Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive
13 April 2022 to 05 February 2023
About Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive – The Exhibition
Discover the story of the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb through the eyes of the archaeologists on the ground.
2022 marks 100 years since the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. In 1922 Howard Carter and his team discovered the tomb of the young king Tutankhamun at Luxor.
It was the first known intact royal burial from ancient Egypt, and it preserved a wealth of ritual items and objects from the king’s life – flowers and fruit as well as gold…
Using Carter’s archive of photographs, letters, plans, drawings and diaries – now part of the Griffith Institute, Oxford – this exhibition brings to life the complex stories of the discovery, excavation, documentation and conservation of Tutankhamun’s tomb, including often overlooked Egyptian members of the archaeological team.
Come and explore this vivid and intimate insight into one of the world’s most famous archaeological discoveries. The exhibition is curated by Professor Richard Bruce Parkinson and Dr Daniela Rosenow.
Free
Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive – The Book
In 1922, as Egypt became an independent nation, the tomb of the young king Tutankhamun was discovered at Luxor, the first known intact royal burial from ancient Egypt.
The excavation of the small but crowded tomb by Howard Carter and his team generated enormous media interest and was famously photographed by Harry Burton.
These photographs, along with letters, plans, drawings and diaries, are part of an archive created by the excavators and presented to the Griffith Institute, the University of Oxford after Carter’s death.
These historic images and records present a vivid and first-hand account of the discovery, of the spectacular variety of the king’s burial goods and of the remarkable work that went into documenting and conserving them.
The archive enables a nuanced and inclusive view of the complexities of both the ancient burial and the excavation, including often overlooked Egyptian members of the archaeological team.
This selection of fifty key items by the staff of the Griffith Institute provides an accessible and authoritative overview of the archive, drawing on new research on the collection and giving an intimate insight into the records of one of the world’s most famous archaeological discoveries.
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