The Shadow King (39 page)

Again, it’s a nice idea, but as with the original family tree, this depends on the DNA data being accurate, which is open to dispute. I can’t help thinking that it’s just one more example of our determination to enforce certainty on these mysterious mummies. And it goes to show that the debate caused by the JAMA paper is far from over.

WHAT OF TUTANKHAMUN HIMSELF? How long is his desiccated figure likely to survive? Despite recent conservation efforts, it seems inevitable that before long, the mummy will return to the earth. That fate was sealed when Carter first opened the tomb. The ancient Egyptians came up with the perfect time capsule, which kept its contents fresh for thousands of years—through floods, war, famine, the rise and fall of civilizations—and probably would have done so through thousands more. A glass case, well maintained or not, seems scant protection against such ravages of history.

The risks from war and instability in the region are all too real, as shown by the looting of Tutankhamun’s mummy, presumably during the Second World War, and of the Cairo museum and other archaeological sites during the recent uprising. But perhaps an even bigger danger is from the flash floods that periodically sweep the valley. When torrential rain does occasionally fall on this desert landscape, floodwater flows down the mountain side in ever growing rivulets that meet and stop in the central valley floor, depositing tons of rubble. Howard Carter said he witnessed four such downpours during his thirty-five years in the area: “It will fill up valleys and turn them into seething rivers. In a few moments a ravine may be foaming with innumerable cascades carrying rocks down to its boulder-strewn bed.”7

Rocks deposited by such floods are what kept Tutankhamun’s sealed tomb hidden for so long. But as soon as any tomb is opened, the flooding becomes potentially devastating. For tombs that have stood open for any period of time, the floods have destroyed contents and wall paintings, and left them full of rubble.

With everything that the mummy has been through in just ninety years, I find it hard to see how it will survive many more decades or centuries, let alone millennia. We’re living in a privileged time window during which it is possible to meet our shadow king. For Tutankhamun, this bizarre and eventful afterlife is a mere flash of existence between two types of oblivion, past and future: three thousand years erased from human memory, and the eternal end of physical destruction.

This time round, though, the one thing we really know for sure about Tutankhamun—his name—seems certain to live on.

_____________

*As discussed in chapter 9, James Harris also raised concern over the identity of this battered, odd-looking mummy, suggesting that it might be Akhenaten instead.

CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Dates of reigns given for the kings (or high priests) mentioned in the text.

LE = Lower Egypt only; UE = Upper Egypt

All dates are more or less uncertain prior to 690 BC. Parentheses around a name and date indicate a coruler or rival ruler.

PREDYNASTIC PERIOD

Badarian Culture

5000–4000 BC

Naqada I (Amratian) Culture

4000–3500

Naqada II (Gerzian) Culture

3500–3150

Naqada III Culture

3150–3000

EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD

Dynasty 1

2900–2720

Dynasty 2

2720–2580

OLD KINGDOM

Dynasty 3

2580–2515

Djoser

2650–2630

Dynasty 4

2515–2405

Dynasty 5

2405–2275

Dynasty 6

2275–2120

Merenre I

2300–2290

FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

Dynasties 7, 8

2120–2100

Dynasties 9, 10 (LE)

2100–2000

Dynasty 11a (UE)

2080–2010

MIDDLE KINGDOM

Dynasty 11b

2010–1940

Dynasty 12

1940–1760

Dynasty 13

1760–1660

SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

Dynasty 14 (LE)

1700–1650

Dynasty 15 (LE—Hyksos)

1650–1535

Dynasty 16 (UE)

1660–1590

Dynasty 17 (UE)

1585–1540

Seqenenre Tao

1550–1545

NEW KINGDOM

Dynasty 18

1540–1278

Ahmose I

1540–1516

Amenhotep I

1516–1496

Thutmose I

1496–1481

Thutmose II

1481–1468

Thutmose III

1468–1414

(Hatshepsut)

(1462–1447)

Amenhotep II

1415–1386

Thutmose IV

1386–1377

Amenhotep III

1377–1337

Akhenaten

1337–1321

(Smenkhkare)

(1326–1325)

(Neferneferuaten)

(1326–1319)

Tutankhamun

1321–1312

Ay

1311–1308

Horemheb

1308–1278

Dynasty 19

1278–1176

Rameses I

1278–1276

Seti I

1276–1265

Rameses II

1265–1200

Merenptah

1200–1190

Seti II

1190–1185

Siptah

1186–1178

Dynasty 20

1176–1078

Rameses III

1173–1142

Rameses IV

1142–1136

Rameses VI

1132–1125

Rameses XI

1110–1095 (LE) + 1095–1078

THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

Dynasty 21

1078–943

Pinedjem I

1063–1041 (UE)

Pinedjem II

997–974 (UE)

Dynasty 22

943–736

Shoshenq I

943–922

Dynasty 23 (LE)

736–666

Dynasty 24 (LE)

734–721

Dynasty 25

722–664

LATE PERIOD

Dynasty 26

664–525

Dynasty 27 (Persians)

525–404

Dynasty 28

404–398

Dynasty 29

398–379

Dynasty 30

379–340

Dynasty 31 (Persians)

340–332

HELLENISTIC PERIOD

Dynasty of Macedonia

332–310

Dynasty of Ptolemy

310–30

ROMAN PERIOD

BC 30–395 AD

BYZANTINE PERIOD

395–640

ARAB PERIOD

640–1517

OTTOMAN PERIOD

1517–1805

KHEDEVAL PERIOD

1805–1914

BRITISH PROTECTORATE SULTANATE

1914–1922

MONARCHY

1922–1953

REPUBLIC

1953–

List kindly provided by Aidan Dodson, an Egyptologist at the University of Bristol, UK, who specializes in Egyptian dynastic history and funerary archaeology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

AS I DESCRIBED IN THE PROLOGUE OF THIS BOOK, writing The Shadow King has taken me on a journey from London archives to the Egyptian desert, and I’m greatly indebted to all of the people who have helped me along every step of the way.

To begin the list with some of the archivists and librarians who were kind enough to offer their assistance, I am grateful to Jaromir Malek, Elizabeth Fleming, and all at the Griffith Institute in Oxford. Thank you so much for introducing me to the fascinating world of Howard Carter and his Tutankhamun. Thanks also to archivists at University College London, the University of Liverpool, and all at the British Library, one of my favorite places in the world.

A large number of scientists, historians, and Egyptologists shared their time and expertise when I was researching The Shadow King, as well as various other news and feature articles that also informed the book. In Egypt, they include Salima Ikram, Zahi Hawass, Ashraf Selim, Yehia Gad, and Tarek El Awady in Cairo; Kent Weeks, Mansour Boraik, and Raymond Johnson in Luxor; and Barry Kemp at Amarna. I am especially grateful to André Veldmeijer, Marcia Peters, and all at the Netherlands-Flemish Institute for their help and hospitality during my visit to Cairo in October 2011.

Elsewhere, I’m indebted to Dylan Bickerstaffe, Chris Naunton, Peter Clayton, Joyce Filer, Stephen Buckley, Rosalie David and all at the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology in Manchester, Angus Graham, David Jeffreys, Megan Rowland, Sylvie Weens, Ben Harer, Irwin Braverman, James Gamble, Ian Barnes, Tom Gilbert, Svante Pääbo, Eske Willerslev, Eline Lorenzen, Helen Donoghue, David Lambert, Matthew Collins, Marianne Eaton-Krauss, Frank Rühli, Paul Gostner, Carsten Pusch, Albert Zink, Angelique Corthals, Christian Timmann, Christian Meyer, Ernst Rodin, Allan Dallas, David Durrheim, Erustus Kanga, Shin Maekawa, Martha Demas, Neville Agnew, Janet Shepherd, and Donald Reid. I am especially grateful to Robert Connolly, whom it was a pleasure to meet and get to know. Extra thanks also to Aidan Dodson for offering invaluable advice and comments on the entire manuscript (though any errors are of course mine).

I was touched by the help and support offered by the families and descendants of some of the people whose work I describe in this book, including Ramsay Derry, Douglas Derry, Jo Laurie-Pile, Audrey Carter, Lesley Easterman, and Justine Harrison. I hope I’ve done justice to your loved ones’ stories.

I would like to thank my agents, Peter Tallack, without whose enthusiasm and support this book would not have happened, and Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown, for being generally brilliant. Thanks also to my editors: Bob Pigeon, Carolyn Sobczak, and my lovely copy editor Sarah Van Bonn.

And finally, thank you to my family for your ongoing support and encouragement: to my parents, my Grandma, my partner Ian (your comments on my early drafts were so, so appreciated), my beautiful Poppy, and of course baby Rufus, whose arrival in October 2012 gave me the deadline I needed to finish this book on time.

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

Valley of the Kings from the air. Jo Marchant.

Hatshepsut Temple. Jo Marchant.

Village of Gurna. Jo Marchant.

Elder Lady mummy. G. Elliot Smith

Valley of the Kings. Vaughan Sam.

Opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb, February 16, 1923. Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.

Tutankhamun autopsy, November 1925. Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.

Douglas Derry, ca.1909. Ramsay Derry.

Douglas Derry, ca.1930. Ramsay Derry.

Tutankhamun mummy. Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.

Head of Tutankhamun. Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.

Fetus from Tutankhamun tomb. Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.

Tutankhamun coffin opening, 1968. Pilkington Brothers Ltd.

R. G. Harrison and team. Linton Reeve.

X-ray of Tutankhamun’s skull. Linton Reeve.

Small samples from royal mummies. Jo Marchant.

Kent Weeks. Jo Marchant.

Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Jo Marchant.

Statue of Akhenaten. seamon53/Shutterstock.

Bust of Nefertiti. Vladimir Warangel/Shutterstock.

Egyptian postage stamp. rook76/Shutterstock.

Tutankhamun exhibit wall. Frank Trapper/Corbis.

Zahi Hawass in front of Tutankhamun mummy. Zahi Hawass.

Zahi Hawass at press conference. Getty Images.

Pharaonic graffiti. Jo Marchant.

Tank by Egyptian Museum. K. Desouki/AFP/Getty Images.

Soldier guarding Tutankhamun’s mask. Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images.

Zahi Hawass in his office. Jo Marchant.

Entrance to Tutankhamun’s tomb. macro_tb/Shutterstock.

NOTES

1. Quoted in Mayes, S., The Great Belzoni: The Circus Strongman Who Discovered Egypt’s Treasures. London: Putnam, 1959 (reprinted by Tauris Parke in 2003), 161.

2. Quoted in Romer, J., Valley of the Kings. London: Michael O’Mara, 1981 (reprinted by Phoenix in 2001), 166.

3. Quoted, e.g., in Romer, J., Valley of the Kings, 214.

4. Maspero, G., and É. Brugsch, La trouvaille de Deir-el-Bahari. Cairo: F. Mourès & Cie, 1881.

5. Maspero, G., Les Momies royales de Deir-el-Bahari. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1889.

6. Wilson, E., “Finding Pharaoh,” The Century Magazine, May 1887, 3–10.

7. Quoted in Wilson, E., “Finding Pharaoh.”

8. For example, in Romer, J., Valley of the Kings. However, other scholars believe this story refers to a different mummy found by Brugsch at Saqqara, or to the mummy of Amenhotep II when taken to Cairo years later—see Ridley, R. T., “The Discovery of the Pyramid Texts,” Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 110, 1983, 74–80.

1. Maspero, G., Les Momies royales de Deir-el-Bahari. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1889.

2. Quoted in Romer, J., Valley of the Kings. London: Michael O’Mara, 1981 (reprinted by Phoenix in 2001), 187.

3. Maspero, G., Les Momies royales de Deir-el-Bahari.

4. Quoted in Romer, J., Valley of the Kings, 201.

5. “Carter, Here, Tells of King ‘Tut’s’ Tomb,” The New York Times. April 20, 1924.

6. Quoted in Tyldesley, J. A., Tutankhamen: The Search for an Egyptian King. New York: Basic Books, 2012, 39.

7. Davis, T. M., The Tomb of Queen Tîyi. London: Constable & Co., 1910, 2.

8. Romer, J., Valley of the Kings, 267.

9. Mackowiak, P. A., PostMortem: Solving History’s Great Medical Mysteries. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians, 2007.

10. Lady Burghclere, “Biographical Sketch of the Late Lord Carnarvon,” introduction to The Tomb of Tut.Ankh.Amen Volume 1 by Howard Carter and A. C. Mace. London: Cassell, 1923.

11. James, T. G. H., Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun. New York: Kegan Paul, 1992 (reprinted by Tauris Parke in 2008).

12. James, T. G. H., Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun.

13. Romer, J., Valley of the Kings, 293.

14. Ibid., 296.

Chapter 3: Opera of a Vanished Civilization

1. Carter, H., and A. C. Mace, The Tomb of Tut.Ankh.Amen Volume 1. London: Cassell, 1923.

2. Discussed in Romer, J., Valley of the Kings. London: Michael O’Mara, 1981 (reprinted by Phoenix in 2001).

3. Carter, H., “Pharaohs Hid Tombs from Evil Spirits,” reprinted by The New York Times. May 31, 1923.

4. Quoted in Frayling, C., The Face of Tutankhamun. London: Faber and Faber, 1992, 2.

5. Quoted in James, T. G. H., Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun. New York: Kegan Paul, 1992 (reprinted by Tauris Parke in 2008), 253.