Episode 2: Candles
In this episode, Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun’s tomb, some tomb robbers told what they did, and a Greek writer told how to make a mummy. Their words come from a diary, two books, a court record and a history.
Each of these is a source. A source is anything from the past that tells us about it. Historians are people who find out about the past, and they check every source with three questions. Some of these sources were first written in another language. For those, there is a fourth question: who translated it, and when?
How to check a source: the three questionsHoward Carter’s diary
- Who wrote it?
Howard Carter, in his own handwriting. He had spent six seasons digging in the Valley of the Kings. Some people call it his journal.
- When did they write it?
On the day it happened: 26 November 1922. That is just over 100 years ago.
- Were they there?
Yes. He was the one holding the candle.
What you heard
I widened the breach and by means of the candle looked in.
I replied to him Yes, it is wonderful.
Two strange ebony-black effigies of a King, gold sandalled, bearing staff and mace.
Gilded couches in strange forms, lion-headed, Hathor-headed, and beast infernal.
And, lastly a confusion of overturned parts of chariots glinting with gold.
A small breach had once been made, large enough to allow of a small man to pass through, but it had been carefully reclosed, plastered and sealed.
Evidently the tomb beyond had been entered. By Thieves! Who knows?
Hard words: breach means hole. effigies means statues. ebony means a black wood. gilded means covered in gold. glinting means sparkling. reclosed means closed up again. evidently means clearly.
Read it yourself
- Carter’s real diaryGriffith Institute, Oxford
This is Carter’s real diary. The website shows a picture of each handwritten page, with the words typed out beside it.
To find the candle, use Find on page and type “wonderful”.
Be a historian
- Carter’s diary is in his own handwriting, and you can see pictures of the real pages. Why is it useful to see the real page, and not only a typed copy?
- The diary entries between 5 and 27 December 1922 are not in Carter’s handwriting. Does that change how far you would trust those pages?
Howard Carter’s book, 1923
- Who wrote it?
Howard Carter, with a man called A. C. Mace. They called the book The Tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen. They wrote it for everyone to read.
- When did they write it?
Carter signed the start of the book in August 1923. That was nine months after he first looked into the tomb.
- Were they there?
Carter was there. But he wrote this nine months later.
What you heard
This was to be our final season in The Valley. Six full seasons we had excavated there, and season after season had drawn a blank.
Hardly had I arrived on the work next morning than the unusual silence made me realise that something out of the ordinary had happened.
It was all I could do to get out the words, "Yes, wonderful things."
Hard words: excavated means dug. drawn a blank means found nothing.
Read it yourself
- Carter’s book, 1923Internet Archive
This is the book, printed in New York in 1923. A computer scanned the old pages and turned them into text, so some words come out wrong.
To find the candle, use Find on page and type “wonderful things”.
Be a historian
- On the day, Carter’s diary says “Yes, it is wonderful”. Nine months later, his book says “Yes, wonderful things”. Ask the three questions about each one. Who wrote it? When did they write it? Were they there? Which would you trust more? Why do you think the words changed?
- The book thanks Lord Carnarvon, who paid for the dig. How might that change the way Carter tells the story?
Howard Carter’s book, part 2, 1927
- Who wrote it?
Howard Carter. This is the second part of his book about the tomb.
- When did they write it?
It came out in 1927. It tells how Carter opened the coffins, in 1925 and 1926.
- Were they there?
Yes. He was there when they opened the coffins.
What you heard
The shrine was intact, its doors bore their original seal uninjured, indicating that the robbers had not reached him.
An astounding fact was disclosed. This third coffin was made of solid gold!
Its weight was still as much as eight strong men could lift.
The beaten gold mask bears a sad but calm expression.
Hard words: shrine means a big golden box built around the king. intact means unbroken. uninjured means unbroken. astounding means amazing. suggestive of means making you think of. prematurely means too soon.
Read it yourself
- Carter’s book, part 2, 1927Internet Archive
A computer scanned the old pages and turned them into text, so some words come out wrong.
To find the gold coffin, use Find on page and type “astounding fact”.
Be a historian
- Carter says the gold mask has “a sad but calm expression”. Is that a fact, or Carter’s opinion? How can you tell?
- Carter says the robbers never reached the king, because the seal on the shrine’s doors was unbroken. Is an unbroken seal good evidence? Evidence is anything that helps to show what is true.
Lord Carnarvon’s question
- Who wrote it?
Not Lord Carnarvon. He paid for the dig, and he was waiting behind Carter. His words only reach us because Carter wrote them down, in his diary and again in his book.
- When did they write it?
Carter wrote them in his diary on 26 November 1922, and in his book in 1923.
- Were they there?
Yes. Carnarvon asked the question, and Carter heard it.
What you heard
Can you see anything?
Read it yourself
- Carnarvon’s question, in Carter’s diaryGriffith Institute, Oxford
Use Find on page and type “Can you see”.
Be a historian
- In the diary, Carnarvon just asks “Can you see anything”. In the book, he is “unable to stand the suspense any longer”, and asks “anxiously”. Those details are only in the book. Where might they have come from?
- We only have Carnarvon’s words because Carter wrote them down. When one person writes down what someone else said, what could go wrong?
The tomb robbers’ confession
- Who wrote it?
A court scribe. A scribe was someone whose job was writing.
Eight men robbed the pyramid of a king and queen, and then they got caught. In court, they confessed: they told what they had done. The scribe wrote it down on papyrus, a paper made from a plant.
- When did they write it?
About 3,100 years ago. That was about 200 years after Tutankhamun died.
- Were they there?
Yes. The robbers were there, because they did it. But they told their story in court, after they got caught.
- Who translated it, and when?
James Henry Breasted, in 1906. The scribe wrote in the language of ancient Egypt, and Breasted turned it into English.
A word to check: Breasted put the word “mask” inside little half-brackets. In his book, that sign means he wasn’t sure his translation was right.
What you heard
Its head had a mask of gold upon it; the mummy of this king was overlaid with gold throughout.
We stripped off the gold.
We set fire to their coverings.
Hard words: overlaid means covered. coverings means wrappings.
Read it yourself
- The confession, in Breasted’s EnglishInternet Archive
Breasted’s book came out in Chicago in 1906. A computer scanned the old pages and turned them into text, and it made mistakes. It read Breasted’s half-brackets round “mask” as letters, so you will see “rmaski”.
To find the confession, use Find on page and type “august mummy”.
Be a historian
- Breasted wasn’t sure how to translate the word “mask”. Why might a translator be unsure about a word on a papyrus more than 3,000 years old?
- The robbers told their story in court, after they got caught. How might that change what they said?
Herodotus
- Who wrote it?
Herodotus, a writer from ancient Greece. He travelled in Egypt, and wrote a history, in Greek.
- When did they write it?
About 2,500 years ago.
- Were they there?
In Egypt, yes. But not for Tutankhamun. Herodotus came about 900 years after Tutankhamun died. He tells us how people made mummies in his own day.
- Who translated it, and when?
A. D. Godley, in 1920. Herodotus wrote in Greek, and Godley turned it into English.
A word to check: Herodotus says they hid the body in “litron” for seventy days. Litron is natron, a kind of salt that the ancient Egyptians dug up for burials. Godley’s English calls it “saltpetre”. Today, saltpetre usually means a different salt.
What you heard
They first draw out part of the brain through the nostrils with an iron hook.
Hard words: nostrils means the holes in your nose.
Read it yourself
- Herodotus, in Godley’s EnglishPerseus Digital Library
This is Godley’s English translation, from 1920, on a website called Perseus. To find the word to check, use Find on page and type “saltpetre”.
- Herodotus, in his own GreekPerseus Digital Library
The same part of the book, in the Greek that Herodotus wrote. It uses the Greek alphabet.
Be a historian
- Herodotus wrote “litron”, which is natron. Godley’s English says “saltpetre”, which today usually means a different salt. Why might a translator get a word wrong, or choose a word whose meaning changes later?
- Herodotus came to Egypt about 900 years after Tutankhamun died. Can he tell us exactly how the Egyptians made Tutankhamun into a mummy? Why, or why not?
The links on this page go to other websites, where the sources are. Ask a grown-up before you visit them.
For grown-ups: every source for this episode, with full citations.