English archaeologist Mr. Carter facts. Howard Carter: In the service of Tutankhamun. Start of practical activities

On October 28, 1922, G. Carter arrived in Luxor and three days later, on November 1, he began work. To get to the bottom of the Valley in the area in front of the tomb of Ramesses VI, it was necessary to remove the remains of shacks. This took three days. Underneath them there was a layer of rubble and soil about a meter thick. On November 4, when G. Carter arrived, as usual in the morning, at the excavation site, he was informed that a step appeared under the floor of the first demolished hut and the layer of rubble lying underneath it. approximately 4 m under the entrance to the tomb of Ramesses VI. A flickering hope of success urged the workers, they began to dig with redoubled energy. Behind the first step, the second, third, fourth appeared. Two days later, the upper part of the stairs was cleared from all four sides. There was no doubt left - the entrance to someone’s tomb But fears immediately arose, perhaps the tomb remained unfinished or it had been devastated by thieves a long time ago, like most of the tombs of the Theban necropolis

The workers, meanwhile, continued clearing the steps. By evening, the top of the walled-up entrance appeared. On the plaster, seal impressions were clearly visible with the image of a jackal - a sacred animal, the god of embalming Anubis, and under him nine bound captives - three in a row. This was a well-known seal of the royal cemetery. Thus, the tomb was clearly intended for a very high-ranking person. In addition, no one could enter it after the tomb was built for Ramesses VI, since the entrance was securely blocked not only by a layer of rubble, but also by the workers’ huts built on it.

The Irony of Fate! Twice in previous years, G. Carter directly approached the now excavated staircase. The first time, when he participated in the expedition of T. Davis, only 2 m remained before it, but T. Davis then suggested moving the excavations to another place, which seemed to him to promise more finds. Another time - five years ago, when it was decided to preserve the workers' houses for now.

Having reached the twelfth step, G. Carter punched a hole in the upper part of the entrance and, sticking an electric torch in there, made sure that the further passage was blocked with debris and rubble. There was hope - perhaps the tomb was not touched.

Lord Carnarvon was in England these days. Anticipating great success, G. Carter, being a highly decent and conscientious man, did not consider it convenient to continue the excavations in the absence of the one who generously paid for them. Therefore, he suspended work and sent a telegram to England on November 6: “Finally, I made a wonderful discovery in the Valley: I discovered a magnificent tomb with intact seals. Filled up before your arrival. Congratulations". If G. Carter had dug up the remaining four steps, he would not have been tormented for almost three weeks by the painful uncertainty of the question: who owns the tomb he found?

In the meantime, it was necessary to protect her from possible assassination attempts. The trench was filled in, and a pile of stones left over from the ancient workers' huts was piled on top. They didn't forget about security. We also had to think about assistants. After all, every somewhat significant newly discovered object poses many additional and even unexpected problems. Carter invited the experienced archaeologist L. Collender, who had already worked with him more than once.

On November 23, Lord Carnarvon and his daughter arrived in Luxor. The next day, the staircase leading to the tomb was dug up again. Now to the end - all sixteen steps. At the bottom of the walled entrance, seal impressions were clearly visible - among them several with the name of Tutankhamun. Intuition and experience did not disappoint G. Carter's hopes: the tomb was found. But at this moment of achieving seemingly complete success, doubt and anxiety again took possession of those present. On the facing of the door from above it was clearly visible that it had once been opened, and, moreover, probably twice. It was here that the seals of the royal necropolis were applied. Thus, robbers obviously visited here too, but, of course, before they began to build the tomb for Ramesses VI. Later - this will be discussed later - it was possible to establish that the thieves entered the tomb for the second time ten to fifteen years after the burial of the pharaoh. Then it was reliably hidden by rubble, soil and the workers' huts placed on it.

On the morning of November 25, after the seal impressions were most carefully captured in drawings and photographs, the stone wall blocking the entrance was dismantled. Behind it, filled to the top with rubble and stone, was an inclined corridor 2.5 m high and 2 m wide. Below the mass that filled the gallery consisted of white debris mixed with earth, and the upper left corner, where a narrow, uneven passage had once been dug, was covered with fragments of dark flint.

The workers began clearing the corridor. The traces left by the robbers became more and more clear: whole alabaster vessels and their fragments, shards, painted vases, signets were increasingly found among the rubble. By evening, a significant part of the gallery was cleared, but they didn’t get to the end.

The morning of November 26 came - the day that became for G. Carter “the day of all days, the most wonderful day of my life.” In the afternoon, when they dug 10 meters from the entrance along the corridor, another door appeared, also walled up and sealed with the seals of Tutankhamun and the royal necropolis. And here there were signs of a break-in. At the very entrance lay an excellently crafted wooden polychrome portrait head of Tutankhamun, as if growing from a stand shaped like a lotus flower.

The decisive moment has arrived. Now it should be clear what awaits them behind the walled entrance - another disappointment (a long-emptied tomb or hiding place, where in a hurry they demolished what survived the robbery) or, perhaps, they were really lucky and found the first undisturbed or almost undisturbed burial of the pharaoh! G. Carter, taught by repeated bitter experience, was inclined to the first option.

The last basket of rubble was taken out of the corridor. In the upper left corner of the door, G. Carter punched a hole - where burglars had made it thousands of years before. From inside, a stream of stale heated air escaped, which was breathed almost thirty centuries ago by the people who were the last to leave the tomb. The probe was inserted into the hole and moved freely. Therefore, there are no rubbles behind the door. G. Carter carefully brought the candle to the hole. In its quivering light, he saw something that no Egyptologist had ever seen before, and would hardly ever see again. For a moment he was speechless. Concerned by Carter's silence, Lord Carnarvon asked impatiently:

Do you see anything?

Yes, wonderful things! - The only thing Carter could answer him was.

And now let’s give the floor to him for a moment, because no one better can convey the feelings he experienced from the spectacle presented:

“The impression was grandiose, vague, overwhelming... we had never even dreamed of anything like it. In front of us was a room, a real museum hall... full of all kinds of objects. Some seemed familiar to us, others were completely unlike anything, and they were all piled on top of each other in inexhaustible abundance.

First of all, to our right, three large gilded beds emerged from the darkness... The sides of each bed were figures of monstrous beasts... their heads were carved with stunning realism... Then, even further to the right, our attention was attracted by two statues, two black sculptures pharaoh in full height. In golden aprons and golden sandals, with maces and staves in their hands, with sacred guardian uraei on their foreheads, they stood opposite each other like sentries.

These were the main objects... Between them, around them and above them were piled many other things: chests with the finest paintings and inlays; alabaster vessels, some with beautiful cross-cut designs; strange black arks; from the open door of one of them a huge gilded snake and bouquets of flowers or leaves looked out; beautiful carved chairs; a throne inlaid with gold; a whole mountain of curious white oval-shaped cases; canes and staves of all kinds of shapes and designs. Right before our eyes, on the very threshold of the room, stood a magnificent cup in the shape of a lotus flower made of translucent alabaster. ( This cup was shown at an exhibition brought to the Soviet Union. Its handles are shaped like bundles of a flower and two lotus buds. On them is a carved figurine of a man holding in his hands hieroglyphs denoting “year”, resting on another sign - “one hundred thousand days”, which together symbolizes eternal life. Along the upper edge of the cup are the king's titles and praises to him. The name of the god Amon-Ra and Tutankhamun with his titles is inscribed on the front.) To the left was a pile of upside-down chariots, sparkling with gold and inlay, and behind them was another statue of the pharaoh.”

However, there were no signs of burial, no sarcophagi, no mummy. Those present decided that another cache had been discovered. But when we looked more closely at the right wall of the room, where, looking intently at each other, stood wooden statues of the pharaoh covered with black paint - images of his Ka, then between them we noticed another walled up door. There was hope that there were other rooms behind it, and in one of them, perhaps, a sarcophagus with the king’s mummy was hidden.

Having closed the entrance to the tomb and leaving the guard, the archaeologists, shocked by what they saw, returned to their base. All evening they made guesses and guesses about what was behind the third door. “I think that almost everyone did not sleep that night” - this is how G. Carter concludes the story about this unforgettable day.

On November 27, work began at dawn. First of all, electric lighting was installed in the tomb. At the same time, the seals on the second door were photographed and sketched. Then they dismantled it and entered the front room - as it was called by G. Carter and as it will be called by us in the future. Naturally, as soon as access to it was opened, archaeologists first of all thought about the third sealed door. ( This cup was shown at an exhibition brought to the Soviet Union. Its handles are shaped like bundles of a flower and two lotus buds. On them is a carved figurine of a man holding in his hands hieroglyphs denoting “year”, resting on another sign - “one hundred thousand days”, which together symbolizes eternal life. Along the upper edge of the cup are the king's titles and praises to him. The name of the god Amon-Ra and Tutankhamun with his titles is inscribed on the front.) Here they were disappointed. Below, at floor level, there was a patched and sealed small gap, sufficient, however, for a boy or a very thin man to get through.

No matter how much G. Carter, Lord Carnarvon and other archaeologists wanted to penetrate the door that attracted them with its mystery, there was no point in thinking about it. In order to remove the lining, it would inevitably be necessary to move some objects from their place. The worst could have happened - some of them could have been damaged, which, of course, had to be taken care of in every possible way.

One of the indisputable laws of modern archeology states: nothing can be taken or moved from the place where it was at the time of discovery until it is accurately recorded on the plan and photographed, and, if necessary, sketched. Particularly fragile objects should be subjected to preliminary conservation immediately - otherwise irreparable damage is possible. The work of an archaeologist is in many ways reminiscent of the work of an investigator and a technical expert of the criminal investigation department at the same time: just as the latter, using the smallest traces and signs, restore the picture of the crime committed and expose the culprit, so a skilled archaeologist makes say things that, as a rule, tell about events that are sometimes thousands or even tens of thousands of years away from our days. But the story will be true only if all the objects remain in the same places where they once were. that was the last time people touched them. G. Carter made the only scientifically correct decision: to open the walled door only when all the work in the front room was completed and it was completely cleared

The first cursory and superficial examination showed that many objects were unique: some were simply unknown, others were known only from images, and others were partially preserved, sometimes in the form of pitiful fragments. Any one of these admirable objects could reward an entire season of excavation, admits G. Carter. It should be taken into account that all these things were created during the Amarna period, when the art of Egypt reached its greatest flowering. The responsibility for their preservation was therefore especially great.

That day, another discovery awaited G. Carter. A more thorough and attentive examination of the front room revealed that a hole had been made under one bed, which stood to the right of the entrance in the southwest corner. It turned out that there was another bricked-up door with an unfilled hole in it.

Taking great care not to damage or dislodge anything, G. Carter crawled under the bed through the gap into the room, which later received the name of the side room or storeroom. Unlike the front room, which was 8 m long and 3.6 m wide, it “was significantly smaller: 4 m long and 2.9 m wide. Officials trying to give the front room some order after the invasion of robbers are here everything was left in the state of chaos into which the attackers had brought it. It was simply impossible to get into the storeroom: it was completely cluttered with a wide variety of objects. One of the thieves who crawled through the gap here turned over absolutely everything, and simply dumped the contents of the caskets and chests on the floor. - what things he handed over to his accomplices in the front room, where they threw them because they seemed to them not valuable enough. Naturally, it was also possible to deal with the pantry only after the front room was cleared.

Now that the picture has become more or less clear, it was time to think about the organization of work and its methods. First of all, each thing, as already mentioned, had to be photographed and plotted, and, if necessary, subjected to preliminary conservation. Then find a suitable place for the laboratory because everything had to be described, photographed more carefully, perhaps restored, and finally packed for transportation to Cairo. Consequently, a fairly reliable warehouse was required. For all this, a wide variety of materials were needed and, of course, first of all, people - experienced specialists: archaeologists, epigraphists, restoration chemists, artists, photographers

On November 29, 1922, the grand opening of the tomb took place in the presence of responsible persons, and on the very next day it was inspected by the director of the Antiquities Service. Now this post was occupied by Professor Pierre Laco. Then, on November 30, a note appeared in The Times under the headings “Egyptian treasure. An important discovery in Thebes. The Long Search for Lord Carnarvon." This was followed by a text that said - here the newspaper correspondent, as usual, did not exaggerate - that the discovery of the tomb “promises to be the most sensational discovery of the century in the field of Egyptology.” Then a brief description of the discovered objects was given based on first, cursory, not entirely accurate impressions.

Since that day, the name of Tutankhamun, previously known only to a limited circle of specialists, has been on the pages of newspapers and magazines around the world for more than half a century. For several years in a row, an army of journalists, photo reporters, cameramen and tourists, rushing to the usually quiet and provincial Luxor, “flooded the press reports, notes, essays, articles and photographs, where under the most tempting, incredible “caps” they reported on the fabulous treasures of the pharaoh found by English archaeologists. The popularity of Tutankhamun has reached its apogee: ladies' toiletries “a 1a Tutankhamun” even appear in Paris. All this fuss extremely disturbed G. Carter and his assistants, causing them a lot of worries and troubles in the future.

Having ensured reliable security of the tomb, G. Carter went to Cairo on December 6 to purchase everything necessary. As for Lord Carnarvon, he returned to England, hoping to later come to Egypt again.

In Cairo, G. Carter not only stocked up on the materials and equipment he needed, ordering first of all a reliable steel grating, but also agreed to cooperate with experienced and reliable specialists. From the Metropolitan Museum expedition, which also worked in Thebes, photographer G. Burton and two draftsmen came to him. Archaeologist A. Mace promised help. The director of the Chemical Department, an expert in ancient Egyptian crafts and technology, A. Lucas, also willingly agreed to assist. Subsequently, they were joined by one of the best experts on the Egyptian language, Professor A. Gardiner, and an equally famous historian, Professor D. Brasted.

In mid-December, G. Carter returned to the Valley of the Kings and, first of all, installing a steel grille urgently delivered here in front of the entrance to the front room, began work on December 18, despite the inconvenience caused by the influx of visitors. Only now did he have the opportunity to take his time and thoroughly familiarize himself with the contents of this room. Following its descriptions, we will try to briefly talk about the most remarkable objects that were in it.

PREFACE

It is hardly possible to find a country as rich in monuments of ancient times as Egypt.

In the narrow valley of the Nile and on the mountains and hills bordering it, numerous majestic temples and tombs, works of monumental sculpture are concentrated, and the bowels of the earth hide all kinds of artistic works of Egyptian masters and thousands of inscriptions.

The achievements of Egyptian thinkers and artists were recognized by other peoples in ancient times. The famous Phoenician sailors, who visited many countries, believed that Egypt was the birthplace of sciences and arts.

Ancient Persian kings were treated by Egyptian doctors and commissioned Egyptian craftsmen to decorate their palaces. The ancient Greeks saw the Egyptians as their teachers. Already in the Iliad, the capital of Egypt is mentioned - the “hundred-gate” Thebes, full of treasures.

Later, many Greeks and Romans, including outstanding commanders and poets, philosophers and historians, often went to the banks of the Nile and admired the sights of the country: pyramids and temples, obelisks and colossi. Returning to their homeland, they introduced their compatriots to the land of wonders - Egypt. In Herodotus, Diodorus and Pliny the Elder we find detailed descriptions of the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian art.

Interest in Egypt and the treasures of its culture persisted in the Middle Ages and especially intensified in the 19th-20th centuries, after ancient Egyptian writings that seemed forever forgotten were read again. Scientists from different countries, competing with each other, have successfully studied and continue to study the heritage of one of the most ancient civilizations.

Acquaintance with the antiquities of Egypt was of great importance for our homeland, which for centuries has been associated with the peoples of the East. Many Russian travelers visited the country of the pyramids, collected, sketched and copied monuments of its art and writing, and in their vivid and fascinating descriptions revealed the significance of the great achievements of the Egyptian people.

Back in the 18th century. Russian researcher V. G. Grigorovich-Barsky examined and with great accuracy copied a number of inscriptions of ancient Egypt and sketched some temples and obelisks.

Many interesting monuments of Egyptian antiquity were collected and studied by his successors - travelers A. S. Norov and I. P. Butenev and especially the outstanding Egyptologist of our country V. S. Golenishchev (1856 - 1947), founder of the Department of Egyptology at Cairo University.

Our interest in Egypt increased significantly after the Great October Revolution.

The Soviet reader will certainly read with great interest the book of the English archaeologist G. Carter, to whom belongs the honor of the discovery and preliminary examination of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

His book appears for the first time in a complete (except for some minor abbreviations) Russian translation. It describes in detail and fascinatingly the progress of archaeological work, the methods and techniques of excavations, methods of preserving and transporting the diverse contents of the tomb, including the royal mummy. The book provides a comprehensive overview and artistic analysis of the most interesting examples of ancient Egyptian art and craft buried with the pharaoh, and the results of an anatomical examination of the mummy, interesting for the anthropologist and historian.

G. Carter's book is written in a lively, vivid language and is equipped with illustrations that give a concrete idea of ​​both the technique of archaeological work and the antiquities themselves. Historians, archaeologists and art historians will be able to draw irreplaceable educational material from this work. Of course, not all of the author’s conclusions will satisfy our readers and be acceptable to them. Excessive pathos and not without a certain mystical touch, discussions about emotional connections between people of the distant past and the present will seem naive. Our readers will encounter an even greater objection to the desire to idealize the ancient Eastern despots and their entourage. G. Carter does not mention a single word about those unknown and talented workers who, under the most difficult conditions, created the masterpieces of art found in the tomb, which perfectly characterize the brilliant achievements of ancient Egyptian craftsmen and artists. The Soviet reader will also be struck by the close connection between science and business inherent in capitalist society and the dependence of a talented scientific researcher on private charity, which is described in the book as a very natural phenomenon.

However, all these negative aspects cannot reduce the enormous scientific value of the specific information contained in the book.

Warm sympathy for the freedom-loving Egyptian people, who overthrew the rule of the imperialists and are building an independent life, obliges us to study with exceptional attention the culture of the ancestors of this people, who created a great civilization many centuries ago.

Academician V. V. STUVE

TUTANKHAMUN AND HIS TIME

Even a not particularly attentive reader, looking through the next issue of the Times newspaper on November 30, 1922, should have been struck by promising headlines: “Egyptian Treasure,” “Important Discovery at Thebes,” “Lord Carnarvon’s Long Search.” Below them was a brief but at the same time quite detailed message from “our correspondent from Cairo” on November 29 that “this afternoon Lord Carnarvon and Mr. G. Carter showed to a large number of people what promises to be the most sensational discovery of the century in the field of Egyptology. The find consists, among other items, of the funeral belongings of the Egyptian king Tutankhamun - one of the heretical kings of the 18th dynasty, who restored the cult of Amun. Not much is known about the later kings, including Tutankhamun, and the present discovery adds immeasurably to knowledge about this period...” Next, the correspondent conveyed a concise description of the “amazing find,” based on first, not yet entirely accurate, impressions.

The Times report, picked up by the world press, really caused a real sensation, although newspapers usually do not indulge archaeologists too much with their attention. New urgent correspondence appeared from issue to issue, and for many years this topic did not leave the pages of newspapers and magazines.

Crowds of reporters, photographers and radio commentators flocked to the small and usually quiet Egyptian town of Luxor. From the Valley of the Kings, where the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh was located, as if from a battlefield or an important international conference, reports, notes, essays, reports, reports, articles were rushing hourly by telephone, telegraph and radio. In a word, the young Egyptian pharaoh, who died at the age of about eighteen, whose existence until now only a very few specialist scientists knew about, and to whom even in the most detailed studies on the history of Egypt was given more than a modest place, suddenly acquired world fame. His name was mentioned along with the names of Cheops, Thutmose III and Ramesses II - great rulers and conquerors. How can we explain this sudden popularity? Why did the discovery of the English scientist attract such attention and enter science as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries?

To answer this question, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with some facts and at least briefly recall the history of Egypt, full of turbulent events, during the reign of the last pharaohs of the 18th dynasty (1584 - 1342 BC).

The reader should not be surprised by the numerous “probably”, “possibly”, “obviously”, etc., which will abound in our presentation. Neither chronicles nor annals have reached us in which the history of this period would be enshrined. We have only random and incomplete sources; individual inscriptions and reliefs, a few scarabs, some mentions in diplomatic correspondence of that time, some religious texts - that’s probably all, with the exception of archaeological monuments, that a historian has at his disposal when trying to illuminate that troubled time.

The 5th Earl of Carnarvon, George Herbert, hired Egyptologist and archaeologist Howard Carter in 1907 for observations and excavations in the Valley of the Kings, and 15 years later the long-awaited moment came - the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Photos from those years will tell us how all this happened.

Searches in the valley, which lasted for many years, yielded very modest results, which over time brought the wrath of Carter's employer upon him. In 1922, Lord Carnarvon told him that he would stop funding the work from the following year.

1923 Lord Carnarvon, who financed the excavations, reads on the veranda of Carter's house near the Valley of the Kings.

Carter, desperate for a breakthrough, decided to return to the previously abandoned excavation site. On November 4, 1922, his team discovered a step carved into the rock. By the end of the next day, the entire staircase had been cleared. Carter immediately sent a message to Carnarvon, begging him to come as quickly as possible.

On November 26, Carter, along with Carnarvon, opened a small hole in the corner of the door at the end of the stairs. Holding the candle, he looked inside.

“At first I saw nothing, hot air rushed out of the room, causing the candle flame to flicker, but soon, as my eyes adjusted to the light, details of the room slowly appeared from the fog, strange animals, statues and gold - the glitter of gold everywhere.”
Howard Carter

A team of archaeologists has discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, the youth king who ruled Egypt from 1332 to about 1323 BC.

November 1925. Death mask of Tutankhamun.

Despite signs that the tomb had been visited twice by ancient robbers, the contents of the room remained virtually untouched. The tomb was stuffed with thousands of priceless artifacts, including a sarcophagus containing the mummified remains of Tutankhamun.

January 4, 1924. Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker open the doors to get their first look at Tutankhamun's sarcophagus.

Each object in the tomb was carefully described and cataloged before removal. This process took almost eight years.

December 1922. A ceremonial bed in the shape of a Celestial Cow, surrounded by supplies and other objects in the front room of the tomb.

December 1922. Gilded lion bed and other objects in the hallway. The wall of the burial chamber is guarded by black Ka statues.

1923 A set of shuttles in the tomb treasury.

December 1922. A gilded lion bed and an inlaid breastplate are among other objects in the front room.

December 1922. Under the lion bed in the front room are several boxes and chests, as well as an ebony and ivory chair that Tutankhamun used as a child.

1923 A gilded bust of the Heavenly Cow Mehurt and chests were in the treasury of the tomb.

1923 Chests inside the treasury.

December 1922. Decorative alabaster vases in the front room.

January 1924. In the "laboratory" created in the tomb of Seti II, restorers Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas clean one of the Ka statues from the front room.

November 29, 1923. Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker wrap one of the Ka statues for transport.

December 1923. Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas work on the golden chariot from Tutankhamun's tomb outside the "laboratory" in the tomb of Seti II.

1923 Anubis statue on a funeral bier.

December 2, 1923. Carter, Callender and two workers remove the partition between the front room and the burial chamber.

December 1923. Inside the outer ark in the burial chamber, a huge linen cloth with golden rosettes reminiscent of the night sky envelops the smaller ark.

December 30, 1923. Carter, Mace, and an Egyptian worker carefully roll up the linen.

December 1923. Carter, Callender and two Egyptian workers carefully dismantle one of the golden arks in the burial chamber.

October 1925. Carter examines the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun.

October 1925. Carter and a worker examine a sarcophagus made of pure gold.

The Howard Carter Scam

Chudinov V.A.

I was interested in collecting information about Howard Carter and the scam with the discovery of Tutankhamun. It turned out that many articles have been written on this topic. I started with

The most unknown pharaoh. « Find of the Century” was associated with the names of the English archaeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, who spent many years digging in the Valley of the Kings on the banks of the Nile. Archaeological research in the Valley continued for many years and brought no luck to any of the seekers. Chance helped - they stumbled upon an unusual architectural move that was supposed to lead somewhere.

Before Carter and Carnarvon began excavations in the Valley of the Kings, the name of Tutankhamun was known only from one or two seals that mentioned his name. No one even knew that he had a royal title. Some believed that there was no such pharaoh at all, and the seals could easily have belonged to just some rich Egyptian. We can say that Tutankhamun was born thanks to Carter; before that he was only a vague historical shadow.

It turned out that the pharaoh ascended the throne as a child and died at the age of nineteen. The found treasures became his “finest hour,” even after his death. The fact is that even well-preserved burials were plundered in ancient times. And the tomb of the young pharaoh was filled with a colossal amount of ritual items made of gold, bronze, and precious stones. And yet, a special place was occupied by the mask - a portrait of the ruler forged from gold. It covered the bare shoulders of the mummy. This is a beautiful and one-of-a-kind example of an Ancient Egyptian portrait. The sculptor managed with great skill to convey the face of the pharaoh with a calm and sad expression, reminiscent of youth, which was not destined to turn into maturity; signs of royal power were placed on the forehead: the kite Nekhebt and the snake Buto - the emblems of Upper and Lower Egypt. A braided beard is a symbol of the god of the underworld Osiris. Archaeologists opened the shrouds of the mummy, removing from under each layer more and more objects that were supposed to accompany the pharaoh in another life. Amulets, jewelry, necklaces, among which 143 sets were gold. A golden dagger was placed behind the mummy's belt. Its handle is decorated with gold grain and entwined with stripes of semi-precious stones. The scabbard consists of relief images of wild animals.

Various materials were used in the design of the mask, including smalt and jade - a ritual and rare stone. It has never been in Egypt, which allows some skeptics to doubt that the mask belongs to Tutankhamun and put forward the version that it is a fake. So the mystery of Egyptian jade has not yet been solved" - The last statement interested me. In my research on the origins of many of the artifacts from Tutankhamun’s burial, I read that they were made in the 35th Arkona Yar, that is, in Veliky Novgorod. It remains to find out whether there are jade deposits in Russia.

About jade. « Currently, jade is distributed in more than 20 countries around the world, but its largest and most industrially significant deposits are known in Russia, China, Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. In Russia, 16 deposits have currently been explored and assessed, of which 13 are located in Buryatia: in terms of quality characteristics, the best of them are Kavoktinskoye, Golyubinskoye and Ospinskoye. Today, eight enterprises operate at nine jade deposits in Buryatia; in 2007, they produced 909 tons of raw jade and 272 tons of graded jade. Almost 100% of the jade mined in Buryatia without processing was exported to China. Jade deposits are concentrated in five regions of Buryatia: Muisky, Bauntovsky, Zakamensky, Tunkinsky and Okinsky. In Mue and Baunt there are three known deposits of white jade - the most scarce at present» .

It turns out that the jade was from Russia, since the burial itself belonged to one of the priests (mimes) of the temple of Rurik, Charaon of All Rus', and not at all an Egyptian.

Who was Tutankhamun? I will continue quoting the article: “ On the sides of the sarcophagus, archaeologists saw several alabaster vases. One of them was made in the form of a blossoming lotus with human figures on graceful arms. Another depicted a mythical lion standing on its hind legs. In the manufacture of ritual sarcophagi for the entrails of the pharaoh, bright red and green stones, ivory, lapis lazuli and malachite, and gold sheets were used. The features of the pharaoh were repeated in numerous figurines of the king, depicted on a boat, on a lion, in the form of a priest, hunter, and ruler.

Despite the fact that seven statues of the pharaoh were discovered in the tomb, and some of them are human-sized, they are strikingly different from each other. In one he appears as a ruler, in another as a priest, in the third as a tamer of wild animals».

This suggests that Carter placed artifacts found in small quantities in other burials in Tutankhamun's tomb. " Some products, thanks to reliefs and inlays, illustrated the everyday life of the ruler, others - his participation in priestly rites, and others - rituals in the governance of Upper or Lower Egypt. The whole world was literally intoxicated by this discovery. Sobering up came a little later» .

How did this happen? "And the first question in this series concerned violations of Egyptian laws. The first violation of the Egyptian law on art treasures was that the tomb was not closed after a quick inspection through the hole by candlelight - and some time passed between the opening of the tomb and the extraction of the treasures.

Carter, Carnarvon, Carter's daughter Evelyn and Callender entered the chamber on the night of November 26, 1922 and carefully examined the first chamber, which was part of the burial complex. Here, between two large, human-sized sculptures of the boy-king, they discovered the door to the burial chamber, sealed and sealed by the guardian priests. Night visitors, having broken open part of the door near the floor (to make it less noticeable), entered the tomb. When they returned to the front cell, the break-in was disguised and covered with objects.

Thomas Hoving, in his book “Tutankhamun: The Untold Story,” described 29 priceless works on display in US museums that were never officially sold by Cairo, which claims to own the entire Tutankhamun treasure. It is natural to think that the originals arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the museums of Boston, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Cincinnati through the hands of archaeologist Carter and Lord Carnarvon. The documents confirmed the researcher’s suspicions» .

So, Carter and company acted like typical black archaeologists who secretly visited an ancient archaeological site at night.

Multiple site visits. « Egyptian Chemistry Department employee Alfred Lucas joined Carter's expedition in December 1922, and they remained together for ten years. After the death of the expedition leaders, Lucas wrote an impression note in an Egyptian archaeological journal. It is there that the continuation of the night story of four people who deliberately broke the law of Egypt is located.

“There are many mysterious stories about this robber's hole,” Lucas wrote. “When I first entered the tomb on December 20 (that is, three weeks after the discovery was made), the hole was disguised with a basket lid or some kind of wicker and reeds picked up from the floor by Mr. Carter.”

So he puts an end to the issue of the illegal actions of the openers: “Mr. Carter's published statement that the hole was repaired and sealed in antiquity is misleading. Unlike the entrance to the tomb, the opening was sealed not by the priests, but by Mr. Carter himself. When I first started working with him, Mr. Carter showed me this place, and when I said that it didn’t look very much like ancient work, he agreed and admitted that he did it!". - Thus, the attacker admitted to breaking the law.

Taking away antiquities before the official opening of the tomb. « Some of the most valuable exhibits of the Metropolitan Museum of Art are the figurines of a gazelle and a horse in the Egyptian department, executed by a remarkable ivory animal painter in a manner that can be compared with plastic art; discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Brilliantly modeled, with a finely detailed silhouette, these figurines attracted the attention of Lord Carnarvon and, along with his inheritance, ended up in America. Hoving's discovery of a letter to Carter about this "acquisition" indicated that the lord had warned his comrade-in-arms about concealing the location of his valuables.

Let's return to the notes of Alfred Lucas, who directly indicated that even before the official autopsy, he saw a bowl and a beautiful incense box in Carter's house. The archaeologist's associate stated: "It (the casket. Y.G.) was apparently found when Lord Carnarvon and Mr. Carter first entered the burial chamber." True, it should be noted that both items were later transferred to Cairo, where rare finds from the tomb were housed, but they were not only too noticeable, but also marked with cartouches, which might not have been immediately noticed. The most unexpected was the story of the wine basket, which apparently contained a stolen work, which became the subject of proceedings with the authorities.". - In other words, Carter was also caught red-handed as a robber.

« Egyptian officials and workers of the Cairo Museum examined not only everything in the tomb itself and the adjacent premises, but also archaeological services, warehouses, workshops, and utility rooms of the expedition. At the archaeologists' warehouse, the Egyptians suddenly became interested in a mountain of Fortham & Mason wine baskets. The container was empty, but the meticulousness of the inspectors forced them to turn over each basket and find among the used ones one that contained a wooden sculpture - a bust of the boy king. The bust was not inventoried and was not recorded by archaeologist Carter" - In other words, another artifact was destined for theft, which did not take place thanks to the vigilance of Egyptian officials.

With bankers' money. « British Egyptologist Gerald Overall, in his study “The Deceivers of Tutankhamun,” suggested that the tomb of the pharaoh was opened not in 1922, but seven years earlier. Howard Carter, according to the author, who was actually in charge of the excavations in the Valley of the Kings, actually led a gang of professional tomb robbers, and Carnarvon financed this robbery. Two months before the publication of the report, Carnarvon gave an interview to an American magazine, in which he listed in detail... future exhibits, passing it off as a “scientific guess.” According to Overall's calculations, "the creative duo of the two Ks stole 329 priceless relics from the famous tomb, of which 300 are still kept in the Carnarvon family residence in London, and the rest are scattered in private collections in the USA.

Overall recalls that Carnarvon was associated with the Rothschild clan, a significant part of whose fortune is associated with the practice of looting royal tombs that contained gold and jewelry. After Alfred Rothschild's death in 1918, Carnarvon married his only adopted daughter, and it was the multimillionaire clan that financed his excavations. According to the contract, the Rothschilds were supposed to receive a significant share of the finds, but Carnarvon tried to outsmart his sponsors by opening a business to resell the valuables in the United States. According to Overall, the lord was eliminated by a hired killer - a poisoner, and after him a similar fate befell other participants in the excavation who knew or could know about the scam being carried out. The chosen method of reprisal received a mystical connotation due to the fact that there were always many tales and legends around ancient burials and dead ancient cities that gave plausibility to what was happening» .

So, Gerald Overall openly calls Howard Carter not just a bandit, but leader of a gang of professional tomb robbers.

Rice. 1. Official opening of Tutankhamun's tomb

I turn to the article: “ In early November 1922, art collector and traveler Lord Carnarvon and independent archaeologist Howard Carter excavated the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. And none of those who praise this truly epoch-making act want to admit that Carnarvon and Carter made the world believe in a monstrous deception" - As far as I understand, in Fig. 1 The carter is shown in front of the outer entrance to the tomb.

Triumph or shame? " Carter and Carnarvon's treasure hunt began in 1906. And it lasted, with some interruptions, until November 1922, when they managed to stumble upon the tomb of Tutankhamun. It contained more than three and a half thousand objects of art, and the most valuable of them is considered to be the death mask of Tutankhamun, made of 11.26 kg of pure gold and many precious stones.
The amazing history of this discovery was questioned almost from the first days - after all, the Valley of the Kings by that time had been dug up far and wide, and finding what the lucky English discovered was only possible in a fantastic dream. And yet it happened!» .

To find at least something where everything has already been found is not so much surprising as it is suspicious.

Rice. 2. Print on the front door and my reading of the inscriptions

In addition to the rope seal with a seal on the outer doors of the tomb, confirming that the complex belonged to the temple of Mary Yar Rurik (supposedly the “seal of Anubis”), there was another seal on the inner doors, fig. 2 that I want to look at. To the left of the left round handle is the left profile of a man with Arab rather than African features: curly hair, but a straight nose. And on the handle you can read the inscription: WARRIOR OF KHARAON RURIK YAR. I believe that it was he who owned the small tomb, which Howard Carter called the tomb of Tutankhamun. Most likely, there weren't too many artifacts there. They were later added from the tombs of other individuals.

Above the left handle I see a relief image of a lion's head from the front. This is how the zoomorphic hypostasis of the god Rod was usually depicted. And indeed, under the image of the lion it is written: RODA TEMPLE. Usually infantrymen belonged to the temple of Rod (cavalrymen belonged to the temple of Yar, archers belonged to the temple of Mary). And in my work I showed that the mummy of the deceased young man belonged to the temple of Rod.

On the seal itself I read the words: ROME OF THE WORLD OF Rus' MARY. And to the left of the right handle you can see a male face from the front, probably of the same warrior, on which you can read the words: PEACE OF ROME WARRIOR OF YAR RURIK. This is another signature of a room where the entrance is sealed.

Above the gap between the seal and the right handle you can read the words written in large letters: ARMY OF WARRIORS OF THE CENTER OF ROME AND Rus' MARA. These are the troops to which the deceased belonged, whose tomb became the tomb of Tutankhamun.

I will continue to quote the article: « Strictly speaking, it was not difficult, since there was no trace of any outstanding discovery! Some archaeologists, contemporaries and colleagues of Carter, even before the discovery, suggested that all the tombs existing in the Valley of the Kings were connected by underground passages. Carter knew about this too." - So, once in the underground passage of one tomb, one could go to another tomb, find there insignificant rooms with a small number of artifacts, and then bring all this into the tomb of a young warrior from Rome. And, replenishing the main storage, gradually make it quite significant.

This article confirms this: “ Therefore, having found several objects on which the name of Tutankhamun, practically unknown to scientists, was written, Howard decided to bet on it. Even before the arrival of archaeologists, local residents supplemented themselves with underground excavations - they worked, so to speak, as black archaeologists. A special place among them was occupied by the Abd el-Rasul family. They actually became the discoverers of the burials of the pharaohs back in the 19th century. Having discovered a large number of antiquities underground, an enterprising family began selling them. This continued until the police took care of them. After this, the el-Rasuls could not trade antiquities openly. It was then that Carter appeared on the horizon, who allegedly became an intermediary between tomb robbers and museums - many of the archaeologists working at that time in the Valley of the Kings knew about this. Apparently, one of the family members told Carter about the existence of the tomb, which was relatively untouched. Question: why didn’t the black archaeologists plunder the tomb themselves? Most likely, there was nothing valuable there anymore. But Carter needed a tomb that no one knew about.

Howard Carter was born on May 9 1874

In October 1891

1899

IN 1905

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Howard Carter was born on May 9 1874 year in the provincial town of Swaffham in Norfolk, England. His father, Samuel Carter, being an artist, taught his son the basics of drawing with pencil and paint. And although Howard developed above average skills and abilities, he had no desire to continue the family business, painting portraits of the families and pets of local Norfolk landowners.

Instead, Carter looked for an opportunity to go to Egypt and work for the Egyptian Research Foundation as a copy draftsman, that is, copying drawings and inscriptions onto paper for later study.

In October 1891 At the age of 17, Howard Carter sailed to Alexandria, Egypt, his first voyage outside England. His first project was the cemetery of the Supreme Rulers of Middle Egypt at Bani Hassan, dating back to the second millennium BC; Carter's task was to redraw the inscriptions from the walls of the tomb.

At that time, Howard was a hard worker with great enthusiasm: he would work all day and then sleep with bats right in the crypt. Some time later he was promoted to work for Flinders Petrie, an energetic field director and one of the most trustworthy archaeologists of the time. Petrie thought that Carter would never achieve good results in excavations, but the latter proved him wrong when he discovered several important finds at the site of El Amarna (the capital of Egypt during the reign of Akhenaten).

Under Petrie's exacting guidance, Carter became an archaeologist while maintaining his skills as an artist. He made sketches of many of the unusual artefacts found at El Amarna. Carter was appointed chief artist for the Egyptian Exploration Foundation at the excavations of Deir El Babri, the burial site of Queen Hatshepsut. The experience gained allowed him to improve his skills as an artist, develop his technique as a restorer, and also train in excavations.

When Carter was 25 years old, his hard work was rewarded when the director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, Gaston Maspero, offered him a 1899 year, the position of chief inspector of monuments of Upper Egypt. Carter's responsibilities included supervising and supervising archaeological work in the Nile Valley. Carter worked at the Egyptian Antiquities Service until an unpleasant incident between Egyptian site guards and drunken French tourists. When the tourists began to abuse the guards, Carter allowed the latter to defend themselves. The enraged tourists went to high authorities, including Lord Cromer, the chief British consul in Egypt, demanding that Carter make a formal apology. Carter refused, citing the fact that in his opinion he made the right decision. This incident served as a black mark for Howard Carter and led to his assignment to the Nile Delta city of Tanta, a site of very little archaeological interest.

IN 1905 Howard retired from the Antiquities Service. After this, his life began to be very difficult. He was forced to earn a living by selling watercolors and sometimes working as a tourist guide. This went on for three years.

IN 1908 Carter was presented to the fifth Lord of Carnarvon by Gaston Maspero. Their cooperation was successful, and the partners were very suitable for each other. Carter became supervisor of excavations sponsored by Carnarvon at Thebes and 1914 Carnarvon had the most valuable private collection of Egyptian antiquities. However, Howard Carter had more ambitious aspirations. He wanted to find the tomb of a completely unknown pharaoh named Tutankhamun at that time. He had already found several different evidence of its existence, rummaged through the entire Valley of the Kings, trying to find a burial place, but season after season he found only a small number of ancient objects.

Carnarvon was not satisfied with the fact that his investments were not returned in 1922 year he gave Carter one last attempt to find the tomb of the pharaoh. Carter was confident in the result, and work began on November 1 1922 of the year. In just three days, a layer of soil was removed from the top landing of the stairs. After about three weeks, the staircase excavation was completed and the plaster block used to construct the buildings was fully visible. By November 26, the first block had been removed, the stone fragments filling the corridor had been removed, and the second plastered block was almost dismantled into pieces.

At 4 pm that same day, Carter broke through the second block and made one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century, opening the tomb of Tutankhamun. It took more than a dozen catalogs to describe all the finds. At this time, Lord Carnarvon died in Cairo from pneumonia. After this, a rumor about the connection between this death and the treasure spread in the media, the hypothesis of the mummy's curse excited the media.

Much to Carter's displeasure, spiritualist letters poured in from all over the world, selling advice and issuing warnings "from beyond the grave." In the end, all the antiquities were sent to the Cairo Museum and the mummy of the young ruler, after being studied, was again laid to rest. Having completed his work with Tutankhamun, Carter no longer worked in this field, retiring from archaeology. He was very successful when he decided to collect Egyptian antiquities.

Often, until the very end of his life, he was seen at the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, sitting (by his own request) completely alone. He returned to England and 1939 died at the age of 65.