Preparing Statue for Transport

This photograph shows three people packing a statue into a wood carrying tray leaning against the wall. Preparations like this were necessary to get fragile items safely out of the tomb of Tutankhamun. While it appears to be an action shot, the lack of blurriness indicates that they halted their work for the photograph or even staged the image.

Howard Carter, the director of the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun, holds one end of a large textile, while Arthur Callender, an engineer, stands in the back with a ruler. The person on the right is one of the four Egyptian reises (foremen): Ahmed Gerigar, Hussein Ahmed Said, Gad Hussein, or Hussein Abu Awa. They were essential to the excavation work, and Carter thanked them by name in his publication, but they went unidentified in photographs. At the time, Egyptian team members generally did not receive recognition for their crucial role in excavations.