 |
Howard CarterBritish Egyptologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb
Date of Birth: 09.05.1873
Country:  Great Britain |
Howard Carter: The British Egyptologist Who Discovered the Tomb of Tutankhamun
Howard Carter, a British Egyptologist, was born on May 9, 1873, in Swaffham, Norfolk. He received a home education and in 1891, through the patronage of Lord Amherst of Hackney, was sent to Egypt as an artist for the Egyptian Exploration Fund. The following year, Carter conducted his first excavation experience under the supervision of Flinders Petrie in Tel-el-Amarna.
Until 1900, he remained with the Exploration Fund as a member of the team led by E. Neville in Deir el-Bahari, when he was appointed as the Chief Inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Department. Working under the guidance of G. Maspero and W. Garstin, he installed electricity in Abu Simbel and the royal tombs in Thebes to illuminate them. As an assistant to T. Davis, he played a crucial role in the discovery of the tombs of Pharaoh Mentuhotep I, Queen Hatshepsut, and Thutmose IV in the Valley of the Kings.
In 1903, shortly after transferring to Saqqara as an inspector of Lower and Middle Egypt, Carter was dismissed from the Department due to a regrettable incident involving a group of undisciplined French tourists. For the next few years, he painted watercolors with Egyptian themes. In 1906, his collaboration with Lord Carnarvon in the excavation of the Theban Necropolis began, leading to the discovery of the tomb of Amenhotep I, the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, burials of the 18th Dynasty queens, and the rock-cut tomb of Hatshepsut.
Further excavations were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, but as soon as circumstances permitted, Carter convinced Carnarvon to continue the exploration in the Valley of the Kings. Finally, in November 1922, he made the most significant archaeological discovery - the tomb of Tutankhamun, a ruler of the 18th Dynasty. The tomb of the young pharaoh, which had remained sealed for over 3,000 years, contained numerous art objects, and Carter spent approximately 10 years packing, conserving, and describing them for the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
