Figure of the month: 1922

Research into the secret burial chambers of pharaohs had attracted great public interest for centuries, but the worldwide fascination with Egyptian pyramids and their legendary treasures really took off in 1922, when British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered the entrance to the tomb of Tutankhamun.

An untouched tomb with unimaginable treasures...

The fact that this discovery, of all things, is still considered the absolute highlight of pyramid research today rests on two factors: firstly, Tutankhamun’s final resting place, unlike most other discovered burial chambers, had been largely spared looting, facilitating the recovery of numerous gold treasures. For example, his throne and many other pieces of furniture, bow and arrow, elaborately decorated clothing, canopic jars and vessels were made of gold leaf-coated wood or pure gold, as were numerous burial objects, such as animal figurines and statues. The sensational centrepiece of the burial chamber, however, was the famous death mask. It was crafted from a precious metal that was revered in Egypt as the “flesh of the gods” – i.e. from 11 kg of pure gold.

... and an ingenious media pro

The second decisive factor: explorer Howard Carter proved to be at least as adept a media professional as he was an Egyptologist, marketing his discovery to the public with extensive visual material right from the start of the excavation process. Upon discovery of the door to Tutankhamun’s burial chamber, which had been well hidden for thousands of years, he immediately put all excavation work on hold until a professional photographer arrived on site to document all phases of the excavation in detail with photographic material. When it was later published, a massive press response ensued. It seems that even then, “seeing is believing” applied to the media world. The impact of these images still resonates to this day – most people regard the discovery of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber as the most spectacular find from the Pharaonic era.