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Tutankhamen and the Discovery of His Tomb by the Late Earl of Carnarvon and Mr. Howard Carter cover

Tutankhamen and the Discovery of His Tomb by the Late Earl of Carnarvon and Mr. Howard Carter

Chapter 2: PREFACE
By Grafton Elliot Smith
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About This Book

A scholarly account interprets the archaeological uncovering of a pharaoh’s tomb and places the finds within the wider context of Egyptian funerary practice and belief. It reviews exploration of royal burials, inventories and illustrations of funerary equipment, and explanations of embalming, ritual imagery, and ideas about immortality and the soul’s journey to heaven. The narrative examines tomb‑robbing and reburial customs, compares artistic motifs and tomb layouts, and offers bibliographical guidance. Concluding chapters reflect on the ethical issues raised by excavation and removal of ancient remains and objects, aiming to clarify the cultural and historical significance of the discoveries for a general reader.

PREFACE

During the period when the newspapers were publishing daily reports of the progress of the work in Tutankhamen’s tomb and Mr Harry Burton’s photographs, which gave us so vivid an impression of the objects that were being found, I wrote for the Daily Telegraph a series of articles discussing the wider significance of the startling discoveries. They did not describe the tomb itself or the wonderful collection of funerary equipment, but were merely a general commentary on the meaning of the information being given by the reporters from the Theban necropolis. Nor was any attempt made to collect the few facts concerning Tutankhamen himself, or even to discuss the events of his time. The exploration of the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, for which the late Lord Carnarvon and Mr Howard Carter were responsible, had brought to light the tomb of the youthful nonentity Tutankhamen, which sheds a dazzling searchlight on one particular phase of the history of civilization thirty centuries ago. What I set out to attempt was to interpret the deeper meaning of those Egyptian beliefs which found such brilliant expression in the luxuriously extravagant equipment of his tomb.

I have been urged to collect these articles into the more convenient form of this little book. As they were merely comments on the descriptions of the actual tomb and its contents the separate issue of these topical and ephemeral notes seemed at first to lack any justification, but I have received so many requests for information and guidance that I thought it might serve some useful purpose to redraft my articles and give such bibliographical references as would help the general reader to understand the results that have so far been attained and to appreciate the value of the more important discoveries that next season’s work will certainly reveal.

I have used the pharaoh’s name “Tutankhamen” as the title of this book merely as a label to suggest the circumstance that called it into being. But I have written an introductory chapter to give an account of what is known of him and his times.