A bold new history of the discovery of King Tut and the seismic impact it left on modern society.
In 1922, Howard Carter and his team of fellow archeologists came upon a set of steps hidden deep under debris, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. The path led them to a burial room, still perfectly, intact, with three tombs including that of a young boy, the 18 year old Egyptian royal, King Tut. The discovery of the 3,300-year-old tomb of Tutankhamun sent shockwaves around the world, turning the boy-king into a household name overnight and kickstarting an international media obsession that grew into a historical phenomenon.
In Treasured Egyptologist Christina Riggs traces the cultural history of King Tut's tomb: from the initial discovery and its impact on academia to the first public exhibition that drew thousands to the British Museum to the effect it had on US foreign policy and the British Royal family. Intertwined with her own personal experience and fascination with King Tut from a young age, which led to years of study and research as an Egyptologist, Riggs illustrates, the profound legacy of, the historical artifact, and how lives of the past are, reborn in the present. Moreover, Riggs' thoughtful retelling makes us question how we protect, preserve and present the lives of those long gone and who we let them become.
