In the Valley of the Kings, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon broke through the final sealed doorway into the antechamber of Tutankhamun's tomb. Peering through a small gap with a candle, Carter saw treasures untouched since antiquity. The discovery became the most famous archaeological find of the 20th century, igniting a global craze for ancient Egypt.
Howard Carter had spent five frustrating seasons digging in the Valley of the Kings, funded by the wealthy Lord Carnarvon, who was ready to withdraw support after years of nothing but debris. Then, on November 4, 1922, workers found a step cut into the rock. By November 26, Carter and his team had cleared the stairway and stood before a sealed, plastered doorway bearing the necropolis seal.
Carter made a tiny breach in the upper left corner, inserted a candle to test for foul gases, and peered in. Behind him, Carnarvon asked anxiously, 'Can you see anything?' Carter's famous reply: 'Yes, wonderful things.' Inside lay gilded couches, chariots, alabaster vases, and thrones, all glinting in the candlelight, precisely as they had been left over three millennia earlier.
The find was so complete and undisturbed that it took nearly a decade to catalog. It sparked worldwide 'Tut-mania,' influencing fashion, architecture, and design. Carnarvon died within months, feeding rumors of a 'pharaoh's curse,' but the discovery permanently reshaped Egyptology and public fascination with the ancient world.
Key people: Howard Carter, Lord Carnarvon