Gilded logo celebrates discoverer of King Tutankhamun’s tomb
2012 05 09
By Michael Cavna | WashingtonPost.com
“Yes, wonderful things.”
 Google ’Doodle’ for May 9, 2012
Those were the reported words of Howard Carter nearly 90 years ago when the English archaeologist — asked by the Earl of Carnarvon whether he could see anything — finally cast his eyes on the tomb of Tutankhamun, and the golden objects therein.
Today, Google visually unveils some wonderful things itself to celebrate the 138th birthday of the celebrated Egyptologist, who gained lasting fame with the 1922 discovery of the tomb and the subsequent, laborious excavation. The homepage Doodle depicts just a few of the thousands of objects that were removed from the tomb — a process that took the better part of a decade and stirred the public imagination.
 Carter — born May 9. 1874, in London — had been searching for the burial sites of ancient pharaohs for nearly three decades when he led the discovery of the 18th-dynasty of Tutankhamun’s tomb, more than 3,000 years after the boy king was laid to rest.
Carter came to Egypt as a teenager, and was named first chief inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service while in his 20s, but his greatest find would elude him till November 1922, when a worker found the steps to the secret tomb.
What Carter found among those wonderful things was a remarkably intact tomb — unplundered like so many other sites in the Valley of the Kings. The Doodle suggests the sheer variety of the unearthed objects. (As an artist, Carter — the son of a painter — was also skilled at replicating these ancient artifacts.)
“In the dim light they could see the glint of gold everywhere,” wrote the New York Times in Carter’s obituary. “As the scene grew clearer, a whole roomful of objects came into view — couches, chairs, alabaster vases, chariots, a throne, stools and chests, all glistening with inlay and gold, and a sealed doorway leading still beyond. When the doorway was opened a wall of gold was revealed — the side of an immense gilt shrine shielding the sarcophagus of the buried king.”
By entering Tutankhamun’s tomb, Carter also soon entered popular culture — as his discovery minted him as a global celebrity, and his name popped up in music and, in time, on the screen. He was a real-life Indiana Jones.
Carter died in London in 1939 (of lymphoma), at age 64, his fame assured not only because of his finding the tomb, but also because Tutankhamun’s artifacts continue to hold our profound fascination and curiosity.
Happy birthday, Howard Carter. Dig your work.
Article from: washingtonpost.com
Howard Carter - Wikipedia
Video from: YouTube.com
Video from: YouTube.com
Video from: YouTube.com
Related Articles
Rare Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’ Scrolls Found In Australian Collection
Hawass "Egypt’s Indiana Jones" faces charges
10 die in Egypt while digging for ancient treasures
96 Egypt’s richest Library set on Fire
Magic Friday: Egypt closes Great Pyramid of Giza following rumours of 11/11/11 rituals
Half of European men share King Tut’s DNA
King Tutankhamen’s R1b Caucasian Origins
King Tut statue looted from Egypt museum
King Tut: DNA studies reveal Malaria, Not Murder
Latest News from our Front Page
|
2 Agents From Team Involved in Tsarnaev’s Arrest Fall Out of Helicopter and Die
2013 05 23
Details are few at this point, but it’s being reported via several media outlets that two members of the special FBI Hostage Rescue Team (involved in arresting 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev) have died after "falling from a helicopter" into the ocean.
The Hostage Rescue Team is "part of the Tactical Support Branch of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group. It is based ... |
Exorcism? Pope Francis caught on video performing strange ritual on disabled man
2013 05 23
Pope Francis has been embroiled in a scandal after footage emerged today appearing to show him giving a man an exorcism in St Peter’s Square.
The astonishing incident between the Pontiff and the person in a wheelchair, took place immediately after Pentecostal mass on Sunday May 19.
The video shows how a priest leans across the boy or young man to tell ... |
NBC’s Chuck Todd: The Obama administration is trying to “criminalize journalism”
2013 05 23
This is Chuck Todd, NBC’s political news director saying this.
From: againstcronycapitalism.org
"Why Are We Not Calling This Fascism?"
"Chris Hedges, Truthdig, joins Thom Hartmann. The AP scandal is just the latest example of an ongoing - and often corporate backed - assault on our most basic democratic rights."
From: informationclearinghouse.org
DOJ broke own rules in AP investigation
"Amid the Justice Department scandal, perhaps more ... |
IRS Scandal - "This is Tyrannical"
2013 05 23
The IRS’s Job Is To Violate Our Liberties
By Ron Paul | the-free-foundation.org
“What do you expect when you target the President?” This is what an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent allegedly said to the head of a conservative organization that was being audited after calling for the impeachment of then-President Clinton. Recent revelations that IRS agents gave “special scrutiny” to organizations ... |
EU Leaders to Sidestep Lisbon Treaty Rule
2013 05 22
The Lisbon Treaty clearly intends for the size of the European Commission to be reduced below its present size of 27 members. But EU leaders have reached unanimous agreement to sidestep the provision -- and even plan to add a seat to the table for the Croatians.
From the outside, it looks as though the European Union is hopelessly divided. Northern ... |
| More News » |
|
|
|
|
