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Lord Carnarvon Timeline |
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1325 BC |
Tutankhamun died
in the year of 1325 at the age of 18/19. He reigned
for just 9 years and the cause of his death still
remains a mystery.
He was buried in his
hastily prepared tomb in the Valley of the Kings 70
days after his death, according to the death rituals
of the Ancient Egyptians
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1133 BC |
The entrance to the tomb of
Tutankhamun is buried with rubble when work is being
carried out on the tomb of Ramses VI (r.1141 BC – 1133
BC)
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1866 |
26 June, 1866 George Edward
Stanhope Molyneux Herbert was born to an
aristocratic family at the family seat of Highclere
Castle, Hampshire, England. He was the son of Henry
Howard Molyneux Herbert, the 4th Earl of Carnarvon
and a descendant of King Edward III and King Henry
VII. His mother was Lady Evelyn Stanhope
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George Herbert was educated
at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge
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1890 |
He succeeded to the
Carnarvon title when his father died
On June 26, 1895 Carnarvon
married Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell
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1895 |
June 26, 1895 Lord
Carnarvon married Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra
Wombwell. They subsequently had a son called Henry
George Alfred Marius Victor Francis Herbert and a
daughter called Lady Evelyn Herbert
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1901 |
Lord Carnarvon suffered a
very serious motoring accident in Germany which left
him significantly disabled and in poor health
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1902 |
He established Highclere
Stud to breed thoroughbred racehorses |
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1905 |
Lord Carnarvon was
appointed one of the Stewards at Newbury Racecourse |
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1907 |
Lord Carnarvon had become a
keen amateur archaeologist and in this year was
introduced to Howard Carter by Gaston Maspero, the
Director-General of the Department of Antiquities at
Egypt's Antiquities Service. This meeting started their
successful partnership excavating at Thebes in Egypt
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1912 |
Howard Carter and Lord
Carnarvon decided to extend their digging at Thebes
to include sites in the Delta
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1914 |
Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon
receive a licence to dig in the Valley of the Kings
from the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Carnarvon
acts as the financier
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1914 |
Outbreak of World War I
which prevented immediate excavations
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1917 |
Howard Carter believes the
tomb of Tutankhamun lies undiscovered in the Valley
of the Kings.
Lord Carnarvon agrees to finance his search for the tomb of
King Tut
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1917 - 1922 |
Howard Carter digs in the
Valley of the Kings but is unable to find the tomb.
The expenses are mounting
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1922 |
Howard Carter visits Highclere
Castle and Lord Carnarvon gives him just one
more season of funding to find the
tomb
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1922 |
4 November 1922: Carter
finds the steps leading to Tutankhamun's tomb and
asks Lord Carnarvon to come to Egypt
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1922 |
5 November 1922: Carter
cables Lord Carnarvon: "At last have made a
wonderful discovery in Valley; a magnificent tomb
with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival;
congratulations."
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1922 |
26 November 1922: Carter
makes the famous "tiny breach in the top left hand
corner" of the tomb doorway accompanied by Lord
Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert.
Carnarvon asks him if he can see anything, Carter
replies: "Yes, wonderful things" and goes on to say:
"as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of
the room within emerged slowly from the mist,
strange animals, statues, and gold--everywhere the
glint of gold."
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1922 |
27 November 1922: Carter,
Lord Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn Herbert explore the
Antechamber and Annexe of the tomb. They find a sealed door to
another chamber
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1922 |
December: The press go into
a frenzy about the discovery of the tomb, disturbing
the work being conducted at the tomb.
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1923 |
9 January 1923: Lord
Carnarvon then strikes an exclusive deal with The
Times newspaper. Carnarvon had signed a £5,000
contract with the London Times, plus 75 percent of
all profits from the sale of Times articles to the
rest of the worldOther journalists are furious about
the deal, especially Weigall from The Daily Mail.
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1923 |
16 February 1923: Howard
Carter opens the sealed doorway leading to the
burial chamber and the sarcophagus of the
Pharaoh Tutankhamun
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1923 |
17 February 1923: The
Burial Chamber is officially opened. Under the terms
of Lord Carnarvon's agreement with the Egyptian
Director-General of Antiquities, if the site
contains an intact Pharaoh's tomb its contents have
to revert back to the Egyptian Government but Carter
and Lord Carnarvon are allowed to continue with
excavation.
Howard Carter, argues
with key members of the excavation team and some are
sacked. He then argues with Lord Carnarvon regarding
his attitude and his 'friendship' with Lady Evelyn.
Egyptian nationalists
demand that the treasures of the tomb are sold to
pay off Egypt’s national debt. Carter and Carnarvon
again quarrel about their individual rights of
disposal of the treasures. Carnarvon wanted to keep
all rights. Carter wanted the contents of the tomb
to be kept intact in the Cairo Museum although
insisted that Lord Carnarvon should be generously
compensated by the Egyptian government.
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1923 |
5 April 1923: Lord
Carnarvon dies in Cairo of pneumonia and septicaemia after nicking
a mosquito bite with his cut-throat razor. This
sparks speculation by the press about the Curse of
the Pharaohs.
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1923 |
Lord Carnarvon is buried in
a tomb located within an ancient hillfort
overlooking his family seat at Beacon Hill,
Burghclere, Hampshire.
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1924 |
12 February 1924: Women are
banned from entering the tomb which leads to
diplomatic problems with Great Britain and America.
Howard Carter
writes pamphlet to document interference by
authorities and leaves the excavation and locks the
tomb. Pierre Lacau, the French Director of
Antiquities, demands the keys and Carter refuses to
give them up or continue with his work
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1925 |
A strange coincidence -
When the mummy of Tutankhamun was unwrapped it was
found to have a wound on the left cheek. The wound
was in the exact same position as the mosquito bite
which had led to the death of Lord Carnarvon
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1925 |
January: The Ministry of
Public Works in Egypt and the widow of Lord
Carnarvon come to an agreement and she renounces her
claims on Tutankhamun’s tomb. Carter then agrees to
resume work at the tomb of King Tut
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1939 |
2 March 1939: Death of
Howard Carter in London - of natural causes at the
age of 65. He is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery,
London
Lord
Carnarvon Timeline |
