Tutankhamun in Madeira. Reports in the Portuguese Insular Press (1922-1939)

Abstract

Between 2016 and 2023 we conducted a research project in the field of the studies of reception of Ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun in Portugal. Reports in the Portuguese Press (1922-1939), with the aim of identifying, gathering, classifying, and analyzing the news published in the Portuguese press about the discovery and excavation of the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun. For essentially logistical reasons, it was decided to limit the gathering to periodicals published in mainland Portugal. Once we had completed our investigation of the 234 news items we had compiled, we decided to carry out a similar process for the Madeiran press.
To this end, using the periodicals made available (online and offline) by the Arquivo e Biblioteca da Madeira, we consulted the newspapers published between 4 November 1922 (the date of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb) and mid-March 1939 (Howard Carter, the archaeologist responsible for the discovery, died on 2 March), with the purpose of finding out whether the press in Madeira, as on the mainland, followed and reported on this significant archaeological discovery. This led to the identification of more than 60 news items published in four different newspapers (Correio da Madeira; Diário da Madeira; Diário de Notícias; Jornal da Madeira). This data alone allows us to conclude that also the Madeiran press was attentive to this event and made a point of regularly reporting it to its readers.
Based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of these news items, the aim of this paper is to find out how the discovery of the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun was reported in Madeira, what types of news items were featured, what the most explored themes were and how they were approached, in order to understand how Madeira’s newspaper readers in the 1920s and 1930s were able to get in touch with Ancient Egypt through the figure of the pharaoh Tutankhamun and the discovery of his tomb.

Keywords: Reception of Ancient Egypt; Tutankhamun; Madeira; Press; Howard Carter; Lord Carnarvon.