Tutankhamun

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I went to the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum last week. I always love to see artifacts up close. Tutankhamun is from the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, the same as Prince Ramose, the main character from my Ramose books. In fact, Ramose was Tutankhamun’s great-great-great-great uncle.

Even though I’ve written five books set in ancient Egypt, I’ve never been to Egypt, so it is only through exhibitions like this that I get to actually see those wonderful things that have survived for around 3,500 years. In the exhibition there is a statue of Ramose’s father Tuthmosis I. My favourite pieces were the lovely jewellery with scarab beetles and the wooden statue of a panther.

I saw the Treasures of  Tutankhamun Exhibition in London back in 1972. I think that was the first time Tutankhamun artifacts had travelled overseas, and the gold mask of Tutankhamun was part of the exhibition. The mask is no longer allowed to leave Egypt, so I’m very glad I saw it back then.

I still have the catalogue from that 1972 exhibition, and it was the pictures of the scarabs and the lion-footed chair that inspired parts of the Ramose stories.

11 responses to “Tutankhamun”

  1. Did you enjoy writing stories as a child?
    When you were a child what did you want to be besides a writer?
    What inspired you to be a writer? 😀
    What other exhibitons have u been 2?? 🙂
    have you been anywhere else that has inspired you to write a book??
    How many more books are you going to write :p ??
    Are you writing a book at the moment and what?
    Did you base dragon keeper on an exhibition or did you actually travel to China?
    When u travelled to China were there any massive ceremonies?? :/ 🙂
    What other books did u write based on a exhibition???? 😀

  2. Debbie,
    That’s a lot of questions for one comment!
    Did you enjoy writing stories as a child?
    I didn’t write stories when I was a child.
    When you were a child what did you want to be besides a writer?
    I didn’t want to be a writer. I was a laboratory technician when I left school
    What inspired you to be a writer?
    No idea. I just decided I wanted to give it a try.
    What other exhibitons have u been 2??
    Lots
    have you been anywhere else that has inspired you to write a book??
    See FAQ 1
    http://www.carolewilkinson.com.au/faqs/
    How many more books are you going to write :p ??
    I cannot see into the future.
    Are you writing a book at the moment and what?
    See blog post called What I’m Writing Now.
    http://www.carolewilkinson.com.au/news/2011/03/17/what-im-writing-now/
    Did you base dragon keeper on an exhibition or did you actually travel to China?
    See FAQ 2
    When u travelled to China were there any massive ceremonies?? :/
    No.
    What other books did u write based on a exhibition????
    I didn’t write Ramose based on an exhibition. Some of the items in the exhibition helped contribute story ideas to the book. It was the same with Dragonkeeper.

  4. i really liked reading your book our class has only just started reading your book

  7. Dear Carole,

    What inspired you to become an author?
    How do ideas come to you when you write a new book?
    What is your favourite book you have ever written?
    How long have you written books for?
    How many books have youHave you always wanted to be an author?

  9. Olivia,
    In answer to your other questions:
    I don’t think anything inspired me to be a writer. It was just something I wanted to do.
    I have to think hard to get new ideas. I write lists of things I might include in a book and then pick the best. It often takes months, sometimes years of thinking before I know the whole story and start writing.
    I have written 17 books, which you can see by clicking on Books in the menu on this page. I have also written about 25 school readers.
    I have been writing for 15 or so years. I did not always want to be a writer. See my About page on this website.

  10. HI again,

    I went to that too! It was AMAZING! I have a secret interest in anciet egypt! I just found it so cool! My mum and I were stunned by how much things they found in that tomb, and also, That was very little to pack in a kings tomb in the time! I wonder how much other kings and queens had in there tomb! I was wondering, Are you making anymore Ramose books? And if you are, how long will it take?

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