num_pages: 363
description: Egypt The Valley of the Kings 1905: An American robber baron peers through the hole he has cut in an ancient tomb wall and discovers the richest trove of golden treasure ever seen in Egypt.At the start of the twentieth century Theodore Davis was the most famous archaeologist in the world; his career turned tomb-robbing and treasure-hunting into a science. Using six of Daviss most important discoveriesfrom the female Pharaoh Hatshepsuts sarcophagus to the exquisite shabti statuettes looted from the Egyptian Museum not too long agoas a lens around which to focus his quintessentially American rags-to-riches tale Adams chronicles the dizzying rise of a poor country preachers son who through corruption and fraud amassed tremendous wealth in Gilded Age New York and then atoned for his ruthless career by inventing new standards for systematic excavation. Davis found a record eighteen tombs in the Valley and breaking with custom gave all the spoils of his discoveries to museums. A confederate of Boss Tweed friend of Teddy Roosevelt and rival of J. P. Morgan the colorful American Lord Carnarvon shared his Newport mansion with his Rembrandts his wife and his mistress. The only reason Davis has been forgotten by history to a large extent is probably the fact that he stopped just short of King Tutankhamens tomb the discovery of which propelled Howard Carter (Daviss erstwhile employee) to worldwide fame just a few short years later.Drawing on rare and never-before-published archival material The Millionaire and the Mummies the first biography of Theodore Davis ever written rehabilitates a tarnished image through a thrilling tale of crime and adventure filled with larger-than-life characters unimaginable treasures and exotic settings.
language: English
title: The Millionaire and the Mummies: Theodore Davis's Gilded Age in Egypt
publisher: St. Martin's Press