Howard Carter House

Carter built the house in 1910 on the rise where the road to the Valley of the Kings turns off, a domed mud-brick building with a courtyard, and lived in it through the years of searching and through the 1922 season that found the tomb. It has been restored and furnished as it was, with his darkroom, study, bedroom and the dining room where he entertained Carnarvon, along with photographs, letters and equipment from the excavation. A separate modern building beside it houses a full-scale facsimile of the burial chamber of Tutankhamun, made by a specialist workshop from high-resolution scans and intended to take pressure off the fragile original, which is deteriorating from visitor humidity. Together they make a coherent hour before or after the Valley itself.

What you actually see

• Carter's domed house - restored and furnished as he kept it.
• The darkroom and study - where the excavation records were made.
• The Tutankhamun facsimile - a full-scale replica burial chamber next door.
• Excavation photographs - the record of the 1922 season.

When to go

October to April. One hour, best combined with the Valley of the Kings since it is on the same road. Mornings before the Valley, or afternoons after. It is quiet at all times.

Honest expectations

The house is small and the visit short. The facsimile is a replica, which some visitors resent paying for even though it exists to protect the original. Tickets are separate from the Valley. There is little shade outside.

Nearby

The Valley of the Kings is a short drive up the road; Deir el-Bahari lies south.