You met Tutankhamun, the Boy King, the boy king. For more than 3,000 years, his tomb lay hidden. Then, in 1922, an English archaeologist named Howard Carter found it.
Key idea
In 1922, Howard Carter found the steps to Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. It was nearly untouched and full of treasures.
Why it works
Carter had searched the Valley for years, paid for by an English lord, Lord Carnarvon. On 4 November 1922, his team uncovered a step cut into the rock, then a staircase, then a sealed door. Peering in by candlelight, Carter was asked if he could see anything. "Yes, wonderful things," he answered. The tomb held golden shrines, furniture, chariots, jewelry and the famous gold mask.
Worked example: Why so slow?
The tomb held more than five thousand objects. It took Carter's team about ten years to empty it. Why so long?
- Every object had to be photographed and drawn exactly where it lay.
- Fragile things had to be made safe before they could be moved.
Answer: Because they carefully recorded and protected every object before moving it.
Common mistake
Believing in a "curse" on the tomb. When Lord Carnarvon died of an infection in 1923, newspapers made up the curse story. But most of the people who entered the tomb lived long lives; Carter himself lived until 1939. There was no curse.