TUTANKHAMEN’S TOMB

Southland Times, Issue 19171, 15 February 1924, Page 5

TUTANKHAMEN’S TOMB

THE WORK ABANDONED. MR CARTER’S ANNOUNCEMENT. (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) CAIRO, February 13. (Received February 15, 1.0 a.m.) Mr Howard Carter has closed the tomb of Tutankhamen and abandoned the work owing to the alleged discourtesy of the Public Works Department. Prior to the disagreement, a party of journalists were admitted to the tomb. The company found the proceedings so enthralling that only one came up for a breath of fresh air during the hour and a quarter, though the heat in the tomb was overpowering. A large sheet of plate glass was placed across the sarcophagus and a powerful electric standard illuminated the gigantic effigy of the Pharaoh. The blaze of light with the deep shadow beyond gave a weird aspect to the burial chamber, especially as the thin layer of greyish dust gave the features a curious death-like pallor. The eyes with their deep blue incrustations stared fixedly at the roof. Probably the mummy cases are locked by a secret bolt. If so, it will be necessary to damage the golden effigy in order to free the coffin. The Egyptian Antiques Department state that it is fully prepared to take over the conduct of the scientific investigation of the tomb, if necessary, The rupture was directly due to the Egyptian Government refusing to allow sixteen ladies, wives of the excavators and the American Mission to enter the tomb.