The Mummy's Curse - KV63

About.com (K. Kris Hirst)

My thanks to Archaeology Magazine for linking to this item on their Today's Headlines page. The writer is commenting on a long article in Harper's Magazine, and suggests that journalists have a poor appreciation of the problems confronted by archaeologists (subscribers have access to it online, otherwise it is necessary to purchase a print copy if you want to see the Harper's article).

In Harper's magazine for January 2008 is a 100,000 word essay from Gregory Jaynes on his March 2006 visit to the excavations of the Egyptian tomb KV63/KV10, called The Mummy's Curse: An Archaeological Dispute. You may remember that KV-63 was discovered in 2006 in an astonishing place, within 45 feet of the opening of the last discovered tomb, in fact the best known Egyptian tomb in the world ---Tutankhamen's tomb (KV-62). Excavation of KV-63 was directed by Otto Schaden, of the Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology at the University of Memphis in Tennessee; and currently he continues the labwork under the auspices of Zahi Hawass and the Supreme Council of Antiquities. . . .

What Jaynes' essay is, is a probably painfully accurate description of the petty arguments that go on at every archaeological site in the world. Otto Schaden's dispute with his superior Lorelei Corcoran at the University of Memphis is described in detail, as well as long quotes from their verbal sparring, private griping from both sides, and descriptions of the expressions on their faces. And I want to talk about why that's typical, and why although it's too bad that Jaynes decided to focus on that, it's inevitable that he would.

See the above page for the full story.