Wonderful Things Tutankhamun
Course ResourcesMost highly recommended resources:
Howard Carter and Arthur C. Mace, The Tomb of Tut.ankh.Amen, I-III (London: Cassell and Company) 1923-1933.
Carl Nicholas Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, The Tomb, The Royal Treasure (London: Thames and Hudson, 1990).
The Discovery of King Tut’s Tomb by Howard Carter
- Primary resource photographs taken by photographer Harry Burton of the tomb of Tutankhamun by the Griffith Institute, Oxford
- Primary resource photographs taken by photographer Harry Burton of archaeological work in Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter with descriptions by the Griffith Institute, Oxford
- Primary resource diary entries by Howard Carter, Part 1: October 28 to December 31, 1922 by the Griffith Institute, Oxford
- Primary resource diary entries by Howard Carter, Part 2: January 1 to May 31, 1923 by the Griffith Institute, Oxford
- Discovering Tutankhamun: The Photographs of Harry Burton at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
More Helpful resources and interesting documentaries for Wonderful Things class attendants
Tutankhamun Head in Lotus
Tutankhamun Painted Box
Guardian Statue
Discovering Tutankhamun
Discovering Tutankhamun
Carter early in career
Move the mouse over the pictures to expand them
1. New Kingdom Egypt and the Amarna Period
- UCLA Article on the Amarna Period
https://escholarship.org/content/qt77s6r0zr/qt77s6r0zr.pdf - Amarna Unearthed: A really good 2020 documentary featuring Amarna archaeologist Anna Stevens and Dr. Aidan Dodson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48-mKPjQtSA - Amarna: Egypt’s lost city: Secret Ancient history documentary 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ucVQj9eNBA
2. Valley of the Kings
- Here is a good recent-ish documentary with Dr. Bob Briers on the Valley of the Kings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URa8LgBi79s - The John Romer “Ancient Lives Series” (4 parts) is great – though it dates from back in the 90s. He is a knowledgeable and engaging presenter. All 4 parts are available to watch on youtube. Part 3 is especially relevant to the story of the Valley of the Kings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX7nMXFW-xE&t=2171s - And here is a 2020 British Archaeologist John Romer video – on his search for another tombs in the Valley of the Kings – along with a walk through Tuts treasures in the Egyptian Museum. Romer is amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSUOjFgiB9k - Al Mummia – The Night of Counting the Years:
A beautifully shot Arabic film from 1969 that recounts the rediscovery of Pharaonic Mummies in the valley of the king. Haunting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK9uC-fO2rQ&t=934s
3. Howard Carter
- Nice article on Carter’s early life:
https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/2008/01/01/tomb-discovery/ - Carter 9 min discovery video with his voice and images:
https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/2008/01/01/tomb-discovery/ - Search for Tutankhamun BBC movie about Carter and Carnarvan
Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqXwjW4e7Rs
Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpcJq8dhR3g - History of Carter and Davis documentary:
https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/theodore-davis-and-his-attempts-to-discover-tutankhamuns-tomb/
4. The Tutankhamun Tomb Discovery
- Tutankhamun in Colour
And a wonderful 2020 BBC documentary with Dr. Elizabeth Frood, associate professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford on the Tutankhamun tomb discovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvDIRZ_xb1s - Curse of the Pharaoh
Defying the curse that has haunted their family for three generations, a member of the Carnarvon family returns to the site of Tutankhamun’s tomb for the first time in 75 years. In 1922 the fifth Earl of Carnarvon died from an infected mosquito bite just weeks after.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UveGlCnbKDQ&t=1228s - The Man who Shot Tutankhamun
This is the story of Harry Burton, one of the great heroes of British photography. As the official photographer for Howard Carter’s Tutankhamun excavation during the 1920s, Burton created some of the 20th Century’s most famous images and helped to make Tutankhamun an international sensation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4spSKJ9mc8 - Egypt’s first photographer – and the Tut discovery – Laura’s Exclusive Interview!
Laura Ranieri Roy Interviews Ehab Gaddis OBE – Grandson of Egypt’s first photographer in Tutankhamun discovery years – an August 2021 exclusive from the Winter Palace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ773UZBhd8 - King Tutankhamun and Treasures documentaries
A 2017 PBS documentary detailing the world’s greatest archaeological find. See treasures from the Tomb of King Tut and learn about the story behind their discovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwXfvfPy6fc - Sound of Tutankhamun’s Trumpets Played after 200 years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt9AyV3hnlc - Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered (Full Documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKTxlIVtx3c&t=3037s