Taking Down a Wall

This photograph was taken during the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Two reises (foremen) and their young assistant pause while taking down a partition wall that blocked access to the burial chamber. This is one of the few photographs that focuses solely on Egyptian team members, without whom the excavation and clearance of Tutankhamun's tomb would not have been possible. The large crew, which included children, consisted of skilled excavators with years of experience as well as workers who did hard physical labor. Their names went unrecorded, with the exception of the four Egyptian reises who worked closely with Carter: Ahmed Gerigar, Hussein Ahmed Said, Gad Hussein, and Hussein Abu Awa. Howard Carter, the director of the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun, named them in his book (and thanked all the Egyptian staff), but none were identified in photographs. At the time Egyptian team members generally did not receive recognition for their crucial role in excavations.

This original print is part of the Department of Egyptian Art Archives and derives from a negative now in the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford (P0504); shown here courtesy of the Griffith Institute.