Tutankhamun's Tomb: The Thrill of Discovery

by Susan J. Allen, James P. Allen (Introduction), Harry Burton (Photographer)

This richly illustrated book of vintage photographs commemorates one of the most memorable episodes in the history of archaeology: the discovery and exploration in 1922 of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (Dynasty 18, ruled ca. 1336–1327 B.C.).  These photographs, documenting every stage in the process of discovery, were taken by the renowned archaeological photographer Harry Burton. Burton was a staff member of the Metropolitan Museum Egyptian Expedition when he was “lent” to Howard Carter, the famed excavator of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

From the rock-cut steps leading down to the entrance passage, to the opening of the sealed chambers inside, to the first view of the contents of the tomb and the removal of the objects, Burton’s beautiful black-and-white photographs show thousands of the richly made and decorated objects found in the tomb.  Carefully reproduced from Burton’s original prints, the photographs are accompanied by new descriptive text written by two prominent Egyptologists with extensive knowledge of the history of Tutankhamun and the contents of his tomb.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Egypt, Art

104 pages, Hardcover

First published June 13, 2006

Reviews

[Michael Springer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains about seventy of Harry Burton's fourteen hundred black-and-white images of the excavation and contents of Tutankhamun's tomb, and Susan Allen's commentary on each image is enlightening.

[Lee Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was an article in the April 2013 issue of Vanity Fair magazine about King Tut's tomb and the fight to exhibit its treasures. Before that, I had no idea there was a photographer on hand as the tomb was opened, photographing everything as it was revealed and removed.

I overuse the word "awesome" too much, but this book truly gives the reader a feeling of awe. That Howard Carter and team found what they found, and in the shape they found it, is breath-taking. This book presents Harry Burton's photographs with brief descriptions of the action taking place. A gorgeous and awesome book.

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book with black-and-white plates of Tutankhamun's tomb arranged chronologically as the pieces were found and removed by Carter.

I've been frequently frustrated with seeing pictures of the same pieces from the tomb over and over again when there were over 5,000, and this one nicely includes some of those less common, as well as many in situ pictures.

The main sad thing is that the pictures are not in color, and new color photos are not included with the historical black-and-white ones.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Available at Carlos Museum Bookshop -
http://carlos.emory.edu/bookshop