Howard Carter of Tutankhamun : 1905 : A noisy and bad affray at Sakkarah ( Saqqara) : or “ Get Carter!”

From  the  draft of   a  new book " Carnarvon, Carter and  Tutankhamun   Revisited" by William Cross, FSA, Scot

Part 2  ( of 5 )

[ Back story :    After  reaching   a good  position in the Antiquities Service, between 1900 and 1904,    31-year old Howard Carter found himself at the centre of an international dispute over his handling of a serious affray at  Sakkarah in January 1905. At the time Carter was Chief Inspector of the area, which included the sacred site of Sakkarah  ( Saqqara),  popular with tourists. ]

Fall Guy Howard Carter

At  Sakkarah  ( Saqqara)  on 8 January, 1905, things got out of control  under  Howard Carter’s management  of   a  noisy          ‘ bad affray ’ ( Carter’s own phrase ).   The entanglement  involved  a bunch of  drunken French tourists,  a ‘Rent a Mob’  like group  who suddenly and strangely  appeared out of nowhere.  

These  tourists  clashed  violently with Carter’s ‘gaffers’ ( tomb guards).

Despite  it all  being  a  case of  self- defence on the part played by  Carter and his men,  Carter immediately  found himself  the fall guy  at the centre  of  an international incident which had started with a bizarre argument over tickets, then  a  scuffle,  fisty-cuffs  and people being threatened and  knocked over.  

There was a complaint by  the tourists  to  Monsieur de la Bouliniere,  the  French Consul General. This was  followed by a ‘Get Carter’ campaign  in which  Howard  chose to stand firmly  by his Egyptian co-workers and by his own principles.  

However  it  cost him very  dearly and led to a period of exile away from  the main  arena  earning  ( some said just scrapeing)  a  living from  dealing  in antiquities, mediocre guide work taking tourists around the tombs  and  art commissions.

                                                                         Carter explains

The Sakkarah Incident Details

The details of the Sakkarah incident are described in all the Carter texts  that  deal with  his pre- Tutankhamun years. 

Curiously no one has twigged that there  may  well have been  a deeper plot  playing out  between  some of  the  men on the ground and others as  far up as the government’s Executive. Carter already had enemies, his rise in the Antiquities Service was resented by a few colleagues with powerful friends in Cairo.

The  incident at Sakkarah  had consequences to require personal  resolution by the British Consul General, Lord Cromer.

                                        Evelyn Baring, Lord Cromer,  British Consul General

Carter’s own initial  testimony is in a telegram to Evelyn,  Lord Cromer. 

Carter gave  the following explanation to  Cromer (the Egyptian  ( British ) Consul General) :

“ My Lord : I am exceedingly sorry to inform you that a bad affray has occurred today here [ at  the Service’s rest house ] Mariette’s House Saqqara  5pm with 15 French tourists who were here in a drunken state. The cause of the affray was started by their rough handling [ of ] both my inspectors and gaffers [ the native Egyptian guards ]. As both sides have been cut and knocked about I feel it my duty to inform your Lordship immediately. “

A Fuller Report on the Incident

Two days later Carter prepared a much fuller report of all the circumstances, there were also statements made to the police consisting of some 35 sheets of foolscap. [ NB This longer report  along with  other local based reports will appear in the final version of the  book as an ‘End Note.’]

Despite  a  justified and  impassioned  request  from Carter  for “ legal steps [to] be taken against the [ Frenchmen ] for assaulting the gaffers, in raising a hand with intent to attack       [ Carter ]  and for damaging Government property”, Carter  found himself  on the wrong side of  the class structure and  old world diplomacy  pitting his wits against a  holy alliance of   Lord  Cromer, the Indian born  Sir William Garstin, a high ranking Egyptian Government official and Monsieur de la Bouliniere, the French Consul General,  in Cairo.  

[ At this time in Egypt British and French nationals  were jointly involved in the affairs of running the country.  This was made stronger by a new international treaty - an Entente Cordiale  -signed in 1904.]

                        Gaston Maspero : Head of the Antiquities Department 

Maspero’s Whereabouts

To   Carter’s  dismay  Gaston  Maspero could not help him. It makes for another oddity   that at this crucial   period Howard’s  boss   in the Antiquities Service was working away in the South. At  the exact  time of the  furore   Maspero’s   deputy was in charge at  Cairo. Maspero was a  man who had  grasped  an understanding of  Carter’s complex  autistic, obstinate  personality,   more so than anyone else, and who might have influenced and successfully turned around   the  consequent  events that saw Carter cornered. Instead – as Carter could not accept he had done anything wrong – matters festered.

Next piece on this book blog will appear shortly

Extract  from the draft of  “ Carnarvon, Carter and Tutankhamun Revisited :  The Hidden Truths and Doomed Relationships”

By William Cross, FSA Scot

The book will be published on 4 November 2016

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Any queries about  this blog, please contact the Author

William Cross, by e-mail

williecross@aol.com