Howard Carter opening the shrines enclosing the Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus for the “first” time in over 3,000 years, January 4th 1924 [1793X2560].

This image is likely a recreation for the camera. In reality, Howard Carter’s excavation of the boy pharaoh’s tomb was unorthodox, to say the least. Carter, his patron Lord Carnarvon, and Carnarvon’s daughter Lady Evelyn secretly entered the burial chamber before resealing the entrance to conceal their actions. Carter dismantled Tutankhamun’s mummy to remove it from the sarcophagus.

That said, the 50-year-old, self-trained Egyptologist was meticulous and, compared to many of his contemporaries, more respectful of ancient remains. Carter resigned from the Egyptian Antiquities Service after siding with Egyptian guards during a dispute with tourists. His careful documentation and methods ultimately preserved a remarkable amount of the tomb’s 3,000-year-old artifacts, many of which might otherwise have been damaged or lost. If interested, I write about the life, death, and afterlife of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun here: https://open.substack.com/pub/aid2000/p/hare-brained-history-volume-56-pharaoh?r=4mmzre&utm_medium=ios