Changes

The history of Egyptology is filled with the names of many influential scholars, who not only helped advance the discipline, but also forwarded human knowledge in general. The Frenchman Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832) is known for deciphering the enigmatic Egyptian hieroglyphic script and for developing translation and decipherment methods that have been used in other studies. Englishman Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) made many discoveries in Egypt, but more importantly he developed scientific methods of archeology that are still used today around the world in nearly every sub-discipline of archaeology. James Henry Breasted (1865-1935) is known today as the father of American Egyptology and for helping making the Oriental Institute of Chicago into one of the premier ancient Near East research institutes in the world. Often included in the list of the world’s greatest Egyptologists is Englishman Howard.

The 1892 excavation season proved to be quite fortuitous for Howard Carter in two different ways. First, he was invited to work with Flinders Petrie, which allowed him to learn new archaeological techniques that he would use throughout his career. Becoming part of Petrie’s circle of friends and colleagues also gave his career a boost through the increased connections and prestige it brought. Furthermore, working for Petrie brought Carter to the site of Amarna, which was the capital city of the enigmatic Eighteenth Dynasty King Akhenaten (ruled ca. 1364-1347 BC), who was Tutankhamun’s predecessor on the throne. Carter initially was assigned to paint images of excavated items, as he had done for Newberry, but he was eventually given the Great Aten Temple to excavate. <ref> Drower, Margaret S. <i>Flinders Petrie: A Life in Archaeology.</i> (Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), p. 194</ref> Although the work at Amarna certainly helped Carter’s career, the reality is that he was not Petrie’s first choice of young assistants.

Petrie was obligated to listen to at least some of the requests of his primary financial backer, William Thyssen-Amherst, with one being to hire Carter. <ref> Montserrat, Dominic. <i>Akhenaten: History, Fantasy, and Ancient Egypt.</i> (London: Routledge, 2003), p. 67</ref> Petrie seems to have genuinely liked Carter, as can be evidenced by the friendship the two man had for the rest of their lives, but he was apparently not convinced that his young protégé was entirely serious about a career in archaeology. He wrote in his journal:

Petrie’s criticism notwithstanding, Carter would go on to work at other important sites throughout Egypt, advancing in the profession in the process.

In 1899, Howard Carter would be the recipient of another fortuitous turn of events that would further propel his career, but was at the same time the beginning of the end of that chapter in his life. The Frenchman Gaston Maspero was the Director General of antiquities in Egypt in 1899 and in an effort to be diplomatic, he consciously appointed Germans and Brits to the directorate along with his fellow Frenchmen. <ref> Reid, Donald Malcom. <i>Whose Pharaohs? Archaeology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity form Napoleon to World War I.</i> (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002), p. 168</ref> Carter was the British recipient of Maspero’s good will, being awarded the position of Inspector General of Upper (southern) Egypt.

====Another Chance in Egypt====

[[File: Tutankhamun_tomb.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Carter at the Entrance to Tutankhamun’s Tomb]]

As Carter worked on the edges of the field of Egyptology in England, a wealthy Englishman named George Herbert (1866-1923), the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon, decided to use his money to fund his own archaeological dig in Egypt. Herbert conducted a dig in 1907 near Thebes in Upper Egypt, but was told by Maspero that he needed to get a professional archaeologist if he wanted to continue digging in Egypt. <ref> Newberry, p. 68</ref> Herbert was then put in touch with Carter and the two men began a professional relationship that lasted until the end of Lord Carnarvon’s life. After digging in the Delta for several years, Carter convinced Herbert that they should return to the Thebes area, but securing a concession would not be easy. The Thebes area was and remains the most popular region for archaeologists, especially the Valley of the Kings. Carter used his connections to get a concession, which brought him back to his old American friend and colleague, Theodore Davis. With war looking inevitable, Davis agreed to give Carter his concession to dig in the Valley of Kings in 1914. <ref> Schlessinger, p. 53</ref>