Tomb Of Tutankhamun – The Men Behind The Great Discovery

Lord Canarvon was the 5th Earl of Canarvon between 26 June 1866 and 5 April 1923. After a rather bad car accident in 1903, doctors recommended that Lord Canarvon spend the winters away from England’s wet weather. As a result, Lord and Lady Canarvon spent their winters in Egypt. Here, Lord Canarvon became an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist and sponsored a number of digs and excavations. Employing Howard Carter to lead these for him. In 1912, Lord Carnarvon published Five Years’ Exploration at Thebes. Which was co-written with Carter and described their excavations.

Howard Carter was born in London in 1874. Whilst growing up in the Norfolk countryside, Howard Carter had access to Didlington Hall. The Hall, owned by the Amherst family, had a sizable collection of Egyptian antiquities. Spending time drawing these, Howard Carter soon developed an interest in Egyptology. Lady Amherst was so imprested with Howard Carter’s drawings she raised money to enable him to travel to Egypt. Here he helped record the excavations being undertaken by a family friend. At the time, Howard Carter was 17 and showed a great talent for copying the amazing decorations inside the tombs. As his work progressed, in 1899 Howard Carter was appointed Inspector of Monuments for the Egyptian Antiquities Service in Upper Egypt.

Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter met in 1909. At the time Lord Carnarvon had been documenting and photographing Valley of the Nobles. With his wife, Lord Canarvon stayed in the Winter Palace in Luxor and crossed the Nile every day by boat. They then each rode a donkey to the Valley of the Nobles. In 1910, Lord Carnarvon built a house for Howard Carter. The bricks to build the house were actually sent from the UK! Howard Carter designed the house and, once completed, Lord Carnarvon often stayed there due to its prime location near Valley of the Kings. The title ‘Carter Castle’ came about as a lighthearted reference to Highclere Castle.

The tomb of Tutankhamun is the most famous tomb in the Valley of the Kings. History tells us that this boy king reigned for just 9 years. Then, about 16 years old, Tutankhamun died and was laid to rest in Valley of the Kings. Tutankhamun’s tomb remained undisturbed until 1922. Howard Carter’s discovery was one of the greatest discoveries in Egypt. The well preserved paintings on the tomb walls are unlike those in other tombs. In light of this, many think this is because that there was limited time to prepare the tomb. Visit the tomb and see these amazing paintings.