King Tut’s forgotten man

As celebrations ramp up to mark 100 years since the most famous archaeological discovery of all time, meet the little-known Tasmanian Egyptologist who played a pivotal role.

-  CHRISSIE GOLDRICK

LIKE ANCIENT HIEROGLYPHS on old temple walls, the names Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became firmly etched in the public imagination during the Roaring Twenties.

Carter, a British archaeologist funded by the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, discovered the entrance to King Tutankhamun's tomb on 4 November 1922, unleashing a worldwide sensation that still fascinates a century later. Suddenly Egypt was all the rage, influencing fashion, jewellery, hairstyles and furniture. It inspired songs and dances, and its motifs can still be recognised today in the Art Deco style that came to define the era.

Carnarvon was a keen, wealthy amateur Egyptologist who was underwriting Carter's work in the Valley of the Kings on the Nile's west bank across from the old city of Ipet, now called Luxor. Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife and were buried with all the necessities they might need there. The valley was a royal burial ground during the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BCE) and provided rich pickings for modern archaeologists and ancient tomb raiders alike.

More than 5000 objects would eventually be retrieved from King Tut's tomb, which had been sealed in 1323 BCE, and, apart from a couple of very early raids, no human had entered the young king's four small stone burial compartments for 3000 years.

Among the more solid objects, there were fragile items such as linen cloths and even floral wreaths. They ran the risk of disintegrating on exposure to the air or when handled, so an expert hand was called for. That hand belonged to a modest Tasmanian by the name of Arthur C. Mace. 

Arthur Cruttenden Mace was working on an American-led dig at Lisht when news of the extraordinary find went public.

His reputation was already well established by 1922, and he was seconded to what would come to be regarded as the most important archaeological discovery of all time.