The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen (Egypt)

Description

November 4, 1922. For six seasons the legendary Valley of the Kings has yielded no secrets to Howard Carter and his archeological team: "We had almost made up our minds that we were beaten," he writes, "and were preparing to leave The Valley and try our luck elsewhere; and then — hardly had we set hoe to ground in our last despairing effort than we made a discovery that far exceeded our wildest dreams." Join Howard Carter in his fascinating odyssey toward the most dramatic archeological find of the century — the tomb of Tutankhamen. Written by Carter in 1923, only a year after the discovery, this book captures the overwhelming exhilaration of the find, the painstaking, step-by-step process of excavation, and the wonder of opening a treasure-filled inner chamber whose regal inhabitant had been dead for 3,000 years. 104 on-the-spot photographs chronicle the phases of the discovery and the scrupulous cataloging of the treasures. The opening chapters discuss the life of Tutankhamen and earlier archeological work in the Valley of the Kings. An appendix contains fully captioned photographs of the objects obtained from the tomb. A new preface by Jon Manchip White adds information on Carter's career, recent opinions on Tutankhamen's reign, and the importance of Carter's discovery to Egyptologists. Millions have seen the stunning artifacts which came from the tomb — they are among the glories of the Cairo Museum, and have made triumphal tours to museums the world over. They are a testament to the enigmatic young king, and to the unwavering tenacity of the man who brought them to light as described in this remarkable narrative. Review: Excellent story and adventure of never giving up. - Having visited the tomb in the Valley of the Kings last year it is a fascinating read. All that remains of Tutankhamen in the tomb is his body and sarcophagus, the rest of the objects are in the Cairo Museum. Review: It's like being there! - There are two things that make this book special: Mr. Carter's description of not only what he sees as he enters the tomb, but his emotions as well. The other special feature is that the book's pictures have been interjected within his story in close proximity to what Carter is describing at the time. Carter also makes it extremely easy to understand what he is describing by referencing specific plate numbers. This is useful when the reader is not familiar with the name of an item because it never existed in modern times. For a person who enjoys reading stories of true events, Mr. Carter has given us a gem of a book. My only wish is that Mr. Carter had available to him at the time the technology of color film. His descriptions of what he sees and the stiking colors he witnessed in the tomb leave one yearning for color prints.