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Tutankhamun's name was spelled several ways even in ancient Egypt. The public wisely dispensed with these confusions and dubbed him "King Tut".
Told with style, this is the story of the discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb For UK orders:
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PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR, SCHOLAR & SOLDIER He fought the Nazis and wrote travel classics.
Photo: SAT -7 Trust » In the most war-torn, desperate lands on earth, Baroness Cox risks her life to bring medical supplies, food, and hope. Along the way she makes implacable enemies and steadfast friends.
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  Into the Sands of Egypt
The head of Tutankhamun's Coffinette Howard Carter Unearths Tutankhamun's Tomb The youngest of eight children, Howard Carter (1874 - 1939) never received any formal education. His father, who was an artist, taught him drawing and painting. William Amhurst Tyssen-Amherst, a collector of Egyptian antiquities, thought he would be an asset on archaeological digs, and sent him to Egypt. Carter was only seventeen. Seventeen and working in Egypt Carter went to Beni Hasan to work as a ‘tracer’ of tomb scenes, and helped on archaeological excavations. It was hard work at very low pay, but it provided an archaeological education if he wanted it. Carter did. Glimmering in the sands like a mirage was the possibility of discovering the tomb of a lost pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. His first teacher, William Flinders Petrie, did not think much of his potential, but Carter unearthed several important finds. Appointed the principal artist of the Egyptian Exploration Fund's excavations at Deir el Bahbri, he strengthened his drawing and excavation skills, working all day and sometimes sleeping in the tombs at night. He drew the painted reliefs in the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir al-Bahri, Thebes, some of the finest records of Egyptian inscribed monuments, and discovered the tomb of King Tuthmosis IV. Disaster Though he had no formal qualifications, his career seemed assured when he was named Inspector General of Monuments for Upper Egypt at the age of twenty-six. He energetically pursued tomb-robbers and restored monuments, but during a fracas his Egyptian guards repelled drunken foreign tourists. Carter refused to apologise, lost his job, and was reduced to guiding tourists and selling watercolours.
Howard Carter, young, impecunious, and Archaeological exploration is not an inexpensive pursuit, and Carter had no funds. He was sure there was a marvellous tomb still undiscovered in the Valley of the Kings, but no one else did. Luckily the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon was an ardent amateur archaeologist, and he did money. Carter and the Earl joined forces. Deadline Carter had learned of the existence of a previously unknown pharaoh, Tutankhamun, the 12th Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Tutankhamun had ruled from ca. 1333 BC – 1322 BC during the period known as the New Kingdom. No one had discovered the location of his tomb, and there was high hope that it could be found unplundered, with its rich treasures intact. Carter built Lord Carnarvon's collection of Egyptian antiquities into the world's finest, but he could not find the tomb of Tutankhamun. In 1921 Carnarvon impatiently told Carter to discover the tomb next season, or lose his funding. Discovery Carter kept his cool. Under the stone chips and rubble used to build the tomb of Ramses II, he uncovered the steps that he believed led to Tutankhamun's tomb, unplundered and unseen for three thousand years. He telegraphed Lord Carnarvon, who raced to Egypt. On November 5, 1922, Carter went down the steps with Lord Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn Herbert, Carnarvon’s daughter. Carter made the first hole in the sealed doorway of the tomb, and stared inside. Carnarvon asked, “Can you see anything?” “Yes,” breathed Carter. “Wonderful things.” At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing my candle flame to flicker, but presently, 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. It was by far the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found. On the walls painted scenes showed showed the young pharaoh, who had died at nineteen, hunting with his queen in a lake of reeds and travelling to the afterworld. Inside the burial chamber were 3,000 treasures, including a gold and silver throne, a winged scarab pectoral pendant, made of gold inlaid with semi-precious jewels, and a gold crown. There were little cosmetic boxes, a game box, and an engraved shrine that shows Tutankhamun's wife (and probably his half sister) tenderly anointing him. Dominating the chamber was a golden sarcophagus. Carter opened it carefully. Tutankhamun's mummy rested in the innermost coffin, which was made of solid gold and weighed about 243 pounds. His body was wrapped in linen and over his face was an exquisite gold, blue glass, and lapis lazuli mask. The news of the tomb's find electrified Europe and America. Carter became famous, though he was never honoured in Britain. He masterfully excavated and catalogued Tutankhamun's treasures, which became part of Egypt's antiquities. The "curse" said to be invoked against the violators of a tomb did not immediately affect his health. In his last years he suffered from Hodgkin's Disease (DNB). Lord Carnarvon, on the other hand, died five months after the discovery from blood poisoning. Years later, the tomb that Carter found continues to shed light on Egyptian mysteries. But some mysteries remain.
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