Ernest Harold Jones

Ernest Harold Jones (7 March 1877 – 10 March 1911) was a British artist and excavator, who identified early clues to the location of Tutankhamun's tomb. He contracted tuberculosis and in 1904 he decided to go to Egypt to relieve his symptoms. He worked with archaeologist John Garstang, of Liverpool, from 1904–07 and then for Theodore M. Davis and Emma Andrews from 1907-11. He died of tuberculosis in Luxor, Egypt, in March 1911.

Early life and education Ernest Harold Jones was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire on 7 March 1877 to William Jones and Mary Anne Sprake, both of Welsh heritage. His father was the first Headmaster of the Barnsley School of Art and then returned to Wales as Head of the Carmarthen School of Art. Jones was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Carmarthen. By the time he was 18, he was teaching at the Carmarthen School of Art. Jones' paintings of artifacts, Egyptian landscapes, and some of the excavation staff were displayed.

Jones continued working for Garstang until 1907, but quickly grew tired of the isolation of the sites of Abydos and Beni Hasan. The American millionaires Theodore Davis and Emma Andrews offered him more money for less work in the bustling town of Luxor, and by February 1907, he was working for them. He wrote a number of letters home to his family, remarking on the friendships he made with the Davis and Andrews crew. He appreciated their friendship and care, and looked forward to many years of work with them.

Death In the 1910-11 season, he returned to Luxor to work with Davis and Andrews again. He had planned on writing a book about his experience and publishing more of his paintings. But his tuberculosis had become so bad he could hardly leave his bed. He died in Luxor on 10 March 1911. and he is buried in the Christian Cemetery in Luxor.

His portrait by Ernest H. D. Lloyd is held in the collection of the National Library of Wales. His painting A Carmarthenshire cornfield (1903) is held by Amgueddfa Cymru and Still Life: Chalice, Plate and Tankard by Carmarthenshire County Museum. The paintings were donated by his sister Annie, more formally known as Miss M. A. Sprake Jones, of Bryn Myrddin, Abergwili, who donated art and some of the egyptology items, (including items from the tomb of Queen Tiye) which he brought home to a number of Welsh museums.