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
  • 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

• 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.

• 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).

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.
• Four Egyptian members of the excavation team carrying trays of objects from Tutankhamun's tomb, escorted by Arthur Callendar (on left, wearing a pith helmet) and armed guards. The men at the front transport a wheel from one of the King's chariots, followed by two men, each carrying a tray containing smaller items, including a reed basket or tray (Carter 119) with partitions.

• 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".

• 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.

• 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).

• 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.