Customer Reviews

Tutankhamun: The Untold Story

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I came across this book in a used book store a decided to read it. I had some interest in the story behind the discovery of King Tut and this book was full of information. It traces the beginnings of Howard Carter's search, the discovery,and the events that followed. I had no idea of the problems that Carter was faced with after the discovery. Perhaps there is some truth to the legend of "Tut's Curse" after all. I suggest that the book be read if you have any interest at all in the history surrounding one of the biggest archeological finds ever.

This remains one of the best adventure stories written in the last twenty five years. Hoving skillfully recounts Carter and Carnarvon's epic quest for Tutankhamun in a vivid tale of mystery, suspense, discovery, and treasure. True history can indeed be better than fiction.

The tomb was discovered in 1922 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Tutankhamun was a shadowy pharoah, a boy-king. He died around 1350 B.C. The discoverers were Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. They became celebrities. It was a phenomenal discovery. They had been very persistent. The treasures found have fascinated the public.

Starting in 1975 the author, Thomas Hoving, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, immersed himself in the story of the Tutankhamun's tomb's discovery. Hoving became suspicious of Carter's account of the noble discovery. Thutmose I had the brilliant idea to set his burial place in the Valley of the Kings since other tombs, pyramids, had been plundered. The pattern was set and it became the burial place for five hundred years.

Carter kept careful track of archeological discoveries. Jacob Rogers, heading a locomotive factory in Paterson, New Jersey, funded archeology projects for the Metropolitan Museum because he made a donation for acquisitions. Herbert Winlock, a friend of Carter, worked for the Museum. Carter was precise, calculating, gifted. He examined circumstantial evidence of an undiscovered tomb. Mountains of rubbish encumbered the search. Carter wanted to go right down to bedrock in a triangular plot of land containing the tombs of Ramesses II, Merenptah, and Ramasses VI. Carter devised a grid system. By 1921 Lord Carnarvon was beginning to lose interest. Most people believed the valley was exhausted as a place to make finds.

In the sixth season, 1922, supposedly Lord Carnarvon's last, the step to the walkway of a tomb was found. At the end of twelve steps there were hieroglyphs and seals. Carter telegraphed Lord Carnarvon of the finding. An antechamber glimpsed 11/26/22 contained magnificent objects. Later a horde of reporters and tourists descended on Luxor. Carter saw that years of work would be required to sort and sift the treasures.

The LONDON TIMES was granted exclusive coverage of the find and political problems with nationalist elements in Egypt resulted. A new door constructed by Carter became a symbol of malevolent foreign supremacy. Carnarvon died in 1923. Arthur Conan Doyle announced to the world a pharoah's curse. There were instances of near hysteria. A rail line was constructed to carry the objects to the River Nile for transport to the Museum in Cairo. When the intact sarcophagus was found, everyone was agog with interest. After a hiatus, Carter worked from 1925 for eight years extracting the objects.

Pictures appear in this splendid work, too, in addition to a table of sources and an index.

Thomas Hoving wrote a great book. He made you feel like you were in the tomb with Howard Carter spectating. His discriptions of the events that happened kept you on the edge. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to know the truth about the events that happened surrounding the discovery of Tut's tomb and the scandalous behavior of those involved.

Make no mistake, Thomas Hoving is an accomplished and skillful writer. This detailed account of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb almost reads like a thriller. Hoving accurately portrays the characters involved, (principally Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon), the political and climatic conditions in the remote valley where the discovery was made, and paces the story so well, I almost felt I was living in Egypt and working alongside Carter at the time the tomb was discovered.

Not surprisingly, of particular interest was the chapters describing Carter's discovery of the tomb itself. Mindful of Lord Carnarvon's patronage, Howard Carter writes to his benefactor in Britain, and waits patiently for him to arrive from overseas to be the first to enter the newly discovered tomb. Hoving manages to portray the very Britishness of this honorable sense of duty, and one almost feels Carter's growing impatience as he waits several weeks for the arrival of his financier from overseas.

Hoving continues with the politics that eventually sullied the agreements between governments that should have ensured an equitable distribution of the findings.

Hoving concludes by putting Carter's discovery in perspective, and describes thge sad state of some treasures that languished in a progressively deteriorating condition in un-air-conditioned spaces in Egypt. Some historical photographs embellish this fine story. A must-read for anyone interested in this fascinating discovery.

Thomas Hoving was sacked as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His integrity had become questionable in the eyes of scholars. He then wrote a number of popular-style money-spinning tell-all books, such as this one. Alas, Tutankhamun: The Untold Story, suffers from that same lack of integrity which critics saw in Hoving during his years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In particular his charges against Howard Carter are trash, not backed up by evidence. This book is entertaining twaddle -- but twaddle primarily, and not reliable.