TREASURED: How Tutankhamun Shaped a Century

When it was found in 1922, 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 endures to this day - yet so much of the story remains untold. Here, for the first time, Christina Riggs weaves compelling historical analysis with tales of lives touched by an encounter with Tutankhamun, including her own. The book offers a bold new history of the young pharaoh who has as much to tell us about our world as his own. 'Conventionally, Egyptology has presented the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb as if it were a tale of British pluck and perseverance. It was much more, of course, for the decade-long project involved both Egyptian and American archaeologists. The excavation became so contentious that it threatened diplomatic ties between Britain and Egypt, its rebellious, one-time protectorate. Reporting the discovery also led to a showdown among the international press corps, whose fight for story and image rights marked a turning point in 20th-century journalism.' Includes rare photos like one of Harry Burton's first photographs inside Tutankhamun's tomb, showing the plaster-covered entrance to the Burial Chamber, taken in December 1922, and Howard Carter, Arthur Mace, and an Egyptian colleague, breaking through the blocked opening between the Antechamber and the Burial Chamber; photograph by Harry Burton, 16 February 1923. "Christina Riggs demolishes the "great man" view of archaeology to reveal a true social history of our modern engagement with ancient Egypt - filled with messy, tragic, politicised, and often haunting encounters that span the globe."- David Wengrow. 428 pages, colour photos and many other illus.