In the year that Egypt secured its independence, the discovery of the 3,000-year-old tomb of one of its ancient rulers, the boy king Tutankhamun, was portrayed as a triumph for the colonial old guard.
The uncovering of remarkable treasures in 1922 was the culmination of a five-year hunt funded by a British aristocrat and led by an obstinate English excavator who were propelled to international stardom by the find.
The efforts of dozens of Egyptians who were central to the greatest event in archaeological history were largely sidelined in the official record. But a new examination of photos and documents from the archive of the leader of the expedition, Howard Carter, has cast new light on the role of the Egyptian foreman and dozens of workers whose efforts were crucial to its success.
“The excavation was not achieved by a solitary heroic English archaeologist, but by the modern Egyptian team members, who have so often been overlooked and written out of the story,” said Richard Bruce Parkinson, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford.
Carter’s own diary and documents fail to shed light on how the hidden steps to the vault were revealed. His own diary records a scribbled single line on November 4 1922: “First steps of tomb found.”
Carter’s non-academic background and love of a far-fetched yarn has led to various theories — few of them backed by the official records.
Researchers say it was likely to have been a team effort — the melding of local knowledge and Carter’s own obsessive hunt for a missing tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
The discoveries it yielded were remarkable. The tomb was small and hastily repurposed for a king of minor historical importance who died before his time, aged about 19, but remains the only royal burial from ancient Egypt to survive largely intact.
It took a decade to remove the 5,000 objects inside, a process recorded by the celebrated Harry Burton, who was known as the “Pharaohs’ Photographer” for his work recording expeditions in Egypt.
These photos and Carter’s papers provide an insight into the work of local labourers in discovering and collecting the treasures.
Carter names, and thanks, four Egyptians in his papers, but Burton’s pictures show how many more were involved.
“Even today, absolutely nothing would work without the Egyptians and Egyptian team members,” said Dr Daniela Rosenow, the co-curator of a new exhibition Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive. “We can see in his images, he employed about 50 additional local workmen and dozens of children, which was standard practice in those days.
“The European archaeologists wrote their diaries and journals, but most of the Egyptians probably couldn't read or write.
“What they did was go home in the evening and tell their families what they had seen. At least with the photographs, we can assess their contribution and see what really, really vital role they played in the excavation.”
Carter, the son of an artist, had no formal archaeological training, and relied on the Egyptian workforce to understand the landscape and spot where a rock had been cut by ancient hand as he hunted for the lost tomb.
Compared with many of his upper-class colleagues of the time, he was a staunch defender of his Egyptian staff. He was fired from a previous job for defending Egyptian guards during a dispute with a group of western tourists who wanted access to a restricted site, said Prof Parkinson.
Among those he thanks in his papers is his foreman Ahmed Gerigar, who organised the dozens of workmen. But archivists have been unable to put his name to a photo in the archive and little is known about him or his fellow workers.
Their place in the archaeological pecking order is starkly illustrated in a photograph taken by Lord Carnarvon, the backer of the project, at a lunch of experts brought in to examine the preserve the finds.
The seven men seated around a table are all white and western. Two Egyptians were present, but they were waiters plucked from a luxury hotel in Luxor to serve the men their lunch.
Other photographs showed the reality for many of the local Egyptian workers, who were hired for the hardest tasks such as moving the packaged treasures from the Valley of the Kings on the first stage of the 400-mile journey by barge to Cairo.
In May 1923, that involved 50 workmen working for 18 hours over two days moving 34 crates five miles to the nearest river in temperatures that reached over 38ºC in the shade. They laid short stretches of track and pushed the loaded trucks before starting the whole process again.
But the archive also shows Egyptians inside the tomb working alongside Carter as trusted and essential members of the team, even if they do not get the recognition that they deserve.
“I think the archive shows how important they were for all of the work that was done excavating in Egypt. But it also reveals the inequalities,” said Prof Parkinson.
“We have photographs of them working together, but we can't match the names to the photographs.
“So while there was respect, it was very much within a very colonial context. But seeing faces and knowing their names were not recorded … I think that is really heartbreaking.
“It's going to be very difficult to reclaim those lost histories, there's so little written evidence. And I think that's where the photographs really come into their own because they can imply a whole world of information. It's just the names, we don't have the names.”
The centrepiece of the exhibition at the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, England, is a picture of an Egyptian boy wearing a necklace recovered from the tomb.
It is one of the rare photographs of a member of the Egyptian team centre-frame taken by the colonial adventurers within the portfolio. Others mainly capture Egyptians working alongside or helping with the project — but usually in the shadow of the English archaeologists.
“Our archive was created by the English excavators. And it only tells one part of the story,” said Dr Rosenow. “If you have a look into the boy's face, you can clearly see a much more complex human reaction. You can feel that he is literally feeling the weight, the physical weight of this necklace, but also the weight of the past on his shoulders.”
His identity remains unknown even though a number of people have since come forward to claim the young man was a relative.
Despite the apparent inequalities between the English and local workers on the dig, newly-independent Egypt, which had been occupied since 1914 as a British protectorate, was at least able to keep the treasures on its soil.
Attitudes were changing after the widespread looting of antiquities by British forces during the previous century. The papers show that Carnarvon envisaged seeing recovered artefacts on display in England.
In a letter in the same month as the initial discovery, he wrote to a fellow Egyptologist in the UK about the discoveries.
“There is enough stuff to fill the whole Egyptian section upstairs of the B.M. [British Museum],” he wrote. “I imagine it is the greatest find ever made.”
But a pre-independence agreement he signed meant that anything recovered by the team from an intact tomb remained the property of Egypt.
The discovery just months after Egypt became independent meant that Tutankhamun became an icon of that campaign. The stunning gold funerary mask that was laid on the face of the mummified body was celebrated as the face of a nation with roots 3,000 years in the past.
Visits to the site — and photographs of the work in progress during the decade of work — were jealously guarded by the British-led team and Egyptians accused Carnarvon of exploiting the site for his own commercial gain. Carnarvon’s death a few months later from an infected mosquito bite was seized on by a hostile local press with sensational stories that he had been struck down by an ancient curse for breaking into the tomb.
The raw politics of the dig halted the work for almost a year in a dispute over access to the site. The photos also show significantly more local officials present during the highly-sensitive autopsy of the body carried out by the Egyptian, Dr Saleh Bey Hamdi, the head of the government school of medicine in Cairo.
During the course of the tomb’s clearance, the newly-independent government ensured that the treasures would go on display at a museum in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Most have been moved to the $1 billion Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza, which could open to coincide with the centenary of the discovery of the Tutankhamun tomb in November to bolster the vital tourism industry of the country.
“Egyptian independence happened just a few months before the discovery of the tomb,” said Dr Rosenow. “It massively shaped this new nationalist idea and they were very proud of Tutankhamun.
“His face, his funerary mask, become the icon of this newfound nation and they were extremely proud of him.”
Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive at the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford runs until February 2023
MATCH INFO
League Cup, last 16
Manchester City v Southampton, Tuesday, 11.45pm (UAE)
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
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Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
THE SPECS
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.
RESULTS
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Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
