Discovery of King Tut's Tomb

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Transporting the objects discovered from the Necropolis in the Valley Of The Kings. Carter leads a team of men carrying rails to the head of the caravan (Source: Times Archive)

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Billboard poster for The Times advertising the first pictures of the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun which were published on January 30, 1923

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The first page of the contract between Lord Carnarvon and The Times by which the Earl appointed The Times as sole agents for the sale of all news articles, interviews and photographs (except film and colour photographs) throughout the world. Dated January 9, 1923

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Final page of the contract between Lord Carnarvon and The Times, dated January 23, 1923, signed by the Earl

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Lord Carnarvon wrote reports for The Times of the excavation by hand. In this one he tries to describe what he saw and felt upon entering the inner chamber of the tomb. His report was included in a wider article on the excavation published on February 19, 1923

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A letter from Lord Carnarvon to Sir Harry Perry Robinson, undated but received on January 28, 1923, suggesting that Robinson cable his reports from Luxor and expressing concerns about the situation regarding the other European agents who will have to get their news from Cairo

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Telegram from Gordon Robbins, Day Editor of The Times in London, to Sir Harry Perry Robinson, at the Winter Palace, Luxor, sent on March 2, 1923, congratulating him that "in face unimaginable difficulties you scored magnificent success obtaining one greatest coups in the history of The Times"

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The first page of an undated report written by Sir Harry Perry Robinson on the desperate attempts by the other reporters to circumvent The Times as sole agents for the reporting of the excavation and scoop the paper.

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Note from Sir Harry Perry Robinson on the bitter rivalry between The Times and other newspapers covering "Tut"
The Times's Special Writer sent this private report back to the London office, recording the drunken and underhand tactics used by his rival reporters
The first week at Luxor was very quiet. Weigall [chief inspector of antiquities in Upper Egypt] and Badstreet [The Morning Post] were both there on our arrival. Mr & Mrs Valentine Williams [Reuters] came down the same time as Lord Carnarvon. Morton of the Daily Express arrived a week later.

After a week of quietness in the usual daily visit to the Tomb by all the Press correspondents and the usual wait on the parapet for general news of the clearing of the various articles from the outer chamber, our rivals began to get restless at getting very little news. Valentine Williams spent many hours up at the Tomb and generally remained behind in the afternoon after the other Press men had gone back to Luxor, in the hope of finding some channel of information. Finding that I also stopped late, he twice asked me if I would be so kind as to escort Mrs Valentine Williams back to Luxor – apparently an excuse to try and get me out of the way.

Having refused the good office of escort and with the arrival of Morton of the Daily Express our Press Rivals after a week of being nice to us all, now changed their tactics. Morton arranged a meeting in his room at the Hotel attended by Weigall, Valentine Williams, Badstreet and an Egyptian Press man, the outcome of which to quote a remark let fall by Valentine Williams “to do everything possible to break The Times agreement”. Weigall apparently wiring Egyptian authorities at Cairo protesting against The Times agreement, and many champagne dinners were given presided over by Mrs Valentine Williams who apparently was now becoming a sort of News Editor for the rival Press. Engleback, deputy inspector of antiquities, joined in the champagne dinners and had apparently thrown in his lot with Weigall and Co, as Press visits to the Tomb were arranged every Tuesday after this, and Weigall & Co were allowed in the outer chamber each Tuesday proving they had an official permit signed by the Minister of Interior.

Combine against The Times now a real opposition.

Each day on return from the Tomb the Press correspondents would adjourn to Weigall’s room and apparently get Weigall’s views from the scientific point of view, discuss a general abuse of Lord Carnarvon and The Times and then disperse to cable their day’s story. As the day for the opening approached the Combine were getting restless – apparently getting little news – hence Weigall’s silly remarks with regard to the statue which the men on the spot are all agreed that Weigall is absolutely wrong.

Combine now getting rude and not even a good morning for The Times staff. On the Thursday night before the opening of the inner chamber I went out after dinner to find my postal official to get him to hold up the mail for 30 minutes later on the Friday. At a shop he was generally to be found in the evenings, Valentine Williams and Morton were standing at the door talking. As I passed and finding my postal man had not arrived, I strolled up and down. Valentine Williams who apparently had been busy champagne drinking, stopped me and wanted to know why I was following him about – which apparently showed the Combine were getting anxious. To this silly question, I remarked “Don’t be silly, as if The Times would follow you about or even care to know what you were doing; in fact, we have all the information about “Tut” we require and it is hardly likely any information you have is of any use.” Williams was apparently fuzzled and went for a night drive with Morton.

Friday was the great day at the Tomb as it was apparent to everyone that some opening would be made on Friday or Saturday before the Queen and Allenby went up on the Sunday. At 8am all Press men were on the way up. Weigall remarking to a friend “I’m not leaving that Tomb for the next 48 hours”. All correspondents were sitting on the parapet at 8.45am and never left their position until 4.30pm. Lord Carnarvon and party entered after lunch and the breaking down of the inner chamber could of course be heard from the parapet. One of the native workmen collared by the Combine during the afternoon said 8 mummies had been found, another workman said 3 mummies has [sic] been found. This confusing information was sufficient to spread all over Luxor that many mummies had been found and the Egyptian Gazette came out next morning with splash headlines of “Three Mummies Found”. This spurious information specially sent out by Mr Carter as a blind confused our rivals very much, but of course they must have known some sort of shrine had been found by 3pm, enough to cable an Evening paper flash that the shrine had been found, but their source of information – an Egyptian official - must have given them a hazy description of the inner chamber, because they described a huge statue of a cat which was about 6 inches high, and a wonderful chariot which was just a broken wreck.

All the Press got back at 5.30pm and from then until eleven o’clock at night were busy chasing to and fro gleaning any information that might be overheard at dinner. Mrs Valentine Williams being the chief gleaner, learning apparently that a Press man M. Fath representing the Egyptian Press might have got The Times story, she cornered him and even to use Fath’s own words, squeezed his hand. But as the Egyptian Press held out until the following day after which they came with a rush for The Times service, Mrs Valentine Williams got no information in that quarter.

It was not until after 8.30 that the Combine had got some sort of news to put together and were at the Railway Station as late as 11pm cabling home, whereas I bought down the first story from the Tomb at midday and Mr Merton the remainder at 3pm, so that Weigall’s story about no Times people at the Tomb on the opening day was one of his best lies, because Warhurst the photographer was there until 4.30pm. I was there until midday and Mr Merton until 3pm.

Sunday on the visit by the Queen, Mrs Valentine Wiliams was caught looking over Mr Merton’s shoulder looking at his writing pad. Merton, noticing this, wrote on his pad, “it is unladylike and rude to look over my shoulder” – exit Mrs Valentine Williams. Throughout this Tomb business, Weigall and Badstreet were both very annoyed people. Weigall because he thought he was the only authority on the subject. Badstreet because he had been beaten on the first discovery, hence all their abuse. Weigall left the Saturday after the opening, Morton followed before the paper containing the big story arrived. On the morning the papers arrived, Badstreet collared the lot immediately they were put on the hotel file and left the following morning, so that with the exception of Valentine Williams not one of the combine remained to read their “scoops” which they had been talking about for days after the official opening.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/specials/tutankhamun/article2833129.ece

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A letter from Howard Carter to Lints Smith, Manager of The Times, dated November 23, 1923, enclosing a document detailing his negotiations with the Egyptian Government and stating that he is "prepared for a hell of a fight if the occasion arises" to protect the agreement with The Times

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From right: Sir Harry Perry-Robinson and Arthur Sidney Merton during Howard Carter's dig at the tomb of Tutankhamun. Sir Harry Perry Robinson (1859-1930) was a special writer on the staff. He ran the news and picture syndication service for the excavation. Arthur Sidney Merton (1882-1942) was the Cairo Correspondent of The Times, 1912-1930. Other figures not identified

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Left: Arthur Sidney Merton (1882-1942) was the Cairo Correspondent of The Times, 1912-1930. In addition to his reporting of the excavation for the paper he acted as publicity agent for Howard Carter, with the agreement of The Times, from October 1923

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Herbert William "Bill" Warhurst (1897-1953) was a staff photographer on The Times between 1921 and 1953. His assignments included photographing the excavation and he took most of the pictures of activities outside the tomb

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10 tips for King Tut




 It’s still a few days till the Tutankhamun spectacular opens at the Dome – so obviously I haven’t seen it yet. I’m not even one of the quarter of a million who have booked an advance ticket, so I imagine it’ll be a long time before I get in there. But I did catch the -- very similar -- version of the show that has been in the States (that's Chicago on the left). So I think I’m qualified to offer some tips. Or to be precise 5 tips for seeing the show, and 5 things to follow up with afterwards.

First . . . for seeing it:





One: Make a bee-line for the glorious alabaster cup carved in the shape of a lotus flower. Everyone goes  weak at the knees about Tutankhamun’s  gold. But for me this exquisite piece of stone wins every time. It’s got his name written on it, and it was found just at the entrance to the tomb, probably left there by robbers.

Two: Do some prep before you go. There’s more to this show than treasure, so get into Egyptian history and culture. It’ll help you get your money’s worth. As well as the exhibition’s own glossy guides, my favourites for quickly telling you what’s what are Ian Shaw’s, Ancient Egypt: a very short introduction or John Baines’s, Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt.




 Three: Don’t forget Akhenaten. This show goes beyond King Tut (in fact, only a third or so of the objects are his). It has a lot to say about Akhenaten, his predecessor, and possibly father. Apart from the Tut treasure factor, “dad” was a much more interesting type, reigning in the middle of the fourteenth century BC and known for his commitment to monotheism. The art of his reign is really distinctive, eerily naturalistic, as you’ll see in the wonderful head in Gallery 5. Knocks on the head the idea that Egyptian art simply when on being the same for millennia.




Four: Don’t expect to see the big gold mask. The exhibition  organisers are quite up front in saying that it was too fragile to travel, but people still come expecting to see it. Partly  because the publicity material for the show (as you can see above) uses an image of something striking similar. Actually it’s a vastly blown up version of a small “coffinette”, about 16 inches long in all, which IS in the show – and which originally held the pharaoh’s liver.




 Five: Be prepared to come face to face, in a way, with Tut. His mummy has just been unveiled in Egypt and isn’t here. But the last gallery contains his CT scans – and from these they’ve reconstructed his head in latex. It was controversial exhibit in the US. What colour should Tut have been? Many people were convinced that he should have been darker.

But now for some surprising places where you can follow the show up – all in the UK . . .




 One: If you want the best view of Tut’s tomb this side of Egypt, then go to Dorchester (honest). This Tutankhamun Exhibition is a complete replica of most of it, launched after the British Museum show in 1972 – to carry on the flame of interest in all things Egyptian. Great place to take kids.

Two: For the real stuff. The British Museum is the obvious place, which is probably the best collection of Egyptian archaeology outside Egypt (don’t ask why). Amongst its other treasures, the BM has a great statue of Tutankhamun making traditional religious offerings to the traditional gods. Up yours to the monotheism of Akhenaten.




Three: The best really old-fashioned Egyptology Museum in the country is the Petrie Museum in  University College London (above), started in 1892 by the redoubtable Amelia Edwards – who was behind so much of the beginning of professional Egyptology in this country. It’s due to move into new premises in 2008, so get to see it in its old setting soon.

Four: Another great collection is the University of Manchester Museum. And they have an inscribed stela (or slab) which probably shows Tutankhamun.

Five: A bit of a mystery here. It’s the Myers Museum at Eton College, which has an Egyptian faience plaque showing Tut himself drinking from a lotus cup just like the one in the show. I saw this some time ago at Eton, but their website now says that the museum is permanently closed. If anyone knows what has happened to it, do let us know. Maybe it’s  now on display elsewhere? Or is it time to be reminding Eton of their charitable status?

http://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2007/11/10-tips-for-kin.html

[Bianca]

                                           T H E   H A P P I E S T   P H A R A O H





by Jimmy Dunn

Today, I have a vision of a sort of Pharaoh reunion.

Everyone is hanging about, many of whom are very much alive, while others are somewhat weaker, struggling for breath at times. Indeed, not all of  them are here. Many from the intermediate periods
did not make it and, apparently, even a few from other more prominent times have left the world of
the living for good.

Some of them, while strong and healthy, are not altogether pleased about the presence of some of
their companions. Clearly, Tuthmosis III really did not expect to see Hatshepsut so strong and alive,
and no one particularly wanted or expected to see Akhenaten, as healthy as ever.

Among the strongest and most healthy we find Ramesses II (he worked very hard for this), Djoser and Khufu. Tuthmosis III, perhaps the greatest empire builder in Egyptian history is strong enough, and Cleopatra (VII), though most of her Alexandria is now gone, survives very well.

But among their midst is an irony.

He was a child king, hardly living into adulthood, with probably nothing to show for his own efforts. Even though his reign was pivotal in the 3,000 year reign of ancient Egyptian religion most, if not all, of this was not his doing. He had not the time to establish himself, and some of his successors even tried to eliminate any possibility of his eternal life.

Yet, here he is, his chest heaving with pure air, his heart beating with the steady confidence of a
top athlete, stronger and healthier than even the most elite among the Pharaohs, for his name
is on everyone's tongues, and this is what matters most to all of the Pharaohs. Tutankhamun.

To the ancient Egyptians, an individual consisted of a number of different parts, which is not altogether different than those of religion view individuals today.

Even now, we think of a person as having a body and a soul, or spirit. The ancient Egyptians thought the same thing, but added to this mix was a persons name, his shadow and other elements (though this is a slightly simplified explanation of the ancient Egyptian's idea of a soul). All of these elements were important, but perhaps most important of all, at least for eternal life, was the name. If one's name was not remembered, there was little hope for the soul to live on after the physical death of the body. As long as the pharaoh's name was remembered, the king would live on through eternity, and none of their names are remembered better than that of King Tut.

Of this group of great men, he must be the happiest of all, not to mention very fond of Howard Carter, even though he did rob his tomb one last time.

In ancient Egypt, kings played the Pharaoh's game, though we should probably not call it a game, because they were dead serious about the outcome. They imagined that they could control their own fate, and the fate of their predecessors by usurping their names on statues, or sometimes by completely obliterating a foe's name from the historic record.

Hatshepsut more or less, mostly more, usurped the throne from her stepson, Tuthmosis III. It may have been good for him, allowing him to mature and become the great commander that he was, but it didn't please him. After her death, he went about methodically removing her name, and so he thought her chances for eternal life as well, from the monuments that she built while king (in ancient Egypt, a king was a king, female or male). What he couldn't remove, he built walls around, such as her Obelisk at Karnak. However, that act only helped to preserve her monument, and her name lives on today and so, according to the ancient Egyptian religion, so does she.

Everyone tried to kill off Akhenaten's hopes for an eternal life. He was the heretic king who, while attempting to radically alter ancient Egyptian religion, abandoned the priests of Amun and the other age old deities of Egypt. His successors tried to remove his name from every source, including the lists of Kings that were kept in holy places. But the city he built at modern el-Amarna was left to the desert sands which, in many ways, protected it for prosperity, and his radical beliefs found for him not oblivion but posterity. He may live on, healthy and viral, but perhaps not a favorite of the gods.




And then...... there's King Tut.


After the death of his presumed father, Akhenaten, the old religion was restored, making his reign pivotal in Egyptian history, but this was almost certainly not his work.

Personally, he may not be able to claim a single building project of his own, and much of the wealth even in his tomb was not his, but gifts from others. It was surely Ay and Horemheb who held the reins of power during Tutankhamun's kingship, and after the young king's death, Horemheb took back much
of the work performed in the young king's name, by usurping inscriptions with his own name.

Like his father, Tut's name was also omitted from the various Kings' lists. In fact, were it not for Howard Carter, he might not have made the reunion of Pharaohs at all.

But fate plays strange tricks.

What little he had, compared to some of the greater kings of ancient Egypt, was discovered mostly intact in his tomb. Even the grave robbers played into this divine poker hand, not plundering his tomb completely, like so many others.


                                 


November 4th, 2007  marks the opening of the King Tut exhibit and not since Tutankhamun's tomb was
 
discovered has he been better known to the world. And since an attribute of ancient Egyptian religion

was that, indeed, fame lead to eternal life for the pharaoh, today King Tut must be one of the happiest

pharaohs who ever lived and,  LIVED ON..........



http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tut.htm