Official website of the Research Project, in the area of the Reception of ancient Egypt,
In 2016, the Research Project in the field of Reception of ancient Egypt, titled “Tutankhamon em Portugal. Relatos na Imprensa Portuguesa (1922-1939)”, started.
The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter and his sponsor Lord Carnarvon, on the 4th of November 1922, was reported by the international press all over the world in an unusual and unprecedented way, turning this pharaoh, and the main characters of this “wonderful discovery of the Valley”, widely known amongst millions of readers.
Ironically, the twelfth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty was one of the least known pharaohs of the New Kingdom, and Howard Carter was an archaeologist with no proven credibility. Literally, overnight, both move from the obscurity of the newspapers’ pages to became known as synonyms for “pharaoh” and “archaeologist”. What was the echo of this discovery, and consequent opening of the tomb, in the Portuguese press? How are described the extraordinary artefacts found in the various chambers of the tomb? What themes or features were highlighted in the news and in the Portuguese newspapers’ and magazines’ commentaries in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century? What type of reports are presented about the life, the family, and the death of the young pharaoh? How the excavation activities by Howard Carter, his death, and the death of Lord Carnarvon are portraited? What are the photographs and illustrations disclosed by the national publications to the Portuguese reader?
These are some of the questions for which we seek an answer with this Research Project, mainly guided by the perspective of the Reception studies.
© Projecto "Tutankhamon em Portugal. Relatos na imprensa portuguesa (1922-1939)" \ Project "Tutankhamun
in Portugal. Reports in the Portuguese press (1922-1939)"