Thursday 24 November 2022 10:08 PM The treasure trove revealed 100 years ago this week from King Tut's tomb trends now
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Patience is a virtue — but it must have been wearing thin at Highclere Castle in the summer of 1922 as Lord Carnarvon pondered whether to allow Howard Carter one last season of excavation work in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
He had already spent £5-6 million in today’s money, and was disappointed that his investment was showing such little return. But he rolled the dice one more time — and, 100 years ago this week, was rewarded with arguably the greatest ever archaeological discovery.
Carter and his team had been investigating a line of rocks in front of the tomb of Ramesses VI when a young water boy stumbled on a stone that turned out to be the top flight of covered stairs. After partially digging out the steps, they came across a doorway stamped with oval seals and hieroglyphics.
This was just the start of things to come. At that point, most of us would have dug out — or bashed down — the door to see what it was concealing, but Carter loyally deferred to his patron.
