It's only since archaeology was born more than two centuries ago that we've really begun to understand the ancient world. What we now call common sense, such as that man first made tools in Africa 2.5 million years ago, rather than in Europe thousands of years ago, as previously thought; civilizations originated independently in six or seven locations in different parts of the globe, not first originating in Egypt and the Near East; the Maya in Mexico, the Zimu in Peru, and the Khmers in Cambodia built ancient cities and created magnificent artistic styles. It was unimaginable to those scholars of the 18th and early 19th centuries who took Europe as their standard...
How did this cognitive metamorphosis arise? Who made those amazing discoveries and unearthed the treasures on display in the world's major museums today? All of this depends on the tireless efforts of generations of archaeologists. In The Great Archaeologists, we focus on the lives and achievements of 70 archaeologists in history who rediscovered lost ancient civilizations and cultures and redefined the ancient world as we know them.
Authorized by the publisher, The Paper's private geographical excerpt from the book "The Discoverer of Tutankhamun's Treasure" reveals how Archaeologist Howard Carter, who fell into the "curse of the pharaohs" in legends, discovered this shocking treasure in real history.
Brian Fagan/ eds., Li Zhipeng, Li Fan/Translation; Commercial Press; 2022-2
The sight was unprecedented, even beyond our imagination.
—Howard Carter, as he entered Tutankhamun's Mausoleum in 1922
Although Howard Carter's most remarkable achievement in life was the discovery of tutankhamun's mausoleum, the only nearly intact pharaoh's mausoleum in the Valley of the Kings, he had a long, occasionally frustrating career before this world-changing discovery. When he was just a teenager, he had already started his career as an inscription researcher. He then worked as a surveyor for historical sites at the Egyptian Antiquities Agency. His enthusiasm for the investigation and preservation of Egyptian historical sites was no less than his grumpiness, but the latter made him enemies in Egyptian politics, academia, and publishing, and made him suffer in the archaeological work of Tutankhamun's mausoleum. But Carter's focus and methodicalness, combined with his innate perseverance, were enough to make him the perfect candidate for the greatest archaeological discovery known to the world.
Early life and career
Howard Carter was born on 9 May 1874 in Brompton, London, the son of illustrator and animal painter Samuel John Carter and Martha Joyce Sands. He spent his teenage years in Swaferm, Norfolk and grew into a little-known artist. After visiting the private collection of his family's family's family, Lord Amherst, he became interested in Egyptology. In fact, it was Mrs. Amherst who recommended the young Howard to the Egyptologist Percy Newberry in 1891. At that time the latter was looking for a talented artist to join the Egyptian Expedition Fund's archaeological survey in Egypt.
Tutankhamun's discoverer, Howard Carter
In the winter of 1891, at the age of 17, Carter arrived in Central Egypt and was hired as an assistant draftsman to depict frescoes and inscriptions in ancient Egyptian burial chambers in Beni Hassan and Del ElBersa. The entire team completed the annual work before Christmas, but Carter chose to stay in Egypt and in early 1892, he participated in the archaeological excavations organized by the famous archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petri in Amarnay, thus having the first experience of personally participating in the excavations. Although Petrie at first thought that Carter did not seem to be interested in painting and natural history, by the end of the excavation season Carter had learned Petrie's systematic approach and keen archaeological "intuition", and also discovered a new mission in life. Carter later wrote: "Probably because of Flinders Petrie's training, I began to aspire to be an archaeological excavator. ”
In late 1892, Carter returned to Del El Bolsa to continue as a draftsman for the archaeological team, working for a time at the Mendes site in the Delta. He then joined the archaeological team of Eduard Navier to excavate the Hatshepsut Burial Temple in Luxor. Now he is an experienced draftsman who is free to develop his own working methods. Over the next six years, Carter used meshes, freehand paintings, copying, and other methods to reproduce the frescoes and reliefs in the temple very precisely.
Work for the Heritage Department
In 1899, Carter was appointed chief inspector of historical sites in Upper Egypt and Nubia by Gaston Mabel, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department. Carter was stationed in Luxor and devoted a great deal of attention to the Valley of the Kings. He installed electric lights for the tombs of the 6 most famous pharaohs in the valley and added metal gates to the tomb gates. To make it easier for tourists to visit, he also widened the road and set up a donkey shed for donkeys. At the same time, Theodore Davis, a wealthy American lawyer in Carterdy, presided over the excavations and even recommended sites worth excavating. Together, they discovered the tomb of Thutmose IV and cleaned up Hatshepsut's tomb (KV20). A number of other sites also benefited from Carter's enthusiasm and installed electric lights, including the Temple of Edef, the Temple of Kam Ompo and the Temple Complex of Abu Simbel.
In 1903, Carter was transferred to Lower and Central Egypt as an inspector. He didn't work there for long. On January 8, 1905, violent clashes between the security guards at Saqqara Ruins and 15 drunken French tourists led to the involvement of the local police and a formal complaint against Carter. Carter flatly refused to apologize. Mabolo was unable to help his stubborn employee, so he transferred Carter to Tanta in the Delta region. Carter was so depressed that he resigned in October 1905. He then returned to Luxor and spent the next two years selling antiquities and his paintings. In 1907, he finally came to work and was introduced to Georges Herbert, the fifth Count of Carnavon. In this year, the Earl had just presided over an excavation in Thebes, but due to his lack of experience and poor archaeological techniques, Mabole was worried, so he introduced Carter to preside over future archaeological work on his behalf. In 1912, the book they co-authored was published. In the following years, Carter left Luxor for Saha (also known as Sawys City, but his excavations were halted by local cobras) and al-Bara montju in the Delta region for archaeological excavations.
Look for Tutankhamun
In 1914, Count Carnavon took over Davis' concession in the Valley of the Kings, and Carter was able to take over the cleaning of the mausoleum of Amenhotep III in the West Valley in 1915. In 1917, he began his "real grand plan" in the main valley – to find the mausoleum of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Ten years ago, near the mausoleum of Ramses VI, an archaeological team funded by Theodore Davis found objects engraved with the young pharaoh's name. Davis believed the items were just remnants of equipment from Tutankhamun's mausoleum, but Carter didn't think so. He was convinced that Tutankhamun's mausoleum must be nearby and searched until 1922. Count Carnavon was already disheartened and thought it was time to admit defeat. Carter, as always, did not fail, begging Count Carnavon to discover another season, and even planned to pay for everything himself in order to obtain Permission from Count Carnavon. Earl was finally touched by Carter's enthusiasm and decided to continue sponsoring the final annual excavation.
Carter and his patron, The Count carnavins
In October 1922, Carter and his team began excavations in the northeast corner of the entrance to the Mausoleum of Ramses VI. On 4 November, beneath the remnants of the temporary sheds of ancient craftsmen, a staircase was revealed, followed by one step until the 12th level, where a stucco-coated gate with a cemetery seal appeared. Carter forcibly opened a small slit and found a passage behind the door covered with rubble, indicating that it was a complete tomb. Carter immediately gleefully telegraphed count Carnavon and informed him of the discovery. Over the next two weeks, while waiting for Count Carnavon to arrive, Carter's workers cleared the stairs and found a seal engraved with Tutankhamun's name. But worryingly, Carter found signs of the gate being opened and resealed. Was the mausoleum stolen or excavated after all? As soon as Count Carnavon arrived at the excavation site, Carter broke the gate and began to clean up the rubble behind the door. The above thoughts came to his mind again. The passage leads to the second gate, which also has a seal on it, and more evidence of the tomb being invaded in antiquity has been found. The time has come to reveal the truth. Is the mausoleum really intact?
The case of one of the burial chambers when Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered
On November 26, 1922, Carter forcibly opened a small hole in the upper left corner of the second gate, then stuffed a candle from the hole and peeked inward; under the flickering candlelight, strange animals, sculptures, and sparkling gold evoked the reverie. The Count was already impatient, and asked Carter what he had seen. Carter's succinct answer quickly spread around the world: "Yes, it's all good stuff!" Carter said the treasure from the Lost World made him ecstatic. These "good things" were only a small part of the hidden wealth of the mausoleum; as Carter had glimpsed the front chamber, the annex, treasure chamber, and burial chamber were still waiting for his discovery and exploration. But cleaning up the mausoleum took a lot of time: Carter first had to meticulously document, photograph and protect the entire mausoleum with the assistance of a large group of experts.
Carter was grooming the mummy
Difficult old age
Although the Tutankhamun Mausoleum was first discovered to delight everyone, the pressure from subsequent media attention and the heated debate over the ownership of the relics inside the mausoleum caused tensions between Carter and Count Canavon.
The two were eventually reconciled, but this took place in April 1923, when Count Carnavon died. The Count was bitten by a mosquito carrying germs, causing sepsis and pneumonia. Later, the concession for archaeological excavations in the Valley of the Kings was transferred to Countess Carnavin, and Carter continued his work. The conflict between Carter and the Egyptian authorities also quickly intensified. But it all came to an end when he closed the entire mausoleum and stopped all archaeological activity in February 1924 in protest of the Egyptian government's interference in his work. Carter's fierce reaction violated the agreement of the archaeological concession, and the Egyptian government announced that it would continue to clean the mausoleum without Carter's involvement. Carter's stinky temper and inadequacy in his dealings with the world caused him to lose his position once again.
Carter is studying artifacts
In 1924, Carter, who had in fact been banned from participating in the archaeological work at Tutankhamun's Mausoleum, left Luxor for the United States and Canada to give lectures. He did not return to Egypt until the collapse of Egypt's national government and the tightening of British control over Egyptian affairs. In January 1925, Carter regained the concession and in 1928 completed the cleanup of the mausoleum, but the conservation of the monument continued for another four years.
The golden coffin of Tutankhamun that we see today
As the precious burial items from Tutankhamun's mausoleum were safely transferred to the Egyptian Museum for preservation, carter, who was already ill at the time, spent the last years of his life writing a six-volume mammoth excavation report. Regrettably, however, the report remained unfinished until the death of Carter on March 2, 1939, at the age of 66.