and eventual successor Ay was probably making most of the important political decisions during Tutankhamun's reign.

Tutankhamun was one of the few kings worshiped as a god and honored with a cult-like following during his lifetime.^[45] A stela discovered at Karnak and dedicated to Amun-Re and Tutankhamun indicates that the king could be appealed to in his deified state for forgiveness and to free the petitioner from an ailment caused by wrongdoing. Temples of his cult were built as far away as in Kawa and Faras in Nubia. The title of the sister of the Viceroy of Kush included a reference to the deified king, indicative of the universality of his cult.^[46]

In popular culture[link]

"King Tut Saloon", Louisiana

If Tutankhamun is the world's best known pharaoh, it is largely because his tomb is among the best preserved, and his image and associated artifacts the most-exhibited. As Jon Manchip White writes, in his foreword to the 1977 edition of Carter's The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, "The pharaoh who in life was one of the least esteemed of Egypt's kings has become in death the most renowned."

The discoveries in the tomb were prominent news in the 1920s. Tutankhamen came to be called by a modern neologism, "King Tut". Ancient Egyptian references became common in popular culture, including Tin Pan Alley songs; the most popular of the latter was "Old King Tut" by Harry Von Tilzer from 1923, which was recorded by prominent artists of the time as Jones & Hare and Sophie Tucker. "King Tut" became the name of products, businesses, and even the pet dog of U.S. President Herbert Hoover.

The interest in this tomb and its alleged "curse" also led to horror movies featuring a vengeful mummy.

Film and television[link]

• We Want Our Mummy, a 1939 film by The Three Stooges. In it, the slapstick comedy trio explores the tomb of the midget King Rutentuten (pronounced "rootin'-tootin'") and his Queen, Hotsy Totsy. A decade later, they were crooked used-chariot salesmen in Mummy's Dummies, in which they ultimately assist a different King Rootentootin (Vernon Dent) with a toothache.

• King Tut, played by Victor Buono, was a villain on the Batman TV series which aired from 1966 to 1968. Mild-mannered Egyptologist William Omaha McElroy, after suffering a concussion, came to believe he was the reincarnation of Tutankhamun. His response to this knowledge was to embark upon a crime spree that required him to fight against the "Caped Crusaders", Batman and Robin.

• The Discovery Kids animated series Tutenstein stars a fictional mummy based on Tutankhamun, named Tutankhensetamun and nicknamed Tutenstein in his afterlife. He is depicted as a lazy and spoiled 10-year-old mummy boy who must guard a magical artifact called the Scepter of Was from the evil Egyptian god Set.

• The first episode of the 2005 BBC series Egypt: Rediscovering a Lost World focuses on the life and death of Tutankhamun and the serendipitous discovery of his tomb.

• La Reine Soleil (2007 animated film by Philippe Leclerc), features Akhenaten, Tutankhaten (later Tutankhamun), Akhesa (Ankhesenepaten, later Ankhesenamun), Nefertiti, and Horemheb in a complex struggle pitting the priests of Amun against Akhenaten's intolerant monotheism.

• In the US documentary series, King Tut Unwrapped, Moroccan singer-actor, Faissal Oberon Azizi, portrayed Tutankhamun.

Other media[link]

• "King Tut", a whimsical 1978 song by (American comedian) "Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons" (a backup group consisting of members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band).

• The 1981 arcade game Tutankham revolves around King Tutankhamun.

• 1989 television networks often advertised commercials for King Kuts dog food, complete with Anubis-styled canine animation and music to the tune of "Camel Caravan." The can label was also adorned with themed hieroglyphs.

• The mummy of Tutankhamun is depicted as a villain in Raj Comics's Nagraj, a Hindi superhero comicbook. In this series, his mask is the source of his power.

• For "Transformers" the Decepticon character Frenzy repeats the name, "Tutankhamun."

• The video game Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy features a fictional representation of Prince Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun is the victim of an unnamed magical ritual which results in almost instantaneous mummification and extraction of what appears to be his "life force". In the instruction manual, the Mummy is described as young, inexperienced and naive.

• The novel Tutankhamun (2008) by novelist Nick Drake [not the musician] takes place during the reign of Tutankhamun and gives a possible explanation for his injury and death (and the aftermath) set amid a murder mystery.

• The novel The Lost Queen of Egypt (1937) by novelist Lucile Morrison is about Ankhsenpaaten/ Ankhesenamun, the wife of Tutankhamun. He is a major character, coming in about midway in the story. Here, his name is spelled as 'Tutankhamon.' It's strongly hinted that he was murdered.

Names[link]

Horus name		𓅃𓃒𓂡𓏏𓅱𓏏𓄟𓋴𓏏𓅱𓏪𓊁 Kanakht Tutmesut The strong bull, pleasing of birth
Nebti name		𓅒𓄤𓉔𓊪𓅱𓇩𓏪𓋴𓎼𓂋𓎛𓂝𓇿𓇿𓈅𓈅𓅨𓉥𓉐𓏤𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎟𓂋𓇥𓂋𓀯 Neferhepusegerehtawy Werahamun Nebrdjer One of perfect laws, who pacifies the two lands; Great of the palace of Amun; Lord of all[47]
Golden Horus name		𓅉𓍞𓈍𓏥𓊃𓊵𓏏𓊪𓊹𓊹𓊹𓋾𓈎𓏛𓁦𓋴𓊵𓏏𓊪𓊹𓊹𓊹𓅱𓍿𓊃𓍞𓈍𓏥𓇋𓏏𓆑𓀯𓆑𓁛𓍞𓈍𓏥𓋭𓊃𓇾𓇾𓅓 Wetjeskhausehetepnetjeru Heqamaatsehetepnetjeru Wetjeskhauitefre Wetjeskhautjestawyim Who wears crowns and pleases the gods; Ruler of Truth, who pleases the gods; Who wears the crowns of his father, Re; Who wears crowns, and binds the two lands therein
Prenomen		𓇓𓆤 𓍹𓇳𓆣𓏥𓎟𓍺 Nebkheperure Lord of the forms of Re
Son of Re		𓅭𓇳 𓍹𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇗𓍺 Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema Living Image of Amun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis

At the reintroduction of traditional religious practice, his name changed. It is transliterated as twt-ˤnḫ-ỉmn ḥq3-ỉwnw-šmˤ, and according to modern Egyptological convention is written Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema, meaning "Living image of Amun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis". On his ascension to the throne, Tutankhamun took a praenomen. This is transliterated as nb-ḫprw-rˤ, and, again, according to modern Egyptological convention is written Nebkheperure, meaning "Lord of the forms of Re". The name Nibhurrereya in the Amarna letters may be closer to how his praenomen was actually pronounced.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tutankhamun

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Treasure of Tutankhamun

• Grim secrets of Pharaoh's city BBC News
• Tutankhamun and the Age of the Golden Pharaohs website
• British Museum Tutankhamun highlight
• King Tut: Ancient Egypt Unveiled – slideshow by Life magazine
• The Independent, October 20, 2007: "A 3,000-year-old mystery is finally solved: Tutankhamun died in a hunting accident". See also video at The-Maker.net

v t e Amarna Period Pharaohs Amenhotep III Akhenaten Neferneferuaten Smenkhkare Tutankhamun Ay Horemheb Royal family Nefertiti Tiye Kiya Mutnedjmet Mutbenret Royal children Meritaten Meketaten Ankhesenpaaten Neferneferuaten Tasherit Neferneferure Setepenre Beketaten Meritaten Tasherit Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit Nobles and officials Aperel Bek Huya Meryre II Nakhtpaaten Panehesy Parennefer Penthu Locations Akhetaten Malkata Valley of the Kings Karnak KV55 Amarna Tombs Other Amarna letters Amarna succession Aten Atenism Dakhamunzu Amarna art

Howard Carter
Howard Carter
Born	(1874-05-09)9 May 1874 Kensington, London
Died	2 March 1939(1939-03-02) (aged 64) Kensington, London
Nationality	British
Fields	Archaeologist and Egyptologist
Known for	Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun

Howard Carter (9 May 1874 – 2 March 1939) was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist known for co-discovering the tomb of 14th-century BC pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Beginning of career[link]

Howard Carter was born in London, England, the son of Samuel Carter, an artist and Martha Joyce (Sands) Carter. His father trained and developed his artistic talent.

Much of Carter's childhood was spent in the Norfolk market town of Swaffham (probably due to ill-health). ^[1]

In 1891 Carter was sent out by the Egypt Exploration Fund to assist Percy Newberry in the excavation and recording of Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hasan. Although only 17 years old he was innovative in improving the methods of copying tomb decoration. In 1892 he worked under the tutelage of Flinders Petrie for one season at Amarna, the capital founded by the pharaoh Akhenaten. From 1894 to 1899 he then worked with Édouard Naville at Deir el-Bahari, where he recorded the wall reliefs in the temple of Hatshepsut.

In 1899, Carter was appointed the first chief inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service (EAS). He supervised a number of excavations at Thebes (now known as Luxor) before he was transferred in 1904 to the Inspectorate of Lower Egypt. Carter resigned from the Antiquities Service in 1905 after an enquiry into an affray (known as the Saqqara Affair) between Egyptian site guards and a group of French tourists in which he sided with the Egyptian personnel.^[2]

Tutankhamun's tomb[link]

Tomb of Tutankhamun

After three hard years, Carter was employed by Lord Carnarvon to supervise his excavations from 1907.^[3] The intention of Gaston Maspero, who introduced the two, was to ensure that Carter imposed modern archaeological methods and systems of recording.^[4][5]

KV62 in the Valley of the Kings

Carnarvon financed Carter's work in the Valley of the Kings from 1914, but it was interrupted by World War I until 1917, when serious work was resumed. After several years of fruitless searching, Carnarvon became dissatisfied with the lack of results and, in 1922, he gave Carter one more season of funding to find the tomb he was searching for.^[6]

On 4 November 1922, Howard Carter's excavation group found the steps leading to Tutankhamun's tomb (subsequently designated KV62), by far the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings. He wired Carnarvon to come, and on 26 November 1922, with Carnarvon, Carnarvon's daughter, and others in attendance, Carter made the "tiny breach in the top left hand corner" of the doorway, and was able to peer in by the light of a candle and see that many of the gold and ebony treasures were still in place. He made the breach into the tomb with a chisel his grandmother had given him for his seventeenth birthday. He did not yet know at that point whether it was "a tomb or merely a cache", but he did see a promising sealed doorway between two sentinel statues. When Carnarvon asked "can you see anything?", Carter replied with the famous words: "Yes, wonderful things."^[7]

Carter's house in the Theban Necropolis

The next several months were spent cataloging the contents of the antechamber under the "often stressful" oversight of Pierre Lacau, director general of the Department of Antiquities of Egypt.^[8] On 16 February 1923, Carter opened the sealed doorway, and found that it did indeed lead to a burial chamber, and he got his first glimpse of the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. All of these discoveries were eagerly covered by the world's press, but most of their representatives were kept in their hotels; only H. V. Morton was allowed on the scene, and his vivid descriptions helped to cement Carter's reputation with the British public.

Carter's own notes and photographic evidence, indicate that he, Lord Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn Herbert entered the burial chamber shortly after the tomb's discovery and before the official opening.^[9]

Later work and death[link]

The clearance of the tomb with its thousands of objects continued until 1932. Following his sensational discovery, Howard Carter retired from archaeology and became a part-time agent for collectors and museums, including the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts. He visited the United States in 1924, and gave a series of illustrated lectures in New York City and other cities in the United States that were attended by very large and enthusiastic audiences, sparking Egyptomania in America.

He died of lymphoma, a type of cancer, in Kensington, London, on 2 March 1939 at the age of 64.^[10] The archaeologist's (natural) death so long after the opening of the tomb, despite being the leader of the expedition, is the piece of evidence most commonly put forward by sceptics to refute the idea of a "curse of the pharaohs" plaguing the party that might have "violated" Tutankhamun's tomb.

Carter is buried in the Putney Vale Cemetery in London.^[11] On his gravestone is written: "May your spirit live, May you spend millions of years, You who love Thebes, Sitting with your face to the north wind, Your eyes beholding happiness"^[12] and "O night, spread thy wings over me as the imperishable stars".^[13]

In popular culture[link]

Film and television[link]

Carter has been portrayed by the following actors:^[14]

• John Cleese in the 1970 TV sketch comedy Monty Python's Flying Circus: Archaeology Today.
• Robin Ellis in the 1980 Columbia Pictures Television production The Curse of King Tut's Tomb
• Pip Torrens in the 1992 Lucasfilm TV movie Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal
• Pip Torrens in the 1995 Lucasfilm TV movie Young Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye
• Timothy Davies in the 1998 IMAX documentary Mysteries of Egypt
• Stuart Graham in the 2005 BBC docudrama Egypt

Literature[link]

He appears as a character throughout most of the Amelia Peabody series of books by Elizabeth Peters (a pseudonym of Egyptologist Dr Barbara Mertz); and in much of Arthur Phillips's The Egyptologist.

In the book The Tutankhamun Affair by Christian Jacq he is a key character.^[15]

He appears as a main character in A Cloudy Day on the West Side, a novel by Egyptian writer Muhammad Al-Mansi Qindeel.^[16]

James Patterson and Martin Dugard's book The Murder of King Tut focuses on Carter's search for King Tut's tomb.

He is referenced in Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin, The Seven Crystal Balls published in 1944 by Le Soir. ISBN 2-203-00112-7

He is referenced in Wedding of the Season by Laura Lee Guhrke. In this historical romance novel, Carter's telegram to the fictional British Egyptologist the Duke of Sunderland reports discovering "steps to a new tomb" and creates a climatic conflict. Published 2011 by Avon Books. ISBN 978-0-06-196315-5 ^[17]

Music[link]

In Search of the Pharaohs is a 30-minute cantata for narrator, junior choir and piano by composer Robert Steadman, commissioned by the City of London Freemen's School, which uses extracts from Carter's diaries as its text.^{[citation needed]}

The Finnish metal band Nightwish mentions Carter in the song "Tutankhamen" on its début album Angels Fall First: "For Carter has come / To free my beloved".

Art[link]

A paraphrased extract from Howard Carter's diary of 26 November 1922 is used as the plaintext for Part 3 of the encrypted Kryptos sculpture at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia.^[18]

On 9 May 2012 Google commemorated his 138th birthday with a Google doodle.^[19]

References[link]