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[[File: Howard_carter.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Howard Carter (1874-1939)]]

Professional Egyptologists usually rank Carter’s overall influence on the field significantly behind the men listed above, but for non-professionals Carter’s name is often the first, and sometimes the only, name of prominent Egyptologists to come to mind. Carter is best known for the discovery of tomb KV 62 in the Valley of the Kings outside Luxor, Egypt in November 1922. Of course this was the tomb of the legendary King Tutankhamun (ruled ca. 1345-1335 BC), more commonly known as “King Tut,” which happened to be the best preserved and most complete of the New Kingdom, Valley of the Kings tombs. The discovery cemented Carter’s legacy as an Egyptological maven, which was further enhanced by the later claims of a curse. But Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb came at the end of his career and it almost never happened. After a successful career at the top of the Egyptological world, Carter grew tired of the politics and called it quits, but the wealthy Lord Carnarvon gave him an offer he could not refuse, resulting in the greatest archaeological discovery of the twentieth century.

Howard Carter was born to a middle class English family and grew up in the Kensington district of London. His father John made a living as a wildlife and animal painter, selling his works to private individuals and magazines. Young Howard showed an aptitude for painting and drawing as well, learning the techniques from his father but also apparently inheriting the raw talent from his as well. <ref> Shaw, Ian and Paul Nicholson. <i>The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt.</i> (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995), p. 61</ref> It also helped that the Carters owned a small menagerie so young Howard was able to get plenty of practice.

At a relatively young age, Howard painted the pets of rich people for fees that got progressively larger as his skills and reputation around London grew. <ref> Newberry, P. E. “Howard Carter.” <i>Journal of Egyptian Archaeology</i> 25 (1939) pgs. 67</ref> Carter primarily worked in watercolors at this point in his life, which would be the medium he would later use to establish a foothold in the field of Egyptology. One of John Carter’s well-connected and wealthy clients was so impressed with the teenager’s work that he offered to introduce him to some of the leading Egyptologists in the London area. <ref> Schlessinger, Birgit. “Howard Carter before Tutankhamun: Sounderausstelung im Britischen Museum in London.” <i>Antike Welt</i> 24 (1994) p. 51</ref> Since photography was still a fairly new medium in the late nineteenth century, Egyptologists primarily used artists to document the reliefs in tombs and to aid in epigraphy. The young Howard Carter quickly learned that his artistic skills were in great demand with the world’s top Egyptologists.

[[File: Hastshepsut’s_Grandmother_Seniseneb.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Carter’s Painting of Hatshepsut’s Grandmother, Seniseneb, from the Temple of Deir el-Bhari]]

Howard Carter’s artistic skills earned him a position with the Archaeological Survey of Egypt in 1891 at the age of seventeen. In his first season, Carter worked with the esteemed Egyptologist Percy Newberry at the sites of Beni Hasan and El-Bersheh, notably documenting the reliefs from the tomb of the Twelfth Dynasty official, Khnumhotep, in watercolor. <ref> Schlessinger, p. 51</ref> The experience allowed Carter to make more connections and to work with perhaps the greatest Egyptologist of his time in the next excavation season.

In 1903, Carter was transferred to be the Inspector General of Lower and Middle Egypt, which meant that he was based in Saqqara instead of Luxor. Not long after taking the post, Carter was involved in an altercation with some French tourists who wanted to see the Serapeum of Saqqara, which was the tomb complex for the sacred Apis bulls. Carter had little patience for the belligerent tourists, who happened to be drunk, so the arguing became more heated until there was pushing and a few punches were thrown. Eventually cooler heads prevailed and the tourists left, but they later demanded an apology from Carter. Maspero agreed and admonished Carter to give a formal apology, but he refused and instead quit the post and returned to England. He went back to work as a painter and traded antiquities to support himself. <ref> Newberry, p. 68</ref> It appeared to most people, including Carter himself, that Howard Carter’s career as an archeologists had come to an end. But then fate grabbed hold of Howard Carter once more.

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

[[File: ValleyofKings.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|The Entrance to the Valley of the Kings]]

World War I, or the “Great War,” as it was then known as, did in fact halt Carter’s work in the Valley of the Kings for about three years, but operations resumed in 1917. Then, after a few chance circumstances when the team was near quitting, Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered on November 4, 1922. <ref> Schlessinger, p. 53</ref> Howard Carter would live for almost another twenty years after discovering the tomb and would lecture and publish extensively about his finding, but the discovery proved to be the apogee of his career.

Howard Carter is rightfully considered to be one of the most important and influential of all Egyptologists, but most of the attention on his career has revolved around his discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Although it is true that the discovery proved to be the high water mark of Carter’s Egyptological career, he had already left his mark on the study of Egyptology in many ways. Carter’s skills as an artist were in demand by some of the world’s top Egyptologists, which allowed him to learn archaeology and to make important connections in the field. Without the knowledge, skills, and connections he made during those early years, Howard Carter may not have discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb.

===References===

[[Category: Ancient History]] [[Category: Ancient Egyptian History]] [[Category: Archeology]] [[Category: Historiography]] [[Category: 20th Century History]] [[Category: British History]]