The discovery of Tutankhamun's treasure-filled tomb is one of the greatest events in modern archeology. It is also a story so filled with intrigues, accusations, international imbroglios, and lasting scandals that it forever altered the way archaeological expeditions were organized and conducted. Hoving's Tutankhamun focuses on Howard Carter, the archaeologist who persisted for six years in his search in the Valley of the Kings for Tutankhamun's tomb. Other major figures in the discovery include: Carter's patron Lord Carnarvon, who died shortly after entering the tomb, thus kindling rumors of a curse; Carter's rival Pierre Lacau, a French Jesuit who headed the Antiquities Service in Cairo and did everything he could to ruin Carter and deny his claim; the Egyptian authorities determined to keep the artifacts of their national heritage in their country; and Arthur Weigall and other Egyptologists who felt slighted by Carter's refusal to admit experts anywhere near his discovery.
In this book, which may mark a new literary genre, art adventure, Mr. Hoving makes some startling disclosures that tarnish the image not only of the tomb's heroes [Carter and Carnarvon]… but of his very own museum. The book reads like a thriller, exuding like incense the heady atmosphere of the Valley of the Kings and thick with art, historical, and psychological insight.
Thomas Hoving's Tutankhamun: The Untold Story is another excellent account of the excavation.
