Notebooks, negatives, photographs, maps, and drawings made during the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun. For other material, refer to the catalogue.
Tutankhamun object cards with accompanying photographs, notes (some group notes listed below) and letters, compiled by Howard Carter and other members of the excavation team [TAA i.1.1-620]
Most cards are manuscript records, as well as many original typescript records
Many cards are illustrated with drawings of objects, or details of objects, by Howard Carter and A. C. Mace
The object cards record:
Object number, main description of the object, location in the tomb, measurements, description of the object - Howard Carter and A. C. Mace (1922-1925)
Hieroglyphic inscriptions, transcriptions and translations - Mostly Alan H. Gardiner and P. E. Newberry, but some inscriptions are transcribed by Carter
Conservation records - Alfred Lucas and A. C. Mace (1922-1925)
Botanical and textile notes - P. E. Newberry
Photographic documentation - Harry Burton
Other groups of notes filed with the object cards include:
Notes on the [ancient] robberies, by Howard Carter, Alfred Lucas and Lord Carnarvon
Notes on various aspects of the Annexe by Howard Carter (1-4, 10-43, 47-64), Alfred Lucas (5-9, 44-6) and A. H. Gardiner (41)
Notes and memoranda on various aspects of the tomb by Alfred Lucas
Tutankhamun notebook, Howard Carter's copies of selected object cards
Selected object cards, Alan H. Gardiner's transcriptions copied by Carter from original object cards (see TAA i.1.1-620)
Carter's manuscript with transcriptions
Antechamber, object nos. 37, 38
Treasury, object nos. 261-337
Annexe, object nos. 338-420
1 enclosure, letter from Percy Newberry to Howard Carter, dated 13-09-1928, with transcription and translation of texts from the model figure of Tutankhamun, lying on a funeral bier [Carter 331a], now in Cairo, Egyptian Museum, JE 60720.
Chariots. Howard Carter's collected notes for the intended scientific publication of Tutankhamun's tomb.
Includes Carter's drawings with reconstructions of the chariots and harnesses, comparisons with chariots from other tombs and depictions of chariots from temple and tomb wall scenes.
An essay on Tutankhamun's chariots (TAA i.3.8.10-17), based on Howard Carter's notes, probably edited by Mrs Jane Waley in 1946-1947. Mrs Waley worked for the Griffith Institute and created the first catalogue for the Tutankhamun records.
Collars. Howard Carter's collected notes for the intended scientific publication of Tutankhamun's tomb. Carter's manuscript notes with a brief description of two collars found on Tutankhamun's body, object numbers (256o) and (256bb (2)).
Gesso. Howard Carter's collected notes for the intended scientific publication of Tutankhamun's tomb.
i. Typescript letter from Dr Alexander Scott, December 1930, to Howard Carter, on animal tissue with gesso used under gold on the burial shrines. Also, see Chemistry notes (TAA i.3.9).
ii. Photograph of a microscope slide, sample with animal hair follicles, enclosed with Scott's letter.
iii. Alfred Lucas's manuscript notes on the analysis of gesso, which mentions a layer of ‘course woven fabric’ found under gesso.
iv. Howard Carter's manuscript notes on components of gypsum, whiting and chalk.
Headdress. Howard Carter's collected notes for intended scientific publication of Tutankhamun's tomb.
Newspaper cutting from Illustrated London News, February 1934. This article includes photographs of ancient Egyptian circlets and copies of wigs. Reproduced from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin.
Third shrine (238). Howard Carter's collected notes for the intended scientific publication of Tutankhamun's tomb.
i. Carter's report on the shrine, its construction, measurements, copies of ‘guide’ marks, note on seal impressions, drawing of roof and cornice showing tongues for attachment. Not published by Carter.
ii. Carter's drawing of shrine detail, noting construction.
iii. Harry Burton's photographs of the shrine. Taken in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Tutankhamun excavation: Alfred Lucas documentation on wood from the tomb.
Correspondence and related material on wood, including:
16 letters exchanged between Alfred Lucas and Laurence Chalk discussing wood specimens from the tomb of Tutankhamun;
3 offprints, Lucas articles:
Lucas, A. 1932. The Occurrence of Natron in Ancient Egypt. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 18 (1/2), 62-66 (OEB 144143);
Lucas, A. 1936. The Wood of the Third Dynasty Ply-wood Coffin from Saqqara. Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte 36, 1-4 (OEB 144160);
Lucas, A. 1924. Note on the Temperature and Humidity of Several Tombs in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings at Thebes. Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte 24, 12-14 (OEB 144136).
Howard Carter, assisted by Walter Hauser, manoeuvring one side of the cow-headed couch (73) into a packing case for transfer to the nearby 'laboratory' (tomb KV15, of Sethos II).
Photograph probably taken in late 1922 or early 1923.
George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, fifth Earl of Carnarvon, standing in the doorway of 'Castle Carter', Howard Carter's house at Elwet el-Diban located at the entrance to the wadi leading to the Valley of the Kings.
The photographer is not known, perhaps taken by The Times photographer, probably in early 1923.
A donkey procession in the Valley of the Kings.
Riding donkeys, from the left, Alfred Lucas (white hat), Arthur Callender (also white hat), Howard Carter (medium coloured hat with dark band), and Arthur Mace (dark hat).
Donkeys were the main form of transport to and from Tutankhamun's tomb.
TAA ii.6.61 almost certainly records the same event.
The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
Two Egyptian team members, accompanied by Howard Carter [wearing hat and waistcoat, left foreground], carry trays containing objects from the Antechamber of Tutankhamun's tomb while being pursued by tourists. The man on the left carries a decorated box (Carter 44), probably a footstool or stool, while the tray conveyed by the man contains two items, perhaps a box lid and a vessel (not identified). The objects are being transported to the nearby 'Laboratory' (the tomb of King Sety II, KV15).
The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
Egyptian excavation team members transport some of Tutankhamun's food provisions from the King's tomb to the nearby 'Laboratory' set up in the tomb of King Sethos II (KV15) in the Valley of the Kings.
Forty-eight boxes (Carter 62) containing choice cuts of meat and whole geese were prepared to accompany the King's burial and were placed in a neat pile beneath one of the ceremonial couches in the Antechamber. They were some of the first items Howard Carter saw when he looked into the tomb for the first time on 26th November 1922, recording them as "a heap of large curious white oviform boxes".