text:
Hexen: Beyond Heretic

Hexen: Beyond Heretic is a fantasy first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by id Software distributed through GT Interactive on October 30, 1995. It is the indirect sequel to 1994's Heretic, and the second game in Raven Software's "Serpent Riders" trilogy, which culminated with Hexen II. The title comes from the German noun Hexen, which means "witches", and/or the verb hexen, which means "to cast a spell". Game producer John Romero stated that a third, unreleased game in this series was to be called Hecatomb.

Hexen: Beyond Heretic met with highly positive reviews upon release, though the various 1997 console ports were negatively received because of problems with frame rate and controls and the aging of the game itself. Critical plaudits for the game centered on the non-linear level design and the selection of three playable characters, each offering a distinct gameplay experience.

Plot
Following the tale of D'Sparil's defeat in Heretic, Hexen takes place in another realm, Cronos, which is besieged by the second of the three Serpent Riders, Korax. Three heroes set out to destroy Korax. The player assumes the role of one such hero. Throughout the course of his quest, he travels through elemental dungeons, a wilderness region, a mountainside seminary, a large castle, and finally a necropolis, before the final showdown with the Serpent Rider.

Gameplay
A new series feature introduced in Hexen is the choice of three character classes. Players may choose to play as a fighter (Baratus), a cleric (Parias), or a mage (Daedolon). Each character has unique weapons and physical characteristics, lending an additional degree of variety and replay value to the game. The Fighter relies mainly on close-quarters physical attacks with weapons both mundane and magical in nature, and is tougher and faster than the other characters. The Mage uses an assortment of long-range spells, whose reach is counterbalanced by the fact that he is the most fragile and slowest moving of the classes. The Cleric arms himself with a combination of both melee and ranged capabilities, being a middle ground of sorts between the other two classes. Additionally, certain items, such as the flechette (poison gas bomb), behave differently when collected and used by each of the classes, functioning in a manner better suiting their varying approach to combat.

Hexen introduces "hub" levels to the series, wherein the player can travel back and forth between central hub levels and connected side levels. This is done in order to solve larger-scale puzzles that require a series of items or switches to be used. The player must traverse through a hub in order to advance to the next hub.

The inventory system returns from Heretic with several new items, such as the "Disc of Repulsion", which pushes enemies away from the player, and the "Icon of the Defender", which provides invincibility to each class in a different manner.

Development
Like Heretic, Hexen was developed on NeXTSTEP. Hexen uses a modified version of the Doom engine, which allows jumping, looking up and down, network play with up to eight players and the choice of three character classes. It also popularized the "hub system" of level progression in the genre of first-person shooter games. Unlike previous games, which had relied purely on General MIDI for music, Hexen is also able to play tracks from a CD. The game's own CD contained a soundtrack in an audio format that was exactly the same as the MIDI soundtrack, but played through a high-quality sound module. However, the most significant improvement was the addition of wall translation, rotation, and level scripting.

The Macintosh version of the game was developed by Presage Software.

Engine modifications
"Polyobjects" are the walls that move within the game. Because the Doom engine uses the binary space partitioning system for rendering, it does not enable moving walls. Hexen's moving walls are actually one-sided lines built somewhere else on the map and rendered at the desired start spot when the level is loaded. This enables a pseudo-moving wall, but does not allow moving sectors (such as seeing the tops of moving doors). This often creates problems in sectors containing more than one node, however, explaining the relatively limited use of polyobjects.

Whereas Doom, Doom II, and Heretic rely on lines within the maps to perform simple actions, Hexen also allows these actions to be activated by Action Code Script (ACS). These scripts use a syntactic variant of C, thus allowing special sequencing of game actions. Programming features such as randomization, variables, and intermap script activation enable smooth hub gameplay and are responsible for most of the special effects within the game: on-screen messages, random sound effects, monster spawning, sidedef texture changes, versatile control of polyobjects, level initialization for deathmatch, and even complex environment changes such as earthquakes manipulating floor textures and heights.

Source code
On January 11, 1999, the source code for Hexen was released by Raven Software under a license that granted rights to non-commercial use, and was re-released under the GNU GPL-2.0-only on September 4, 2008. This allowed the game to be ported to different platforms such as Linux, AmigaOS, and OS/2 (including eComStation and ArcaOS).

Hexen is compatible with many Doom source ports; Hexen's features are also compatible with Doom WADs made for source ports regardless of what game they are being played on.

Music
The score was composed by Kevin Schilder. In contrast to Heretic, some songs in Hexen, in addition to MIDI versions, had higher-quality versions on CD. When playing in CD-audio mode, songs absent from CD would be replaced by some existing CD tracks.

Console versions
Hexen was released for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64, all released and distributed by GT Interactive during the first half of 1997. While presenting several specific differences in their respective translations of the original PC game, all of them constitute essentially the same game with no major changes to level design, plot, or overall delivery.

The PlayStation version, developed by Probe Entertainment, has the FMV scenes and Red Book audio music from the PC CD-ROM version, but no multiplayer mode. The scripting and animation is slower, enemies have only their front sprites and lack gory deaths when attacked by strong hits or weapons, and the frame rate is slower. Although all levels are present in this version and feature their correct layouts, their architecture details are somewhat simplified and there is some loss in overall lighting quality. This port is based on a beta version of the original PC version of Hexen as many gameplay tweaks are shared, such as the simpler level design and the Fighter's weapons being weaker compared to other versions.

The Sega Saturn version, also developed by Probe, inherits most of the restrictions of the PlayStation version, such as the simplified scenery architecture and the downgraded lighting, although it does feature improvements in certain aspects. The scripting is faster, and the frame rate, while not fluid or consistent, is slightly better. The enemies still have all but their front sprites missing, but they retain their gory deaths when killed by a strong hit or weapon. This version also has hidden two-player link-up cooperative and deathmatch modes, accessible only through the unlockable cheat menu. While this port shares the FMV scenes and most of the Redbook audio music from the other CD-ROM versions, it also includes some new music tracks.

The Nintendo 64 version, developed by Software Creations, retains all of the graphical quality and scenery architecture, has a consistent frame rate, and includes high detail and smooth filtering. This version also has four-player split-screen cooperative and deathmatch modes, although they must be played in low detail mode. Due to cartridge storage limitations, the Nintendo 64 version is based on the original PC floppy version and lacks the FMV scenes and Redbook audio music introduced in the CD-ROM version, although it has new narrative introductions to the levels.

Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
Deathkings of the Dark Citadel is an official expansion pack that was released for Hexen on September 3, 1996. It features three more hubs with a total of 20 new single player levels and six new deathmatch levels. Unlike the Shadow of the Serpent Riders expansion pack for Heretic, it had to be purchased in retail stores or by mail order. This was unusual at the time, as most non-free expansion packs also included other new or revised gameplay elements. Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, unlike Shadow of the Serpent Riders, was not packaged with the original game, meaning that both had to be purchased separately, and the expansion would not work without already having Hexen. This expansion pack also did not initially include nor enable any music. Music could be fully enabled by applying a patch specially released to address this issue (usually found online under the name "dkpatch").

Each of the hubs (The Blight, The Constable's Gate, and The Nave) features one secret level, and new puzzles based on the quest items from the original game (no new quest artifacts were added). Any type of enemy may spawn on the map.

The final level of the expansion, the Dark Citadel itself, is an arena-like level, which features teleporting waves of monsters and three bosses (Fighter, Cleric, and Mage clones).

Reception
Heretic and Hexen shipped a combined total of roughly 1 million units to retailers by August 1997.

Reviewing the PC version, Maximum remarked that Hexen sets itself apart from other "3D slashers" with its selection of characters and novel approach to level design, which "leads to your character choosing their path rather than being guided around a rather linear series of rooms, proving that 3D games have matured". They also commented that the gameplay is consistently intense due to the difficulty of the enemies, the variety of weapons and power-ups, and the sheer size and breadth of the levels. They gave the game 5 out of 5 stars and their "Maximum Game of the Month" award. A reviewer for Next Generation opined that "Hexen takes everything that was good about Heretic, and makes it even better." He commented that the ability to choose between three different character classes gives the game replay value, something that had been missing from first-person shooters up until then, and though the graphics are blocky and pixelated, the "eerily lifelike" sound effects make up for it to a large extent. Like Maximum, he praised the non-linear level design and concluded the game to be a must-have for any first-person shooter fan. Chris Hudak, citing the differing abilities of the three playable characters, called Hexen "Slicker, smarter and more stylish than Doom---with all the killing and three times the replay value."

Computer Games Strategy Plus named Hexen the best "First-Person Action" title of 1995. It was also a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1995 "Action Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Crusader: No Remorse. The editors called it "another Doom bloodfest distinguished by its fantasy setting and the fact that it let you play as either a fighter, priest or mage, each with unique attributes and weapons".

The Saturn version was far less well received. A review in Next Generation of the Saturn version reasoned that, "Like oil and water, Doom-style games and console conversions don't mix well. Unless the programmers are willing to rewrite the graphics engine from scratch, PC ports suffer from getting cramped into too little memory and neglecting the console's native 3D hardware." The reviewer recommended Saturn owners instead try PowerSlave or Ghen War, first-person shooters specifically designed for the console. Shawn Smith and Sushi-X of Electronic Gaming Monthly similarly said the game had not been converted well from PC. Others described the Saturn port as an exact conversion, and argued the problem was simply that Hexen was too old a game to be released for console in 1997 without any improvements. Though they disagreed on exact reasons, most critics agreed that the Saturn version suffers from pixelated graphics,   dramatic drops in frame rate,   and cumbersome controls. Scary Larry of GamePro gave it a mixed review, summarizing that "although it doesn't live up to PowerSlave's standards, it's still decent fun." John Broady of GameSpot gave a slightly more dismal assessment: "Despite these glaring deficiencies, Hexen nonetheless offers enough enhancements over the standard shooter to warrant a rental, especially for fans of role-playing games who thirst for real-time action. ... But for the rest, the Saturn version of Hexen is a classic game of too little and too late." Rich Leadbetter of Sega Saturn Magazine and James Price of Saturn Power defended the Saturn version, commenting that, although not outstanding, it is far superior to the Saturn version of Doom, which was released at roughly the same time. Price was particularly enthusiastic about the link cable-enabled multiplayer mode.

The Nintendo 64 version also left most critics unimpressed. The four-player mode was praised as an unprecedented feature in console first person shooters,   but the graphics were considered unacceptably poor, particularly the frame rate    and the usage of the Nintendo 64's mip-mapping and anti-aliasing in a way which actually worsened the visuals of the game. As with the Saturn version, some critics opined that Hexen was too dated by this time to be receiving a straightforward port. Joe Fielder of GameSpot additionally complained of a severe bug in the save feature. In a dissenting opinion, Scary Larry concluded that "Although not as polished as Turok or as fun and creepy as Doom 64, Hexen gives you three characters to choose from, and the action's addicting once you get into it." He gave it higher scores than the Saturn version in every category except sound. In contrast, Matt Casamassina of IGN called it "A shoddy port of a PC game that wasn't so great to begin with."

The PlayStation version was even more negatively received; critics universally panned the port for its poor frame rate, pixelated graphics, and sloppy platform-jumping controls.

Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide named Hexen the 1997 "Game that Should've Stayed on the PC", commenting that while the Nintendo 64 version was the best of the console ports, all three were poor conversions, and Hexen was too old by the time they were released.

title: Hexen: Beyond Heretic


text:
Hexen II

Hexen II is a dark fantasy first-person shooter (FPS) video game developed by Raven Software and published by id Software in 1997. It is the third game in the Hexen/Heretic series, and the last in the Serpent Riders trilogy. Using a modified Quake engine, it features single-player and multiplayer game modes, as well as four character classes to choose from, each with different abilities. These include the "offensive" Paladin, the "defensive" Crusader, the spell-casting Necromancer, and the stealthy Assassin.

Improvements from Hexen: Beyond Heretic and Quake include destructible environments, mounted weapons, and unique level up abilities. Like its predecessor, Hexen II also uses a hub system. These hubs are a number of interconnected levels; changes made in one level have effects in another. Furthermore, the Tome of Power artifact makes a return from Heretic.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Hexen II is very similar to that of the original Hexen. Instead of three classes, Hexen II features four: Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer, each with their own unique weapons and play style.

Hexen II also adds certain role-playing video game elements to the mix. Each character has a series of statistics which increase as they gain experience. This then causes the player character to grow in power as his or her HP and mana increases.

Plot
Thyrion is a world that was enslaved by the Serpent Riders. The two previous games in the series documented the liberation of two other worlds, along with the death of their Serpent Rider overlords. Now, the oldest and most powerful of the three Serpent Rider brothers, Eidolon, must be defeated to free Thyrion. Eidolon is supported by his four generals, themselves a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To confront each general, the player has to travel to four different continents, each possessing a distinct theme (Medieval European for Blackmarsh, Mesoamerican for Mazaera, Ancient Egyptian for Thysis, and Greco-Roman for Septimus). Then, finally, the player returns to Blackmarsh in order to confront Eidolon himself inside of his own dominion Cathedral.

Development
What was originally supposed to be the final game in a trilogy, the sequel to Hexen was originally titled Hecatomb but was abandoned after John Romero left id Software in 1996. Activision, the distributor at the time, pressured Raven Software to split development of Hecatomb into two different games, Hexen II and Heretic II. Activision felt that the previous entries in the series, Heretic and Hexen, were different enough from one another that they should treat them as separate entities going forward, instead of just one final game to complete a trilogy. Only a select few ideas of Romero's from Hecatomb would ultimately make their way into what became Hexen II and Heretic II.

Hexen II was based on an enhanced version of the Quake engine. Hexen II, by way of the Quake engine, uses OpenGL for 3D acceleration. However, due to the prevalence of 3dfx hardware at the time of release, the Windows version of the game installs an OpenGL ICD (opengl32.dll) designed specifically for 3dfx's hardware. This driver acts as a wrapper for the proprietary Glide API, and thus is only compatible with 3dfx hardware. Custom OpenGL drivers were also released by PowerVR and Rendition for running Hexen II with their respective (and also now defunct) products. Removal of the ICD allows the game to use the default OpenGL system library. Much of the music in this game is remixed versions of the soundtracks of Hexen and Heretic to match the hub themes.

Activision acquired the rights to publish versions of the game for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Neither port was released.

Hexen II was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007.

Siege
A modification titled Siege was created and released by Raven Software in 1998 using updated QuakeWorld architecture, aptly dubbed "HexenWorld". The production concept was to eliminate a normal deathmatch environment in favor of a teamplay castle siege. The basic premise was to divide the players into two teams—attackers and defenders—with each side either assaulting or protecting the castle respectively. At the end of the time limit, whichever team controlled the crown was declared victorious. The mod featured appropriate objects used in the single-player portion of the game, namely catapults and ballistae. The classes were drastically altered with new weapons and abilities, reflecting the departure from the normal deathmatch experience presented in HexenWorld.

Source release
Following the tradition from Heretic and Hexen, Raven released the source code of the Hexen II engine on November 10, 2000. This time the source was released under the GNU GPL-2.0-only, allowing source ports to be made to different platforms like Linux and the Dreamcast.

Portal of Praevus
An expansion pack called Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus was released on April 1, 1998. It features new levels, new enemies and a new playable character class, The Demoness. It focuses on the attempted resurrection of the three Serpent Riders by the evil wizard Praevus, and takes place in a fifth continent, Tulku, featuring a Sino-Tibetan setting. Unlike the original game, the expansion was not published by id Software, and as such is not currently available via digital re-releases.

The expansion features new quest items, new enemies, and new weapons for the Demoness. She is the only player class to have a ranged starting weapon (similar to the Mage class in the original Hexen), whereas all other characters start with melee weapons. It also introduced minor enhancements to the game engine, mostly related to user interface, level scripts, particle effects (rain or snow), and 3D objects. Portal of Praevus also features a secret (easter egg) skill level, with respawning monsters. The only released patch for the expansion added respawning of certain items (such as health and ammo) in Nightmare mode, so that it would be slightly easier for playing.

Reception
Upon its release, Hexen II received mixed to positive reviews. Edge praised the game for being different from other Quake engine-based games, highlighting its inventive and interactive levels, enemy variety, and artificial intelligence. The magazine also credited the game's diversity of weapons and spells for offering different combat strategies. GameSpot summarized, "Hexen II is a game with many strengths - its design is superior to the original Hexen, it has a significant payoff for single players winding through its twisted corridors, and visually it is without equal in the action genre. But the game's attempt to break from the standard first-person shooter mold has some nasty side effects, and the end result is a confusing and often frustratingly difficult experience." The reviewer elaborated that while the lush, detailed environments and astoundingly animated bosses make Hexen II "one of the most beautiful games ever made", the actions needed to progress are so obscure that they are comparable to what is required to find optional secret areas in most games, forcing the player to undertake frustrating, exhaustive searches of the game's environments. GamePro praised the high speed of the multiplayer sessions, the selection of character classes, and the high detail present when graphical acceleration is used. They concluded, "For replay value and sheer fun, Hexen II is going to be hard to beat; you could spend days playing through all four characters in single-player mode without even entering multiplayer battles."

According to Erik Bethke, Hexen II was commercially unsuccessful, with sales slightly above 30,000 units.

Reviews

 * Backstab #6

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Hexen II


text:
Heretic II

Heretic II is a dark fantasy action-adventure game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in November 1998 continuing the story of Corvus, the main character from its predecessor, Heretic. It is the fourth game in the Hexen: Beyond Heretic series and comes after the "Serpent Rider" trilogy. Although Id Software owns the publishing rights to the previous titles, Heretic 2 is owned by Activision since they own Raven Software and its IPs.

Using a modified Quake II engine, the game features a mix of a third-person camera with a first-person shooter's action, making for a new gaming experience at the time. While progressive, this was a controversial design decision among fans of the original game, a well-known first-person shooter built on the Doom engine. The music was composed by Kevin Schilder. Gerald Brom contributed conceptual work to characters and creatures for the game. This is the only Heretic/Hexen video game that is unrelated to id Software, apart from its role as engine licenser.

Heretic II was later ported to Linux by Loki Software, to the Amiga by Hyperion Entertainment, and Macintosh by MacPlay.

Plot
After Corvus returns from his banishment, he finds that a mysterious plague has swept the land of Parthoris, taking the sanity of those it does not kill. Corvus, the protagonist of the first game, is forced to flee his hometown of Silverspring after the infected attack him, but not before he is infected himself. The effects of the disease are held at bay in Corvus’ case because he holds one of the Tomes of Power, but he still must find a cure before he succumbs.

His quest leads him through the city and swamps to a jungle palace, then through a desert canyon and insect hive, followed by a dark network of mines and finally to a castle on a high mountain where he finds an ancient Seraph named Morcalavin. Morcalavin is trying to reach immortality using the seven Tomes of Power, but he uses a false tome, as Corvus has one of them. This has caused Morcalavin to go insane and create the plague. During a battle between Corvus and Morcalavin, Corvus switches the false tome for his real one, curing Morcalavin's insanity and ending the plague.

Gameplay
Unlike previous games in the Heretic/Hexen series, which were first-person shooters, players control Corvus from a camera fixed behind him in the third-person perspective. Players are able to use a combination of both melee and ranged attacks, similar to its predecessor. While there are still three weapons the player can collect that each use their own ammo, they also have the ability to use several offensive and defensive spells that draw from pools of green and blue mana, respectively. The Tome of Power is no longer an item scattered around the levels, but a defensive spell that still works in the same manner as the other games in the series by improving damage and granting weapons and offensive spells new abilities for a limited time. Melee combat is also more varied, with the ability to perform several attacks using Corvus' bladestaff and cut off the limbs of enemies, rendering them harmless. Players are also able to utilize magical shrines throughout the game that grant a variety of effects upon use, such as silver or gold armor, a temporary boost in health, a permanent enhancement to the bladestaff, etc.

The game consists of a wide variety of high fantasy medieval backdrops to Corvus's adventure. The third-person perspective and three-dimensional game environment allowed developers to introduce a wide variety of gymnastic moves, like climbing up ledges, back-flipping off walls, and pole vaulting, in a much more dynamic environment than the original game's engine could produce. Both games invite comparison with their respective game engine namesake: the original Heretic was built on the Doom engine, and Heretic II was built using the Quake II engine, later known as id Tech 2. Heretic II was favorably received at release because it took a different approach to its design.

Development
The game was in development since November 1997 by a team of 20 people. Inspired by the Tomb Raider series, Raven Software decided to make use of the Quake II engine to create a third-person action game. A major step in the early development was Gerald Brom's concept art. In a month, the company had programmed the game's camera system. After Activision's approval of the game's demo, Raven Software aimed to get the full game finished by Christmas (it would release just prior to that Thanksgiving). To add to complications, they needed a software renderer to make the game playable to 16-bit users (especially in Europe).

For the animation, the main character Corvus was provided with a backbone for realism and had a total of 1600 frames. Most of the animations were done using Softimage. The static world objects and simplified animations were done with 3D Studio Max. The engine was capable of showing up to 4,000 polygons on screen.

Following ZeniMax Media's acquisition of id Software in 2009, the rights to the series have been disputed between both id and Raven Software; Raven holds the development rights, while id holds the publishing rights to Heretic II's predecessors.

Reception
Heretic II was a commercial flop. According to PC Data, its sales in the United States totaled 28,994 units by April 1999. Activision's Steve Felsen blamed this performance on the game's design: he noted that "fans of first-person shooters—the target audience for this game—stayed away due to the third-person perspective".

Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Heretic II has a lot going for it. It easily earns it space on the shelf with the heavy hitters this season, but it also serves as a reminder to all that every aspect of game design needs to be pushed if you want your project to truly stand out".

Edge praised the game for its mixture of platform and shoot 'em up action, saying that Heretic II is different enough to stand out from both first-person and third-person games like id Software's first-person shooters or Core Design's Tomb Raider games. Heretic II was a finalist for Computer Gaming World's 1998 "Best Action" award, which ultimately went to Battlezone. The editors wrote that Heretic II "proved that the Quake II engine could work in a third-person game and that a spell-casting, shirtless elf could actually kick ass".

title: Heretic II


text:
Household hardware

Household hardware (or simply, hardware) is equipment that can be touched or held by hand such as keys, locks, nuts, screws, washers, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, belts, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores.

title: Household hardware


text:
Howard Carter

Howard Carter (9 May 1874 – 2 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who discovered the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun in November 1922, the best-preserved pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings.

Early life
Howard Carter was born in Kensington on 9 May 1874, the youngest child (of eleven) of artist and illustrator Samuel John Carter and Martha Joyce Carter (Sands). His father helped train and develop his artistic talents.

Carter spent much of his childhood with relatives in the Norfolk market town of Swaffham, the birthplace of both his parents. His father had previously relocated to London, but after three of the children had died young, Carter, who was a sickly child, was moved to Norfolk and raised for the most part by a nurse in Swaffham.

Receiving only limited formal education at Swaffham, he showed talent as an artist. The nearby mansion of the Amherst family, Didlington Hall, contained a sizable collection of Egyptian antiques, which sparked Carter's interest in that subject. Lady Amherst was impressed by his artistic skills, and in 1891 she prompted the Egypt Exploration Fund (EEF) to send Carter to assist an Amherst family friend, Percy Newberry, in the excavation and recording of Middle Kingdom tombs at Beni Hasan.

Although only 17, Carter was innovative in improving the methods of copying tomb decoration. In 1892, he worked under the tutelage of Flinders Petrie for one season at Amarna, the capital founded by the pharaoh Akhenaten. From 1894 to 1899, he worked with Édouard Naville at Deir el-Bahari, where he recorded the wall reliefs in the temple of Hatshepsut.

In 1899, Carter was appointed Inspector of Monuments for Upper Egypt in the Egyptian Antiquities Service (EAS). Based at Luxor, he oversaw a number of excavations and restorations at nearby Thebes, while in the Valley of the Kings he supervised the systematic exploration of the valley by the American archaeologist Theodore Davis.

In the early 1902, Carter began searching the Valley of the Kings on his own. He initially aimed at the southeast rocky wall of the valley basin. Despite being an inaccessible area, within 3 days he found what he was looking for: stone steps, sepulchral entrance, corridor, sarcophagus chamber, in short, the last home of the fourth Thutmose, carefully stripped (except for a few furnishings and a cart). While digging to find Thutmose IV's final resting place, Howard unearthed an alabaster cup and a small blue scarab with Queen Hatshepsut's name on it.

On February 1903, sixty meters north of the tomb of Thutmose IV, Carter found a stone bearing the ring with the name of Hatshepsut.

In 1904, after a dispute with local people over tomb thefts, he was transferred to the Inspectorate of Lower Egypt. Carter was praised for his improvements in the protection of, and accessibility to, existing excavation sites, and his development of a grid-block system for searching for tombs. The Antiquities Service also provided funding for Carter to head his own excavation projects.

Carter resigned from the Antiquities Service in 1905 after a formal inquiry into what became known as the Saqqara Affair, a violent confrontation that took place on January 8, 1905. between Egyptian site guards and a group of French tourists. Carter sided with the Egyptian personnel, refusing to apologise when the French authorities made an official complaint. Moving back to Luxor, Carter was without formal employment for nearly three years. He made a living by painting and selling watercolours to tourists and, in 1906, acting as a freelance draughtsman for Theodore Davis.

Tutankhamun's tomb
In 1907, he began work for Lord Carnarvon, who employed him to supervise the excavation of nobles' tombs in Deir el-Bahari, near Thebes. Gaston Maspero, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, had recommended Carter to Carnarvon as he knew he would apply modern archaeological methods and systems of recording. Carter soon developed a good working relationship with his patron, with Lady Burghclere, Carnarvon's sister, observing that "for the next sixteen years the two men worked together with varying fortune, yet ever united not more by their common aim than by their mutual regard and affection".

In 1914, Lord Carnarvon received the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings. Carter led the work, undertaking a systematic search for any tombs missed by previous expeditions, in particular that of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. However, excavations were soon interrupted by the First World War, Carter spending the war years working for the British Government as a diplomatic courier and translator. He enthusiastically resumed his excavation work towards the end of 1917.

By 1922, Lord Carnarvon had become dissatisfied with the lack of results after several years of finding little. After considering withdrawing his funding, Carnarvon agreed, after a discussion with Carter, that he would fund one more season of work in the Valley of the Kings.

Carter returned to the Valley of Kings, and investigated a line of huts that he had abandoned a few seasons earlier. The crew cleared the huts and rock debris beneath. On 4 November 1922, a worker uncovered a step in the rock. According to Carter's published account the workmen discovered the step while digging beneath the remains of the huts; other accounts attribute the discovery to a boy digging outside the assigned work area. Carter had the steps partially dug out until the top of a mud-plastered doorway was found. The doorway was stamped with indistinct cartouches (oval seals with hieroglyphic writing). Carter ordered the staircase to be refilled, and sent a telegram to Carnarvon, who arrived from England two and a half weeks later on 23 November, accompanied by his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert.

On 24 November 1922, the full extent of the stairway was cleared and a seal containing Tutankhamun's cartouche found on the outer doorway. This door was removed and the rubble-filled corridor behind cleared, revealing the door of the tomb itself. On 26 November, Carter, with Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn and assistant Arthur Callender in attendance, made a "tiny breach in the top left-hand corner" of the doorway, using a chisel that his grandmother had given him for his 17th birthday. He was able to peer in by the light of a candle and see that many of the gold and ebony treasures were still in place. He did not yet know whether it was "a tomb or merely an old cache", but he did see a promising sealed doorway between two sentinel statues. Carnarvon asked, "Can you see anything?" Carter replied: "Yes, wonderful things!" Carter had, in fact, discovered Tutankhamun's tomb (subsequently designated KV62). The tomb was then secured, to be entered in the presence of an official of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities the next day. However that night, Carter, Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn and Callender apparently made an unauthorised visit, becoming the first people in modern times to enter the tomb. Some sources suggest that the group also entered the inner burial chamber. In this account, a small hole was found in the chamber's sealed doorway and Carter, Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn crawled through.

The next morning, 27 November, saw an inspection of the tomb in the presence of an Egyptian official. Callender rigged up electric lighting, illuminating a vast haul of items, including gilded couches, chests, thrones, and shrines. They also saw evidence of two further chambers, including the sealed doorway to the inner burial chamber, guarded by two life-size statues of Tutankhamun. In spite of evidence of break-ins in ancient times, the tomb was virtually intact, and would ultimately be found to contain over 5,000 items.

On 29 November the tomb was officially opened in the presence of a number of invited dignitaries and Egyptian officials.

Realising the size and scope of the task ahead, Carter sought help from Albert Lythgoe of the Metropolitan Museum's excavation team, working nearby, who readily agreed to lend a number of his staff, including Arthur Mace and archaeological photographer Harry Burton, while the Egyptian government loaned analytical chemist Alfred Lucas. The next several months were spent cataloguing and conserving the contents of the antechamber under the "often stressful" supervision of Pierre Lacau, director general of the Department of Antiquities. On 16 February 1923, Carter opened the sealed doorway and confirmed it led to a burial chamber, containing the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. The tomb was considered the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings, and the discovery was eagerly covered by the world's press. However, much to the annoyance of other newspapers, Lord Carnarvon sold exclusive reporting rights to The Times. Only Arthur Merton of that paper was allowed on the scene, and his vivid descriptions helped to establish Carter's reputation with the British public.

Towards the end of February 1923, a rift between Lord Carnarvon and Carter, probably caused by a disagreement on how to manage the supervising Egyptian authorities, temporarily halted the excavation. Work recommenced in early March after Lord Carnarvon apologised to Carter. Later that month Lord Carnarvon contracted blood poisoning while staying in Luxor near the tomb site. He died in Cairo on 5 April 1923. Lady Carnarvon retained her late husband's concession in the Valley of the Kings, allowing Carter to continue his work.

Carter's meticulous assessing and cataloguing of the thousands of objects in the tomb took nearly ten years, most being moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. There were several breaks in the work, including one lasting nearly a year in 1924–25, caused by a dispute over what Carter saw as excessive control of the excavation by the Egyptian Antiquities Service. The Egyptian authorities eventually agreed that Carter should complete the tomb's clearance. This continued until 1929, with some final work lasting until February 1932.

Despite the significance of his archaeological find, Carter received no honour from the British government. However, in 1926, he received the Order of the Nile, third class, from King Fuad I of Egypt. He was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Yale University and honorary membership in the Real Academia de la Historia of Madrid, Spain.

Carter wrote a number of books on Egyptology during his career, including Five Years' Exploration at Thebes, co-written with Lord Carnarvon in 1912, describing their early excavations, and a three-volume popular account of the discovery and excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb. He also delivered a series of illustrated lectures on the excavation, including a 1924 tour of Britain, France, Spain and the United States. Those in New York and other US cities were attended by large and enthusiastic audiences, sparking American Egyptomania, with President Coolidge requesting a private lecture.

In 2022, a 1934 letter to Carter from Alan Gardiner came to light, accusing him of stealing from Tutankhamun's tomb. Carter had given Gardiner an amulet and assured him it had not come from the tomb, but Reginald Engelbach, director of the Egyptian Museum, later confirmed its match with other samples originating in the tomb. Egyptologist Bob Brier said the letter proved previous rumours, and the contemporary suspicions of Egyptian authorities, that Carter had been siphoning treasures for himself.

Personal life
Carter could be awkward in company, particularly with those of a higher social standing. Often abrasive, he admitted to having a hot temper, which often aggravated disputes, including the 1905 Saqqara Affair and the 1924–25 dispute with Egyptian authorities.

The suggestion that Carter had an affair with Lady Evelyn Herbert, the daughter of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, was later rejected by Lady Evelyn herself, who told her daughter Patricia that "at first I was in awe of him, later I was rather frightened of him", resenting Carter's "determination" to come between her and her father. More recently, the 8th Earl dismissed the idea, describing Carter as a "stoical loner". Harold Plenderleith, a former associate of Carter's at the British Museum, was quoted as saying that he knew "something about Carter that was not fit to disclose", which some have interpreted as meaning that Plenderleith believed that Carter was homosexual. An Egyptian guide who knew Carter claimed that his tastes extended to "both boys and the occasional 'dancing girl'" There is, however, no evidence that Carter enjoyed any close relationships throughout his life, and he never married nor had children.

Later life
After the clearance of the tomb had been completed in 1932 Carter retired from excavation work. He continued to live in his house near Luxor in winter and retained a flat in London but, as interest in Tutankhamun declined, he lived a fairly isolated existence with few close friends.

He had acted as a part-time dealer for both collectors and museums for a number of years. He continued in this role, including acting for the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Death
Carter died from Hodgkin's disease aged 64 at his London flat at 49 Albert Court, next to the Royal Albert Hall, on 2 March 1939. He was buried in Putney Vale Cemetery in London on 6 March, nine people attending his funeral.

His love for Egypt remained strong; the epitaph on his gravestone reads: "May your spirit live, may you spend millions of years, you who love Thebes, sitting with your face to the north wind, your eyes beholding happiness", a quotation taken from the Wishing Cup of Tutankhamun, and "O night, spread thy wings over me as the imperishable stars".

Probate was granted on 5 July 1939 to Egyptologist Henry Burton and to publisher Bruce Sterling Ingram. Carter is described as Howard Carter of Luxor, Upper Egypt, Africa, and of 49 Albert Court, Kensington Grove, Kensington, London. His estate was valued at £2,002. The second grant of Probate was issued in Cairo on 1 September 1939. In his role as executor, Burton identified at least 18 items in Carter's antiquities collection that had been taken from Tutankhamun's tomb without authorisation. As this was a sensitive matter that could affect Anglo-Egyptian relations, Burton sought wider advice, finally recommending that the items be discreetly presented or sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with most eventually going either there or to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The Metropolitan Museum items were later returned to Egypt.

Selected publications

 * The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen (1923) (written together with A. C. Mace)
 * The Tomb of Tutankhamun: Volume I – Search, Discovery and Clearance of the Antechamber (1923) (written together with A. C. Mace)
 * The Tomb of Tutankhamun: Volume II – Burial Chamber & Mummy (1927)
 * The Tomb of Tutankhamun: Volume III – Treasury & Annex (1933)

In popular culture
Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb revived popular interest in Ancient Egypt – 'Egyptomania' – and created "Tutmania", which influenced popular song and fashion. Carter used this heightened interest to promote his books on the discovery and his lecture tours in Britain, America and Europe. While interest had waned by the mid-1930s, from the early 1970s touring exhibitions of the tomb's artefacts led to a sustained rise in popularity. This has been reflected in TV dramas, films and books, with Carter's quest and discovery of the tomb portrayed with varying levels of accuracy.

One common element in popular representations of the excavation is the idea of a 'curse'. Carter consistently dismissed the suggestion as 'tommy-rot', commenting that "the sentiment of the Egyptologist ... is not one of fear, but of respect and awe ... entirely opposed to foolish superstitions".

Dramas
Carter has been portrayed or referred to in many film, television and radio productions:
 * In the BBC Radio play The Tomb of Tutankhamen, written by Leonard Cottrell and first broadcast in 1949, he is voiced by Jack Hawkins.
 * In the Columbia Pictures Television film The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (1980), he is portrayed by Robin Ellis.
 * In the 1981 film Sphinx, he is portrayed by Mark Kingston.
 * In George Lucas's TV films Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal (1992) and Young Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye (1995), he is portrayed by Pip Torrens.
 * In the IMAX documentary Mysteries of Egypt (1998), he is portrayed by Timothy Davies.
 * In the made-for-TV film The Tutankhamun Conspiracy (2001), he is portrayed by Giles Watling.
 * In an episode of 2005 BBC docudrama Egypt, he is portrayed by Stuart Graham.
 * He was portrayed in the 2008 Big Finish Radio Drama Forty-five, a title in the Doctor Who range, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.
 * As the main character in 2016 ITV miniseries Tutankhamun, portrayed by Max Irons.

Literature

 * He is referenced in Hergé's volume 13 of The Adventures of Tintin: The Seven Crystal Balls (1948).
 * He is parodied in the 1979 book Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay, with a character in the book named Howard Carson.
 * He is a key character in Christian Jacq's 1992 book The Tutankhamun Affair.
 * James Patterson and Martin Dugard's 2010 book The Murder of King Tut focuses on Carter's search for King Tut's tomb.
 * He appears as a main character in Muhammad Al-Mansi Qindeel's 2010 novel A Cloudy Day on the West Side.
 * In Laura Lee Guhrke's 2011 historical romance novel Wedding of the Season, Carter's telegram to the fictional British Egyptologist, the Duke of Sunderland, reports discovering "steps to a new tomb" and creates a climactic conflict.
 * He is referenced in Sally Beauman's 2014 novel The Visitors, a re-creation of the hunt for Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
 * He is a main character in Philipp Vandenberg's 2001 German-language book Der König von Luxor (The King Of Luxor).
 * He is a recurring figure in the 1975–2010 Amelia Peabody series, written by Barbara Mertz under the pseudonym Elizabeth Peters. He appears in many of the books, and numbers among the Emersons' circle of friends. In The Ape Who Guards the Balance, for example, he joins them for Christmas dinner shortly after his loss of work for Theodore Davis and his resignation related to the Saqqara Affair, mentioned above.
 * Emma Carroll's 2018 novel Secrets of a Sun King depicts Carter as the primary antagonist in a fictional retelling of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. A group of children, in possession of a mysterious jar, seek to return it to its original resting place following a series of troubling consequences.

Other

 * A paraphrased extract from Carter's diary of 26 November 1922 is used as the plaintext for Part 3 of the encrypted Kryptos sculpture at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
 * On 9 May 2012, Google commemorated Carter's 138th birthday with a Google doodle.
 * In 2019, the great-niece of Howard Carter opened a bistro in the town of Swaffham, the town in which Carter spent most of his childhood. The bistro has a collection of Egyptian artefacts and a collection of Carters work, it also bears the name of Carter's discovery, Tutankhamun.

Sources and further reading

 * Paine, Michael. Cities of the Dead; fiction (Howard Carter as narrator); copyright by John Curlovich; Charter Books Publishing, 1988 (ISBN 1-55773-009-1)
 * Peck, William H. The Discoverer of the Tomb of Tutankhamun and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities. Vol. XI, No. 2, March 1981, pp. 65–67
 * Vandenberg, Philipp. Der vergessene Pharao: Unternehmen Tut-ench-Amun, grösste Abenteuer der Archäologie. Orbis, 1978 (ISBN 3570031195); translated as The Forgotten Pharaoh: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980 (ISBN 0340246642)
 * Paine, Michael. Cities of the Dead; fiction (Howard Carter as narrator); copyright by John Curlovich; Charter Books Publishing, 1988 (ISBN 1-55773-009-1)
 * Peck, William H. The Discoverer of the Tomb of Tutankhamun and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities. Vol. XI, No. 2, March 1981, pp. 65–67
 * Vandenberg, Philipp. Der vergessene Pharao: Unternehmen Tut-ench-Amun, grösste Abenteuer der Archäologie. Orbis, 1978 (ISBN 3570031195); translated as The Forgotten Pharaoh: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980 (ISBN 0340246642)
 * Paine, Michael. Cities of the Dead; fiction (Howard Carter as narrator); copyright by John Curlovich; Charter Books Publishing, 1988 (ISBN 1-55773-009-1)
 * Peck, William H. The Discoverer of the Tomb of Tutankhamun and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities. Vol. XI, No. 2, March 1981, pp. 65–67
 * Vandenberg, Philipp. Der vergessene Pharao: Unternehmen Tut-ench-Amun, grösste Abenteuer der Archäologie. Orbis, 1978 (ISBN 3570031195); translated as The Forgotten Pharaoh: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980 (ISBN 0340246642)
 * Paine, Michael. Cities of the Dead; fiction (Howard Carter as narrator); copyright by John Curlovich; Charter Books Publishing, 1988 (ISBN 1-55773-009-1)
 * Peck, William H. The Discoverer of the Tomb of Tutankhamun and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities. Vol. XI, No. 2, March 1981, pp. 65–67
 * Vandenberg, Philipp. Der vergessene Pharao: Unternehmen Tut-ench-Amun, grösste Abenteuer der Archäologie. Orbis, 1978 (ISBN 3570031195); translated as The Forgotten Pharaoh: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980 (ISBN 0340246642)
 * Vandenberg, Philipp. Der vergessene Pharao: Unternehmen Tut-ench-Amun, grösste Abenteuer der Archäologie. Orbis, 1978 (ISBN 3570031195); translated as The Forgotten Pharaoh: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980 (ISBN 0340246642)
 * Vandenberg, Philipp. Der vergessene Pharao: Unternehmen Tut-ench-Amun, grösste Abenteuer der Archäologie. Orbis, 1978 (ISBN 3570031195); translated as The Forgotten Pharaoh: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980 (ISBN 0340246642)
 * Vandenberg, Philipp. Der vergessene Pharao: Unternehmen Tut-ench-Amun, grösste Abenteuer der Archäologie. Orbis, 1978 (ISBN 3570031195); translated as The Forgotten Pharaoh: The Discovery of Tutankhamun. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980 (ISBN 0340246642)

title: Howard Carter