Treasure-trove of artefacts

The discovery a century ago of the well-preserved tomb of ancient Egypt’s Boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings was a global sensation. The splendid treasures found by

British archaeologist Howard Carter in the tomb promoted the importance of archaeology in understanding history, projected the story of the relatively minor pharaoh into school history books round the world, drew millions of tourists to Egypt and inspired fashionistas in the post-World War I “roaring twenties” as well as writers and filmmakers into the 1980s.

The location of the tomb was found on Nov.4, 1922, after an Egyptian water boy stumbled on a rock at the top of a flight of stairs which led to an underground door bearing seals with hieroglyphic writing. Three weeks later, the archaeologists cleared rubble, removed the outer security door and found the door to the tomb itself. In the presence of an Egyptian official, they entered an antechamber and two rooms filled with more than 5,000 artefacts, including gilded couches, chests, thrones, seals, other furnishings, and the iconic golden sarcophagus of Tutankhamun, who was dubbed “King Tut.” The treasures were moved to the Egyptian Museum on the edge of Cairo’s Tahrir Square where Carter spent a more than decade cataloguing the finds.

The story of the excavation of Tutankhamun’s 3,000-year-old tomb caught the imagination of archaeologists, diplomats, and the world’s press which translated enthusiasm to the public. Carter made lecture tours of Britain, France, Italy and the US. “Tut-mania” was the result. Egyptian motifs were featured in the construction of buildings, clothing, ceramics, jewellery, hairstyles, and fabrics. The US, in particular, was caught up in Tut-mania. A songwriter had a hit with “Old King Tut” whose tomb taught about history and was “full of souvenirs.” Books were written and films made about the unearthing of the tomb and about a curse which was said to have killed several of those involved — but not Carter.

He took a practical view of his discovery: “We might say the truth that the one outstanding feature of Tutankhamun’s life was that he died and was buried.” This was true because his in tact tomb yielded a treasure-trove of artefacts which gave Egyptologists the ability to add a great deal of information to their knowledge of Egyptian history and civilisation.

In spite of his role in the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, Carter was not honoured by the British establishment although, in 1926, he received the Order of the Nile, third class, from Egypt’s King Fuad I. He was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Yale University and honorary membership in the Real Academia de la Historia of Madrid in Spain.

In retirement he divided his time between a house in Luxor and a flat in London. He survived until 1939 when Egyptian antiquities were found among his possessions. They were initially sold to the Metrolpolitan Museum in New York which returned them to Egypt.

Durable artefacts from the tomb have also toured the world’s major museums, making King Tut accessible to millions of people. During his year — to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of his tomb — 150 objectes have been on tour, commencing with six months in London and continuing to Sydney. This will be the final foreign tour as they will be installed in the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza near the pyramids. It is set to open by early 2023.

King Tut has also become a modern political icon. During the 2011 Arab Spring uprising graffiti appeared in Tahrir Square of his golden mask as asymbol of Egyptian national identity.

Tutankhamun took the throne at the age of eight or nine during the “New Kingdom” of the 18th Dynasty (the 14th century BC) and died mysteriously eight or nine years later.

His father Akhnenaton attempted to overthrow the Egyptian pantheon of gods by installing the sun god Aten, a secondary god in the ancient pantheon, as Egypt’s sole deity.  To mark this dramatic shift to monotheism, he constructed a new capital called Amarna as well as imposing temple complexes at Karnak and Thebes. Akhenaton’s Great Royal wife was the beautiful Nefertiti, whose elegantly sculpted bust resides in Berlin’s Neues Museum which has flatly refused to return her to Egypt.

Tutankhamun is believed to be Akhenaton’s son by a consort other than Nefertiti. When Tutankhamun returned Egypt to the old religion, the temples of the old gods were rebuilt and the capital was returned to Memphis. His father was reviled as a heretic and erased from ancient Egypt’s history until the ruins of Amarna were discovered at the end of the 19th century. In 1907, a mummy believed to be Akhenaten’s was unearthed from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Recent genetic testing has determined the man was Tutankhamun’s father. Ironically, he and Nefertiti were returned to history because of their relationship with the far more famous Tutankhamun.

Although the Tutankhamun treasure remains in Egypt, the centenary of the discovery of his tomb has reminded countries which have been looted of ancient and medieval archaeologicall material by former colonial regimes that the file has not closed on pillage. Britain, the US, France and Germany have come under pressure to repatriate historical artefacts to their countries of origin.

Howard Carter’s homeland, Britain is loath to return loot. Nevertheless, in August this year, the Horniman Museum and Gardens agreed to return to Nigeria 72 artefacts, including “Benin bronze” sculptures looted at the end of the 19th century. The British Museum is said to have more than 900 of the bronzes but has rejected calls to return them.

The 1963 British Museum Act prevents the museum from repatriating items in its vast collections. The museum has, in particular, for decades come under constant pressure to return to Greece the “Elgin Marbles,” a collection of fifth century Classical Greek sculptures which decorated the Temple of Athena at the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. In 1801, while Greece remained under Ottoman rule, Scotland’s Lord Elgin prised the marbles from the temple and in 1816 sold them to the British Museum. The Greeks argue Britain stole the sculptures while the British claim Elgin purchased them from an Ottoman official.

All major Western museums are repositries of such loot and continue to acquire fresh loot today, a practice which continues to strip vulnerable countries with a glorious past of their heritage and prevent archaeologists and historians from conducting detailed investigations of civilisations which have shaped the history of humankind.

Photo: AFP