Encountering Tutankhamun: The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and Tutmania through the Lens of Local Press (1922–1943)

Abstract


 News of Carter’s discovery in the Valley of Kings was first transmitted by magazines and daily papers in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in late 1922, but the finds from Tutankhamun’s tomb continued to draw the public’s attention in the decades to come. A large number of newspaper articles from the time are dedicated to not only Tutankhamun, but also the different manifestations of Egyptomania and Tutmania, from the “curse of the pharaoh”, all the way to fashion inspired by Ancient Egypt. On the other hand, the interwar press reminds us of the efforts of local experts, such as Nikola Vulić and Luka Zrnić, to popularize and present modern archaeological research to the wider audience. This is why all of these diverse testimonies must be observed as a whole to better grasp the connection between science, the media and the public which, in the case of Tutankhamun’s tomb, lead to the creation of a public image within which scientific facts got inextricably mixed up with fantasy, thereby influencing not only the imagination of readers, but also numerous travelers and adventurers to set off for Egypt and directly encounter the legacy of Ancient Egypt.