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Biography
Exploring Egypt
Howard Carter, an Englishman, arrived in Egypt in 1891 at the age of 17.
Although he would eventually find and excavate King Tuts tomb, Carter began
his professional career as an artist. Like his father, Howard Carter could draw
and paint animals well.
Initially, Carter worked for the Egyptian Exploration Fund as a tracer, copying
drawings and hieroglyphics from different tombs within the Valley of the Kings.
His drawings of ancient Egyptian art included owls, ducks, falcons, dogs, and
people. He worked during the day and slept in the caves at night. He was soon
promoted to Principal Artist.
Excavations under Lord Carnarvon, a man who used his wealth to help pay for
the search for tombs in Egypt. This proved to be a valuable partnership.
Together, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon teamed up to find King Tuts
hidden tomb.
On November 26, 1922, they uncovered the staircase. They walked through the
first sealed door and were ready to open the second sealed door. Carter
described the moment in his book The Tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen:
precaution against possible foul gases, and then, widening the hole a
little, I inserted the candle and peered in . . . At first I could see nothing,
the hot air escaping from the chamber caused the candle flame to
flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details
of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals,
statues, and goldeverywhere the glint of gold.
A Labor of Love
Howard Carter spent 10 years carefully documenting what he found in the four
chambers of King Tuts tomb. It took Carter a decade to do this work because
there were so many artifacts and because he wanted to be sure his work did not
damage any of the objects. In total, there were 5,398
objects. Carter found hundreds of treasures around
the mummified body itself, including three separate
gold coffins (outer, middle, and inner coffins), the
famous golden mask, a scarab (beetle shape) made
from black resin and inscribed with words from the
Book of the Dead, a pair of gold hands, amulets,
bracelets, and collars. Only one photographer was
allowed in the burial chambers. To supplement the
photographs, Carter completed drawings of many
objects.
The discovery of Tuts tomb catapulted Howard Carter and King Tut into
stardom. Carter went from a little known artist-turned-archaeologist to a
celebrated expert Egyptologist. Tutankhamen went from a forgotten,
unimportant boy-king to the most recognized of all pharaohs. Carters find also
shed light on one other important part of ancient Egypt: the Pharaohs Curse.
Many people believed Carter was doomed because of this curse. In fact, many
people who worked on the excavation of Tuts tomb did die early deaths. People
expected Carter, who was not healthy as a child, to die a terrible death. Carter,
however, experienced no ill effects of the Pharaohs Curse. In fact, he lived on
for 17 years after discovering King Tuts tomb, until his death at age 66. He
dreamed of making more discoverieshe hoped to one day find the tomb of
Alexander the Greatbut he was never able to realize this dream.
2. Why did Carter feel it was important to work carefully during the
excavation of King Tuts tomb?
A. to not disturb the artifacts
B. to allow the artifacts to gain value
C. to build global interest
D. to appreciate the moment