Tutankhamun and the art of the slow reveal

I’ve been thinking about all things Egypt because November 4 is the 100th anniversary of one of the most famous archaeological finds of all time – the tomb of Tutankhamun. While the story is well-known, there is a lot that most people don't know - for instance, the fact that when Howard Carter’s team discovered the treasure-packed tomb, the archaeologist had been digging in the area for seven years. He was also dealing with the knowledge that his funding had run out and this would be his last dig.

Even after finding the tomb Carter had to wait three weeks before opening it. That didn’t happen until November 26, because they had to wait for the arrival of the man who had backed the expedition, Lord Carnarvon.

The excavation and unpacking of the tomb and its contents (more than 5000 objects were found inside) took years. It was 1925 before Carter got as far as opening Tutankhamun’s coffin, and then it took a careful autopsy before anyone realised that this pharaoh was a “boy king” (somewhere between 17 and 19 years old when he died.)

These days archaeology is still a painstaking process, but there has been a slew of new discoveries recently. You can read about the new finds, and my old favourites, in my cover story for Explore Travel this Saturday.

A version of this post originally appeared in my (free) newsletter, Ute Junker is Away - you can subscribe here.