The men who shot Tutankhamun
On 4 November 1922 the historic discovery of the steps to the tomb of Tutankhamun was made in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. This day was the culmination of an eight-year search in the valley by the archaeologist Howard Carter, who initially took his own photographs of the discovery but quickly realised he required a professional photographer to document the excavation of the tomb and the artifacts within it.
As a result of Carter’s request the photographer Harry Burton was loaned to Carter’s team. In those days, Burton was shooting straight on to glass-plate negatives, which were coated with silver nitrate, with a large-format view camera. His imagery included establishing shots within the tomb to note the position of the treasures, close-ups of each artifact and evocative images such as Howard Carter inspecting the casket of Tutankhamun.
In early 1923 Carter’s sponsor Lord Carnarvon was tiring of the demands made for £5,000. Although this was frowned upon by many it gave a clear showcase to Burton’s stunning photographs, many of which were made into glass lantern slides and projected by Carter during his frequent talks about excavating Tutankhamun’s tomb.
