Howard Carter

author

Howard Carter

1874–1939

Best known for finding the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, this English archaeologist helped turn one of history’s greatest discoveries into a story that fascinated the world. Before that famous moment, he had already spent years in Egypt as an artist, excavator, and careful recorder of ancient sites.

1 Audiobook

Five Years' Explorations at Thebes

Five Years' Explorations at Thebes

by Earl of George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert Carnarvon, Howard Carter

About the author

Born in London in 1874, Howard Carter first trained as an artist. His drawing skills took him to Egypt while he was still young, where he worked copying wall paintings and inscriptions from ancient tombs and temples. That close, patient work helped shape the eye for detail that later defined his archaeological career.

Carter spent many years working on excavations in Egypt and became especially interested in the Valley of the Kings. He is remembered above all for the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, made during a long search supported by Lord Carnarvon. The find brought him international fame and remains one of the most celebrated archaeological discoveries ever made.

He later wrote about the discovery for a wide audience, including in The Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen and Tutankhamen: The Story of the Pharaoh King. Carter died in 1939, but his name is still closely tied to the excitement, mystery, and painstaking work of modern archaeology.