Bob Brier

Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World

Howard Carter and his team took ten years to clear Tutankhamun’s tomb, pack the thrones, beds, shrines, and coffins, and place them on steamers to take them down the Nile to Cairo to be displayed in the Egyptian Museum. For most people, this is where the story ends. But there is so much more to tell.

In his engaging and enlightening new book Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World, Bob Brier—a.k.a. Mr. Mummy—one of the world’s foremost Egyptologists, explores the research that has taken place in the one hundred years since the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb—from objects in the tomb made of meteoritic iron from outer space to new evidence that shows that Tutankhamun may have been a warrior who went into battle, from whether there is a second tomb behind that of Tutankhamun’s to new theories about when the tomb was robbed and how he died.

Beyond the tomb, Frier also illustrates the wide-ranging impact the discovery has had on politics, culture and archaeology. Did the discovery of the tomb help pave the way for the end of colonialism in Egypt?  How did it set in motion the modern blockbuster museum exhibitions we know today? Did Carter’s insistence that every object found be documented before being moved change archaeology forever? He also takes us behind the scenes of the recent CT-scans of Tutankhamun’s mummy to reveal more secrets surrounding the young Pharoah.

And what of the future? While the last one hundred years have been remarkable for Tutankhamun and the research about him, the future can only be more exciting. Scientific techniques will reveal more secrets and missing objects will be found. Deeply informed by the latest research and presented in vivid detail, this book is a wonderful introduction to the world’s greatest archaeological discovery.

[Recorded January 26, 2023]