May 8, 2012 ~ HACKER CLUB 4 U

The birthday of Howard Carter is celebrated by Google today.
Carter was already a distinguished archaeologist and Egyptologist, when he became famous for his discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, the most intact Pharaonic tomb ever found.
At age 17 he began recording tomb decorations of the Middle Kingdom period, and then a year later, in 1892, he began work in Armana, documenting what remained of the capital city of Akhenaten – the father of Tutankhamun.
On 4 November 1922, Carter discovered the entrance of what was then designated as KV62. Noting that the tomb seals were intact, he contacted Lord Carnavon, who had funded Carter’s work for nearly 15 years, to come and enter the tomb as it was opened directly.
On 26th November, Carter breached the seals, revealing the massive horde of ancient treasure still intact.
The discovery caused a sensation and resulted in a massive cultural interest in Ancient Eygpt. The treasures from the tomb were exhibited around the world in the years after, before mostly being put on permanent display in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo.
The clearance of the tomb with its thousands of objects continued until 1932. Following his sensational discovery, Howard Carter retired from archaeology and became a part-time agent for collectors and museums.
Howard Carter died of lymphoma, a type of cancer, in Kensington, London, on 2 March 1939 at the age of 64. On his gravestone is written: “May your spirit live, May you spend millions of years, You who love Thebes, Sitting with your face to the north wind, Your eyes beholding happiness”.

Google homepage graphic pays tribute to archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922

Howard Carter celebrated in a Google doodle. Photograph: Screengrab

The birthday of Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, is celebrated in the latest Google doodle, a colourful graphic depicting the British archaeologist admiring an array of ancient Egyptian treasures.
The unearthing of the tomb, which had been undisturbed for more than 3,000 years, was the first time that the final resting place of a pharaoh and all his treasures had been found by modern-day archaeologists.
Carter, who was born on 9 May 1874 in London, originally trained as an artist and was sent to Egypt at the age of 17 to assist in the excavation and recording of ancient Egyptian tombs. He was appointed as the first chief inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service (EAS) in 1899 and supervised a number of excavations at Thebes, now known as Luxor, before he was transferred in 1904 to the Inspectorate of Lower Egypt.
He was employed from 1907 by Lord Carnarvon to supervise his Egyptian excavations but came under pressure to make a major breakthrough after what the aristocrat regarded as a series of disappointing results.
It came in November 1922, when Carter wrote in his pocket diary: "Discovered tomb under tomb of Ramsses VI investigated same & found seals intact."
He is said recorded as having made the breach into the tomb with a chisel his grandmother had given him for his 17th birthday.
Asked by Carnarvon: "Can you see anything?", archaeologist replied with the now-famous words: "Yes, wonderful things."
Carter then became the first human in 33 centuries to enter the tomb, and spent years documenting the thousands of artefacts from the tomb.
A total of 5,398 objects were found, covering every aspect of ancient Egyptian life, from weapons and chariots to musical instruments, clothes, cosmetics and a treasured lock of the royal grandmother's hair.
He died from Lymphoma in 1939 at the age of 64, just seven years after his excavation ended, and before he could fully publish his findings.
Carter's complete records of the excavation were deposited in the Griffith Institute Archive at the University of Oxford, which has been building an online database.