The Find of a Lifetime – colorized images of the emptying of King Tuts tomb

 

The tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, now renowned for the wealth of valuable antiquities it contained,  was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, underneath the remains of workmen’s huts built during the Ramesside Period

The tomb was densely packed with items in great disarray, partly due to its small size, the two robberies, and the apparently hurried nature of its completion. Due to the state of the tomb, and to Carter’s meticulous recording technique, the tomb took eight years to empty, the contents all being transported to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Harry Burton,  a prominent photographer from the Metropolitan Museum documented  the process at every stage and developed his photos in an improvised darkroom in a tomb nearby. The following collection of photos has been colorized by Dynamichrome for the exhibition The Discovery of King Tut that was displayed in New York.

 

 

At Thebes, Howard Carter escorts an ornamental gilt and inlaid casket to the workroom.

 

Howard Carter (at the top of the stairs), Arthur Callender and Egyptian workmen removing the wall between the Antechamber and the Burial Chamber to enable the dismantling of the four golden shrines enclosing the sarcophagus.

Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb that was unusually small considering his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, so that his mummy was buried in a tomb intended for someone else. This would preserve the observance of the customary 70 days between death and burial.

Tourists crowd around the entrance to the tomb to watch a large object, possibly a couch from the Antechamber, being removed from Tutankhamun’s tomb, on its way to the workroom.

 

Standing outside tomb KV 6, of Ramesses IX, are members of the archeological team including Harry Burton (third from left) and Howard Carter (fourth from left).

 

One of only two images showing Howard Carter (on the left) and Lord Carnarvon together in the tomb

5,398 items were found in the tomb, including a solid gold coffin, face mask, thrones, archery bows, food, wine, sandals and fresh linen underwear. Howard Carter took 10 years to catalog the items. Relics from Tutankhamun’s tomb are among the most traveled artifacts in the world. They have been to many countries, but probably the best-known exhibition tour was The Treasures of Tutankhamun tour, which ran from 1972 to 1979. This exhibition was first shown in London at the British Museum from the 30th of March until the 30th September 1972. More than 1.6 million visitors saw the exhibition, some queuing for up to eight hours. It was the most popular exhibition in the Museum’s history.

Howard Carter (on the left) accompanies the body of one of Tutankhamun’s chariots to the workroom.

 

From Tutankhamun’s tomb, Statuettes of Geb, Sakhmet, Kebehsenuf and Duamutef from inside black, wooden shrines found against the eastern wall of the Treasury.

The tomb is open for visitors, at an additional charge above that of the price of general access to the Valley of the Kings. The number of visitors was limited to 400 per day in 2008. In 2010, the tomb was closed to the public while restoration work was undertaken by the

 

All images  THE GRIFFITH INSTITUTE, OXFORD. Colorized by DYNAMICHROME for the exhibition “THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT” In New York.