Overview

One hundred years ago, Howard Carter, working for Lord Carnarvon, made one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all times in the Valley of the Kings (Luxor, Egypt): the nearly intact tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (ca. 1335-1325 BC). In addition to the king's body, the tomb contained well over 5000 objects, which were recovered, conserved and recorded by Carter and his team. The fabulous treasures, such as the gold coffins, funerary mask, jewellery, as well as the six near complete chariots are well known. The tomb, however, yielded a wide variety of objects, both sacred and secular, including some that are less elaborately decorated with precious materials but which are, from a scientific point of view, perhaps even more interesting (and enigmatic). Many objects from the tomb still remain unstudied; those that have been published consist of specific groups, for example: thrones, chairs and stool; the bows; musical instruments; game boxes; the small gold shrine or the stone vessels. This work examines the tomb and its contents through an unusual lens: leather and other animal soft tissue products that were used in creating some of the tomb's contents. Through a study of these artefacts, the reader is guided through the surprising and complex world of leatherworking in ancient Egypt, focussing on the numerous different objects from the tomb that are either made entirely from or include leather, such as the chariots and their accoutrements, weapons, gloves, as well as hitherto unpublished finds, as among which leatherworking tools. This approach offers new insights in ancient Egyptian technology as well as in the production and use of specific materials and objects. The findings are discussed in the wider framework of the development and organisation of the leather industry in New Kingdom Egypt. 100 colour, 25 b/w illustrations

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André J. Veldmeijer (Visiting Research Scholar American University in Cairo) studied archaeology at Leiden University (The Netherlands) and received his PhD in Vertebrate Palaeontology from Utrecht University (The Netherlands) in 2006. He has worked in Egypt since 1995 as a leather, footwear and cordage specialist for various missons (including Amarna, Berenike, Dra’ Abu el-Naga, Elephantine, Hierakonpolis and Qasr Ibrim). Veldmeijer has also worked in several collections all over the world, studying ancient Egyptian and Nubian leatherwork and footwear as part of the Ancient Egyptian Leatherwork Project (AELP) and the Ancient Egyptian Footwear Project (AEFP) respectively. Among these collections are the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Veldmeijer is the director of two ongoing research projects: Ancient Egyptian Leatherwork Project (including the Egyptian Museum Chariot Project) and Ancient Egyptian Footwear Project. Veldmeijer is one of the founders and current chairman of the PalArch Foundation. Salima Ikram is Distinguished University Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, and has excavated extensively in Egypt as well as in Turkey. She has directed the Animal Mummy Project, the Amenmesse Project (KV10/KV63), the North Kharga Oasis Darb Ain Amur Project, and headed the archaeozoology team at Kinet Hoyuk in Turkey. She has a variety of research interests, especially the interaction between humans and animals, ancient Egyptian foodways, rock art, death, and mummies of both humans and animals. She has published extensively both for scholarly and non-specialist audiences, as well as for children, and is currently collaborating on the publication of the animal mummies in the Museo Egizio, Turin. Ikram is a member of the MAHES (Momies Animales et Humaines EgyptienneS) project.

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