Howard Carter's diary, 1922.
Saturday, 4 November: "First steps of tomb found."
A sketch from one of Harry Burton's photographs:
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Burton's photograph was taken on the spot where the sealed entrance doorway was uncovered on 5 November 1922. The view is looking up the 16-step staircase toward the top step recorded in Carter's diary on 4 November.
Harry Burton was the photographer solely responsible for documenting the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb. Mind-boggling. Such an unimaginably massive and complicated undertaking. Glass plates. Lighting challenges. Photographing the interior, the tomb contents in situ, the individual objects after removal, the people doing the excavating, and visitors to the site. On and on. And Burton's work is just so good, it's easy to forget the conditions he was working under. Inspiring!
I've made a dozen or more drawings and paintings from Harry Burton's photographs, and I'm so grateful that his work is available to view at the Griffith Institute website as part of "the definitive archaeological record of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun."
Here's a link in case you ever feel like poking around in an amazing archive:
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Thanks for sharing! Always interested in archives and photo collections. You're so right about how we forget the conditions the photographers of yore had to work with, when we are unable to escape cameras!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your comment :)
DeleteEverything was so much bulkier back then - we forget how easy we have it now!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as a photographer who often shot in challenging situations and probably spent years (cumulatively speaking) in a darkroom, I am blown away by what Burton accomplished. I wish I could shake his hand.
DeleteIt was interesting to read this - I've seen some of his photos over the years but hadn't given a moment's thought to the conditions he must have been working in. You're given me a whole new perspective on photography, no matter who the creator is.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely comment - thank you!
DeleteTo think, only 100 years ago...can you imagine his excitement?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be very interesting to read the field notes and letters of everyone involved in that excavation, and the archive has a lot of material online. I imagine lots of people have already researched and written about it, but I'd love to dig into the primary sources, wouldn't you?
DeleteI agree with Magpie's Mumblings. The difficulties never entered my mind, which is rather boggled at the thought.
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
It's amazing what people were doing to record archaeological sites at the time. Photography, early motion pictures, but also many on-site artists! The first time I saw some of Joseph Lindon Smith's paintings in a MA museum was probably as close as I will ever come to experiencing Egypt.
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