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Archival description
Tutankhamun Archive With digital objects
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Object cards: compiled by Howard Carter and others

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
    • Notes on the contents of baskets by Howard Carter
    • Note on a wooden docket by A. H. Gardiner
    • Two letters from Howard Carter to A. H. Gardiner

Chariots: Tutankhamun excavation documentation - Carter's notes for planned publication

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.

Carter, Howard

Transporting Tutankhamun's "mannequin" [2]

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • (Carter 116)
  • An Egyptian team member carrying the wooden portrait figure of Tutankhamun, the so-called "mannequin", from the King's tomb to the nearby "Laboratory" tomb (KV 15, of Sethos II) for cleaning and conservation.
  • The portrait bust of Tutankhamun [Carter 116] was found in the tomb's Antechamber. The King is portrayed wearing a yellow flat-topped crown featuring the centrally positioned uraeus on the crown's temple band. The King also wears a close-fitting white garment.
  • The bust's purpose is unclear, but it probably displayed part of the King's regalia. A recent proposal is that it may have been originally used for supporting and storing the King's gold corset (Carter 54k) in the tomb. When thieves ransacked the tomb in antiquity, these robbers likely removed the corset from the bust before breaking the heavy regalia into smaller, portable pieces.

Egyptian team transporting chests

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the production date of the postcard is not known, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • Members of the Egyptian team manoeuvring a large carrying tray out through the entrance to the modern enclosure wall constructed shortly after Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered. The team are carrying two black shrine-like boxes (Carter 37) and (Carter 38) and a gabled-roofed box (Carter 32), transporting them from the tomb's Antechamber to the Laboratory.

Merchandise pamphlet

Merchandise pamphlet for the 'Treasures of Tutankhamun' exhibition at the British Museum in 1972.

  • 1 printed, gatefold pamphlet with a list of merchandise, some items illustrated with line drawings

The team transporting two trays

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • 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).

Transporting boxes containing preserved meat

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • 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".

Tutankhamun Archive

  • TAA
  • Collection
  • 1922-2014

Notebooks, negatives, photographs, maps, and drawings made during the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun. For other material, refer to the catalogue.

Carter, Howard

Journal: 1922-1925 (1st to 3rd seasons)

Tutankhamun excavation journal 1922-1925, and miscellaneous notes

  • 148 numbered pages
  • Manuscript entries, with some drawings and pages with affixed newspaper cuttings

Howard Carter's excavation journal for the tomb of Tutankhamun, 1922-1925, covering the first-third seasons

  • Most entries are by Carter
  • Entries between December 5th and 27th, 1922 (pages 43 to 47) are by Arthur Mace

Also, Carter's miscellaneous notes on Tutankhamun and other subjects:

  • Notes on Synopsis
  • The Legend of Osiris
  • Nomenclature of certain Districts of the Theban Necropolis
  • Records of Royal Tomb Robberies
  • The First Theban Kingdom
  • Protocol of Tut-Ankh-Amen

Newspaper cuttings

  • The Times
    • 31 May 1923
    • 23 July 1923
    • 24 July 1923
    • 5 January 1924
    • 7 January 1924
    • 12 February 1924
    • 14 February 1924

Carter, Howard

Seal impressions: Tutankhamun excavation documentation - Carter's notes for planned publication

Seal impressions. Howard Carter's collected notes for the intended scientific publication of Tutankhamun's tomb.

  • i. Letters from James Henry Breasted to Howard Carter, 1923, on an article in Harpers Magazine, and Tutankhamun's seal impressions.
  • ii. James Henry Breasted's manuscript report on the eight types of seal impression found in Tutankhamun's tomb and 2 letters from Breasted to Carter dated 03-01-1923 and 15-02-1923.
  • iii, iv. Two folders marked "Seals A-H" and "Seals I-S", Carter's annotated typewritten reports with his draft and finished pencil drawings of each type of seal impression, with some manuscript and a few typewritten notes.
  • v. One record card with notes on seals, extracted from a letter from Breasted, dated 16-03-1923, copied by A. C. Mace.
  • Later typed note, dated 1960, with A. H. Gardiner's translation for Seal C.
  • Annotated photograph (Burton (sic) P0274b), almost certainly taken by Carter, of the outermost doorway showing the blocking intact with seals.

Breasted, James Henry

Lantern slides

Howard Carter's lantern slides featuring Harry Burton's photographs taken during the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb.

  • A twelve-drawered wood chest containing over 600 glass lantern slides
  • Belonging to Howard Carter.
  • The lantern slides were made from Harry Burton's images.
  • Used by Carter in his lectures.

Burton, Harry

Egyptian team transporting the 'candlesticks'

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the production date of the postcard is not known, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • An Egyptian team member carrying a tray containing the four 'candlesticks' (Carter 41a-d), transporting them from the tomb's Antechamber to the Laboratory. Each 'candlestick' is in the form of an anthropomorphic ankh with arms raised to either hold a bronze torch-cup or a small pottery cup.

Moving an ornamental vessel

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • Egyptian team members transporting one of Tutankhamun's elaborate vessels (Carter 57) from the King's tomb to the nearby 'Laboratory' set up in the tomb of King Sethos II (KV15). The large vessel, carved from a single piece of Egyptian alabaster, originally contained unguent, its contents stolen by the tomb robbers who entered the tomb in antiquity. The vessel's body is flanked by openwork side pieces incorporating bound papyrus and lotus flowers, symbolising Upper and Lower Egypt and its unification, as well as representing the King's sovereignty. The vessel's body is decorated with Tutankhamun's cartouches; the incised decoration has been filled with black pigment.

View of the modern enclosure wall and the entrance of Tutankhamun's tomb

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • View of the modern enclosure wall of Tutankhamun's tomb, erected by Howard Carter following the discovery of the King's tomb in November 1922, with the tomb's entrance visible in the foreground (left of centre).

"Tu tanks have just arrived"

  • Comic postcard.
  • "Tu tanks have just arrived!".
  • Issued by Inter-Art Co., London.
  • "Comique" Series no. 4491.
  • Mailed on Thursday, 27 May 1926.
  • Postcard sent by R. Wilman to Miss D. Dixon, 7 Victoria Buildings, Morecambe.

Burton negatives - small glass plate

Harry Burton's small glass plate negatives

Howard Carter's negatives

Later film negatives, made from original Burton photographs

  • Some are original Harry Burton negatives.
  • Carter's negatives are views of the area around the tomb entrance and the outer sealed doorway when the tomb was found in 1922 and before Burton joined the Tutankhamun excavation team in December 1922.
  • Glass and film negatives.
  • Approximately 1000 negatives (400 glass and 600 film)
  • Number ranges 1-2024 and i-xcvii
  • The negative number ranges comprise both the small and large negatives (large, see TAA i.5)
  • A few original negatives in this series were created by Howard Carter, see above.
  • Many of the negatives were made later in the Ashmolean Museum photographic studio from photographs supplied by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, following an exchange of images in the 1950s.
  • Includes modern film negatives made in the Ashmolean Museum photographic studio from the original Harry Burton photographic prints in the Tutankhamun Archive, Griffith Institute.

Transporting a basket and a box

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • An Egyptian team member, accompanied by Arthur Callendar [right, foreground] and an armed guard [centre, background], carries a tray containing a reed and papyrus box (Carter 42) and an ornamental box made of redwood inlaid with ebony and ivory. The objects are being transported from Tutankhamun's tomb to the nearby 'Laboratory' (the tomb of King Sety II, KV15).

Preparing one side of the cow-headed couch for transport

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was taken on 24th January 1923, the day Carter recorded this couch being moved; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly sometime in the 1920s.
  • Howard Carter (left), assisted by Walter Hauser (right), manoeuvring the right side of the cow-headed couch (Carter 73) into a packing case in preparation for its transfer to the nearby 'Laboratory' set up in the tomb of Sethos II (KV15).

Carrying Tutankhamun's "mannequin" in the Valley of the Kings

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • (Carter 116)
  • An Egyptian team member carrying the wooden portrait figure of Tutankhamun, the so-called "mannequin", from the King's tomb to the nearby "Laboratory" tomb (KV 15, of Sethos II) for cleaning and conservation. The man holding the bust is escorted by an armed guard and another Egyptian excavation team member, which was necessary to ensure the safe movement of objects through the Valley of the Kings following the announcement of the tomb's discovery, which attracted large crowds of journalists and tourists who flocked to Luxor hoping to see the tomb and view objects as they were being moved.
  • The portrait bust of Tutankhamun [Carter 116] was found in the tomb's Antechamber. The King is portrayed wearing a yellow flat-topped crown featuring the centrally positioned uraeus on the crown's temple band. The King also wears a close-fitting white garment.
  • The bust's purpose is unclear, but it probably displayed part of the King's regalia. A recent proposal is that it may have been originally used for supporting and storing the King's gold corset (Carter 54k) in the tomb. When thieves ransacked the tomb in antiquity, these robbers likely removed the corset from the bust before breaking the heavy regalia into smaller, portable pieces.

Moving one of Tutankhamun's chariots (122)

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • Egyptian team members carrying the body of one of Tutankhamun's chariots (Carter 122) from the King's tomb to the nearby 'Laboratory' set-up in the tomb of Sethos II (KV15). The chariot is also escorted by an armed guard and Howard Carter (background, wearing a bowtie and a pale-coloured hat with a dark band).

Manoeuvering a chariot wheel out of Tutankhamun's tomb

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • Egyptian team members manoeuvering a tray loaded with a chariot wheel up the rock-cut steps leading out of Tutankhamun's tomb. The wheel is from one of the four chariots found in the Antechamber.

Tutankhamun's outer coffin inside the sarcophagus

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • View showing the lid of Tutankhamun's outer coffin (Carter 253), still in situ inside the King's sarcophagus (Carter 240). This photograph was taken sometime between the sarcophagus lid being raised on 12th February 1924 and the removal of the outer coffin lid on 13th October 1925.
  • This photograph was not taken by Harry Burton.

Howard Carter's diary for 1922

Howard Carter's appointment diary for 1922

  • Letts's - No. 46 - Indian and Colonial - Rough Diary - 1922
  • Carter's activities in Egypt include departures and arrivals, lunch appointments, meetings with officials and colleagues, and his excavations
  • Contains the first records on the tomb of Tutankhamun and its discovery
  • Significant dates include:
    • 4th November 1922: "First steps of tomb found"
    • 5th November 1922: "Discovered tomb under tomb of Ramses VI Investigated same & found seals intact."
    • 26th November 1922: "Open second doorway about 2 4 5 pm. Advised Engelbach."

Carter, Howard

Canopic equipment: Tutankhamun excavation documentation - Carter's notes for planned publication

Canopic equipment. Howard Carter's collected notes for the intended scientific publication of Tutankhamun's tomb.

  • Carter's eight annotated typewritten pages with a description of the equipment and two scale drawings:
    • Carter's typewritten report on the canopic equipment;
    • Carter's typescript notes on the miniature gold coffin from the north-east receptacle;
    • Carter's drawing, the canopic canopy (266), shrine (266a), and chest (266b), plan with orientation, position of the goddess statues, scenes on shrine noting goddesses and genii, etc.;
    • Carter's drawing, section showing the canopic canopy (266), shrine (266a), and chest (266b).

Carter, Howard

Drawings of objects found on Tutankhamun's body, created by Howard Carter

Howard Carter's "autopsy" drawings, recording objects in situ on Tutankhamun's body and within the body wrappings.

  • 18 annotated pencil drawings of groups of objects found in the body wrappings and on the body of Tutankhamun, recorded during the autopsy of the King's body, 11-19 November 1925
  • All by Howard Carter

Carter, Howard

Burton negatives - large glass plate

Harry Burton's large glass plate negatives.

  • Taken by Harry Burton during the excavation, clearance and recording of Tutankhamun's tomb
  • Approximately 860 negatives
  • Number ranges 1-2024 and i-xcvii
  • The negative number ranges comprise both the small and large negatives (small, see TAA i.6)

Burton, Harry

Ten photograph albums

Ten albums containing original photographic prints made by Harry Burton [TAA i.6.1-10].

  • Arranged by chamber and by object type
  • Annotated headings and negative numbers, probably by Harry Burton or his wife Minnie B.
  • Howard Carter's set of albums

Originally belonging to Howard Carter.

Burton, Harry

Egyptian team transporting chests

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the production date of the postcard is not known, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • Members of the Egyptian team manoeuvring a large carrying tray out through the entrance to the modern enclosure wall constructed shortly after Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered. The team are carrying two black shrine-like boxes (Carter 37) and (Carter 38) and a gabled-roofed box (Carter 32), transporting them from the tomb's Antechamber to the Laboratory.

Carrying a chest up the tomb's rockcut staircase

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • 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 carrying a white chest (Carter 50) up the rock-cup steps leading out of Tutankhamun's tomb, with Howard Carter assisting (head visible behind the left shoulder of the man at the front). This chest contained many items of Tutankhamun's wardrobe.

Escorting Tutankhamun's "mannequin"

  • Postcard
  • Photograph, photographer not known.
  • The photograph was probably taken in early 1923; the postcard's production date is unknown, but it was almost certainly in the 1920s.
  • (Carter 116)
  • Howard Carter (second from right, striding, wearing a hat with a black band) accompanying the wooden portrait figure of Tutankhamun (the so-called "mannequin"; Carter 116), which is carried by an Egyptian member of the team transporting the object to the "Laboratory" tomb (KV 15, of Sethos II) for cleaning and conservation.
  • Also present in the photograph is Lord Carnarvon (sitting on the wall at the far left), who watches as the group passes by. The man walking to the left of the Earl is Arthur Weigall (dark hat with a darker headband), a former Egyptian Antiquities Service Inspector now engaged as a journalist reporting on the excavation. The other Europeans present here are also journalists or tourists.
  • The portrait bust of Tutankhamun [Carter 116] was found in the tomb's Antechamber. The King is portrayed wearing a yellow flat-topped crown featuring the centrally positioned uraeus on the crown's temple band. The King also wears a close-fitting white garment.
  • The bust's purpose is unclear, but it probably displayed part of the King's regalia. A recent proposal is that it may have been originally used for supporting and storing the King's gold corset (Carter 54k) in the tomb. When thieves ransacked the tomb in antiquity, these robbers likely removed the corset from the bust before breaking the heavy regalia into smaller, portable pieces.
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