Carter Opens Tutankhamun's Tomb: Ancient Treasures

Howard Carter pried open a sealed doorway in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on February 16, 1923, and peered into a burial chamber that had been untouched for 3,245 years. Inside sat the largest intact collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts ever discovered, including a nest of four gilded shrines surrounding the stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, who had died at approximately 19 years old around 1323 BC. The discovery made Carter the most famous archaeologist in the world and Tutankhamun the most recognized pharaoh in history. Carter had been searching the Valley of the Kings for years, funded by Lord Carnarvon, a wealthy English aristocrat. By 1922, Carnarvon was ready to stop financing what appeared to be a fruitless excavation. Carter persuaded him to fund one final season. On November 4, 1922, a water boy stumbled on a stone step buried in the sand. Twelve days of digging revealed a sealed doorway bearing Tutankhamun’s cartouche. Carter sent Carnarvon a now-famous telegram: "At last have made wonderful discovery in Valley." The tomb contained four chambers packed with over 5,000 objects: golden chariots, ceremonial weapons, furniture, clothing, food, wine, and jewelry. The burial chamber, opened on February 16 before a small audience of officials and dignitaries, held the stone sarcophagus containing three nested coffins. The innermost coffin was solid gold, weighing 110 kilograms, and held the mummy of the king wearing the iconic gold death mask that became the universal symbol of ancient Egypt. The discovery triggered a global sensation. "Egyptomania" swept the Western world, influencing art, architecture, fashion, and film. Lord Carnarvon died from an infected mosquito bite less than two months after the opening, spawning tabloid stories about the "Curse of the Pharaohs" that persist to this day. Carter spent the next decade cataloging the contents. A minor pharaoh who ruled for less than ten years and accomplished little of note became, through the accident of an intact tomb, the most famous king in the history of civilization.