Who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb?
British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt, on November 4, 1922. His work was funded by Lord Carnarvon.
Carter had searched the Valley of the Kings for years, and his patron, George Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, was close to ending the funding. In November 1922, Carter's workers found a step cut into the rock, leading to a sealed doorway. Carter sent a telegram to Carnarvon, who traveled to Egypt to see it.
On November 26, 1922, Carter made a small hole in the inner door and held up a candle. When Carnarvon asked if he could see anything, Carter reportedly replied: Yes, wonderful things. It took about ten years to carefully record and remove the thousands of objects in the tomb.
The curse of the pharaoh
When Lord Carnarvon died in April 1923 from an infected mosquito bite, newspapers spread stories of a pharaoh's curse. Scientists have found no evidence of a curse, and Carter himself lived until 1939. The legend, however, became a popular theme in books and films.
Did You Know?
The boy who is often said to have first found the step to the tomb was a water carrier named Hussein Abdel Rassoul, though accounts differ.