Howard Carter Discover of Tutankhamen's Tomb

The fame of Howard Carter has now gone beyond the boundaries of his archaeological profession. The discovery of the intact tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen, catapulted Carter into the public eye, and even now, a hundred years after the tomb’s discovery, the hard work that Carter had put in still enthrals, as does the treasure found. The life and works of Howard Carter have been an inspiration to many of the modern day archaelogoists, who each in their own way are waiting for their time to discover “wonderful things”.

Howard Carter - Library of Congress - PD-life-70

Carter did not come from a privileged household, and as the youngest son of an animal portrait painter, Samuel John Carter, his upbringing could best be described as middle class. Howard Carter was born on the 9th May 1874, at 10 Rich Terrace, in the small town of Kensington, which has subsequently been swallowed up by the sprawling city of London. Much of his early life though was spent with his maiden aunts in the market town of Swaffham in Norfolk; they helped provide him with a modest private education. Carter though had inherited his father’s talent for drawing and painting, a talent that was developed alongside his father as they drew and painted horses and livestock for local landowners.

Whilst obviously highly skilled in drawing, the young Carter was far more interested in the stories of ancient Egypt, and he craved the opportunity to leave Norfolk and travel to Egypt. His opportunity came earlier than he could have hoped for, and with the assistance of a family friend, Lady Amherst, at the age of 17 he set sail for Alexandria. He had though not travelled without an aim, and had already been hired by the Egypt Exploration Fund in London to assist PE Newberry as a tracer. Tracers undertook epigraphic recordings, drawings of tombs and artefacts to allow for future study. Carter’s first assignment commenced in the last months of 1891, at the excavation of Beni Hassan ad El-Bersha, the burial site of the sovereign Princes of Middle Egypt from c2000BC. Though a hard worker, Carter’s role in the excavation was in the recording of the tomb wall scenes, rather than in any true archaeologist activity.

His chance to become an archaeologist though soon came as he was asked to join to renowned archaeologist, William Flinders Petrie, at El-Amarna in January 1892. Petrie was not convinced that Carter had the makings of a good archaeologist. Petrie pushed Carter, who responded to the pressure in making a number of important discoveries and therefore proved Petrie wrong. Carter continued his training into 1893 as he was appointed to the position of Principle Artist for the Egypt Exploration Fund’s excavation of Deir el Bahbri, with the burial and temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Whilst in the main an artistic role, Carter, did manage to develop his excavation and restoration skills under the direction of Edouard Naville. Carter had ample time to develop these skills, as his position as Principle Artist continued through until 1899.

Carter’s hard work and diligence though had not gone unnoticed and his efforts brought about his appointment as First Inspector General of Monuments for Upper Egypt. In 1900 Carter was still only 25 but had responsibility for supervising and controlling the archaeological activity in the Upper Nile Valley, including the ancient area of Thebes. Staying in the role for four year, Carter transferred to the equivalent position responsible for Lower Egypt.

The Tomb is Opened - Harry Burton (1879 – 1940) - PD-life-70

This move brought about the end of his meteoric career progression. With responsibility for the Egyptian staff of the Antiquities Service, Carter sided with his men when a brawl broke out between them and a group of French tourists at Saqqara. Unfortunately the French tourists were not without influence, and upon complaint to the Egyptian Consul General Lord Cromer, Carter was told to apologise to the tourists. Believing that he was in the right, Carter refused, and was promptly demoted and transferred to an archaeological backwater at Tanta in the Nile Delta. Within a year Carter had resigned and 1905 saw him jobless.

From the peak of his profession Carter now found himself on hard times, and he was forced to scratch a living for three years. Acting as a guide to tourists, as well as a dealer in antiquities and painter of water colours, Carter survived in Egypt. His hard times were soon to be a distant memory though as his old boss from the Antiquities Service, Gaston Maspero, made an introduction that changed his fortunes.

The 5th Lord of Carnarvon, George Herbert, who had visited Egypt to improve his health, was seeking to invest some of his personal wealth in archaeological excavations. The Antiquities Service though insisted that all work be under the supervision of an experienced archaeologist. Maspero, put forward Carter as the preferred option. The joining of Carter and Lord Carnarvon commenced in 1909, and the partnership hit off immediately. As Supervisor of Excavations, Carter brought immediate success to Lord Carnarvon, and by 1914, Lord Carnarvon owned one of the premier collections of Egyptian antiquities in private hands. Lord Carnarvon used his contacts to gain a concession to dig within the Valley of the Kings. Finds were made including six tombs within the Valley, the war years though meant only limited work was undertaken, though both Carter and Carnarvon worked on the tomb of Amenophis III in 1915.

Carter though was no longer satisfied with the finds that were being uncovered. His own research had lead him to believe that the tomb of a little known Pharaoh, Tutankhamen, was waiting to be uncovered in the Valley of the Kings. With Carnarvon’s financial backing, work commenced once again in 1917, Carter tore through the Valley in his quest for the lost tomb. Five relatively fruitless seasons of excavation followed, and even the enthusiastic Carnarvon, became frustrated, and 1922 was to be the final season of searching.

If Carter’s career had finished there, he would have been recognised in archaeological circles as a success, but his name would have meant nothing to the wider public of that and subsequent generations. Carter’s career though did not finish there, and in November 1922 Carter’s career reached its pinnacle. Searching continued in the Valley of the Kings, at the site of Ramesses VI tomb. Steps to the tomb of Tutankhamen were uncovered amongst the debris rubble, and undisturbed seals to the tombs were found as the steps were cleared. 26th November 1922 was the historic date that saw Carter and Lord Carnarvon break through the plaster block into the undisturbed tomb, for the pair then looked upon the "Wonderful things".

Howard Carter - New York Times - PD-old

The discovery of the century took a decade just to catalogue the contents of the tomb, and at the peak of his career Carter effectively retired from archaeology. Carter stopped his active participation in the excavation of the tomb in 1923, and instead undertook a series of lucrative lectures in the United States in 1924. It would have been presumed that Carter would have written a scholarly account of the discovery but the only work published was “The Tomb of Tut.ankh.Amen” written by Howard Carter and Arthur C. Mace.

Carter though never lost his love of ancient Egypt, and following his retirement became a successful collector of antiquities. Whether all of his collection came from legal sources has been questioned as artefacts and jewellery from Tutankhamen’s tomb were found in Carter’s home following his death, this being suggestive that he had violated the excavation permit he had been working under. Many of his friends from his time in the Valley of the Kings had died, and the latter years of his life he would be found happy by himself in the grounds and building of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor. Away from public limelight Carter lived to the age of 64, though diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of cancer, Carter had returned to the place of his birth. On the 2nd March 1939, Carter passed away in Albert Court, Kensington.

History has seen fit to criticise Carter for the poor archaeological knowledge of the time, which saw the mummy from the tomb left in direct sunlight for a number of hours. Carter though was acting within the knowledge boundaries of the time. Carter has been the most famous Egyptologist and archaeologist for a century, and has inspired countless generations to be interested in ancient Egypt, and numerous others to enter the professional field of archaeology. One find made him famous, though even without the finding of Tutankhamen’s tomb his reputation would have been secure within the circles of archaeologists.

Copyright - First Published 9th February 2008

Keywords - Howard Carter, Howard Carter Tutankhamen, Howard Carter Egyptologist