SAEDNEWS: Inside this untouched tomb, discovered on November 26, 1922, an astonishing treasure trove of artifacts linked to Tutankhamun, the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, was uncovered. Tutankhamun had died at the age of 18 or 19, after a nine-year reign.
According to SaedNews History Service, on the afternoon of November 26, 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter and a team of Egyptian workers made one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in history. As they dug deeper into a stone tomb in the Valley of the Kings, they came across a door adorned with the seals of Egypt’s royal cemetery and Pharaoh Tutankhamun. They were on the verge of unveiling one of archaeology’s most remarkable finds.
Carter later wrote in his diary: “We anxiously cleared away the last bits of debris from the passageway in front of the door until only a clean, sealed door remained before us.” He removed a few loose stones from the top corner, then inserted an iron rod and a lit candle into the gap to confirm the space was empty and the air safe to breathe.
Peering Inside for the First Time
Carter was the first to look into the darkened room. He described the moment: “It took a while for my eyes to adjust, but once they did, the interior gradually revealed itself… a strange and wonderful array of extraordinary and beautiful objects piled atop one another.”
In the southwest corner of the antechamber, separated chariots rested on the left, while furniture lined the right.
George Herbert Carnarvon, Carter’s wealthy sponsor standing behind him, asked if he could see anything. Breathing with anticipation, Carter replied: “Yes, wonderful things!”
Carnarvon, Carter, and the others held their candlelight over the opening, gazing into the room in awe.
Author Joe Marchant, in his 2022 Smithsonian article “Shadow King: The Strange Afterlife of King Tut’s Mummy”, wrote: “What they saw was, without a doubt, the most astonishing archaeological discovery of all time.”
A Pharaoh’s Forgotten Treasures
Inside the tomb lay a treasure trove belonging to Tutankhamun, a largely forgotten Pharaoh of Egypt’s New Kingdom (circa 1550–1070 BCE). Unlike many other tombs in the Valley of the Kings, his remained mostly intact.
Two guardian statues flanked the sealed entrance, protecting the tomb. Marchant described the interior: “From the darkness, two black ebony statues of the king, holding a staff, wearing a kilt and golden sandals, stood sentinel. Gilded benches with animal heads, ornately painted coffins, dried flowers, marble jars, black ceremonial stands adorned with a golden serpent, white chests, delicately carved chairs, a golden bed, countless egg-shaped white boxes, stools of all shapes, and overturned chariot pieces shimmering in gold filled the room.”
Carter’s team included Egyptian foremen Hussein Abu Awad and Hussein Ahmed, whose contributions were later omitted from the historical record. Together, they worked for months conducting painstaking archaeological labor, sending each day’s valuable finds on wooden trolleys to the lab for analysis and cataloging. Curious visitors and newspaper reporters flocked to Luxor, near the Nile, to witness the excavation.
Facing the Pharaoh
It took another 14 and a half months before archaeologists finally confronted Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus and iconic burial mask in February 1924. (Carnarvon, the tomb’s sponsor, had died the previous year from sepsis, fueling rumors of a mummy’s curse.)
Carter and one of his colleagues stood beside the opened sarcophagus, confirming the Pharaoh was still inside and untouched. Carter wrote: “The moment we had waited for… Tutankhamun himself lay within these chambers.”
He reflected on the tomb’s sacred aura: “Our emotions were intense and overwhelming… mostly unspoken. Yet in that silence, you could almost hear the ghostly footsteps of mourners.”
