November 1925
Tutankhamun's burial mask.
Jan. 4, 1924
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker open the doors of the innermost shrine and get their first look at Tutankhamun's sarcophagus.
In 1907, Egyptologist and archaeologist Howard Carter was hired by George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon to oversee excavations in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Carter had built a reputation for scrupulously recording and preserving discoveries.
Carter searched the valley for years with little to show for it, which drew the ire of his employer. In 1922, Lord Carnarvon told Carter that he had only one more season of digging before his funding would be ended.
Revisiting a previously abandoned dig site at a group of huts, Carter started digging again, desperate for a breakthrough.
On Nov. 4, 1922, his crew discovered a step carved into the rock. By the end of the next day, a whole staircase had been uncovered. Carter wired Carnarvon, imploring him to come at once.
On Nov. 26, with Carnarvon at his side, Carter chipped open a small breach in the corner of the doorway at the end of the stairs. Holding a candle, he peered inside.
Carter searched the valley for years with little to show for it, which drew the ire of his employer. In 1922, Lord Carnarvon told Carter that he had only one more season of digging before his funding would be ended.
Revisiting a previously abandoned dig site at a group of huts, Carter started digging again, desperate for a breakthrough.
On Nov. 4, 1922, his crew discovered a step carved into the rock. By the end of the next day, a whole staircase had been uncovered. Carter wired Carnarvon, imploring him to come at once.
On Nov. 26, with Carnarvon at his side, Carter chipped open a small breach in the corner of the doorway at the end of the stairs. Holding a candle, he peered inside.
At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold — everywhere the glint of gold.
December 1922
A ceremonial bed in the shape of the Celestial Cow, surrounded by provisions and other objects in the antechamber of the tomb.
The team had discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, the boy king who ruled Egypt from about 1332 to 1323 BC.
Though there was evidence the tomb had twice been raided by ancient grave robbers, it was still remarkably intact. The tomb was crammed with thousands of priceless artifacts, including the sarcophagus containing the king’s mummified remains.
Every object in the tomb was meticulously recorded and cataloged before being removed, a process that took nearly eight years.
These photographs documenting the discovery of the tomb have been colorized by Dynamichrome for the exhibition The Discovery of King Tut, opening in New York on Nov. 21. With precisely crafted replicas and reconstructions, the exhibit allows visitors to step into exact recreations of three burial chambers just as the discoverers saw them.
Though there was evidence the tomb had twice been raided by ancient grave robbers, it was still remarkably intact. The tomb was crammed with thousands of priceless artifacts, including the sarcophagus containing the king’s mummified remains.
Every object in the tomb was meticulously recorded and cataloged before being removed, a process that took nearly eight years.
These photographs documenting the discovery of the tomb have been colorized by Dynamichrome for the exhibition The Discovery of King Tut, opening in New York on Nov. 21. With precisely crafted replicas and reconstructions, the exhibit allows visitors to step into exact recreations of three burial chambers just as the discoverers saw them.
December 1922
A gilded lion bed, clothes chest and other objects in the antechamber. The wall of the burial chamber is guarded by statues.
c. 1923
An assortment of model boats in the treasury of the tomb.
December 1922
A gilded lion bed and inlaid clothes chest among other objects in the antechamber.
December 1922
Under the lion bed in the antechamber are several boxes and chests, and an ebony and ivory chair which Tutankhamun used as a child.
c. 1923
A gilded bust of the Celestial Cow Mehet-Weret and chests sit in the treasury of the tomb.
c. 1923
Chests inside the treasury.
December 1922
Ornately carved alabaster vases in the antechamber.
January 1924
In a "laboratory" set up in the tomb of Sethos II, conservators Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas clean one of the sentinel statues from the antechamber.
Nov. 29, 1923
Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker wrap one of the sentinel statues for transport.
December 1923
Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas work on a golden chariot from Tutankhamun's tomb outside the "laboratory" in the tomb of Sethos II.
c. 1923
A statue of Anubis on a shrine with pallbearers' poles in the treasury of the tomb.
Dec. 2, 1923
Carter, Callende, and two workers remove the partition wall between the antechamber and the burial chamber.
December 1923
Inside the outermost shrine in the burial chamber, a huge linen pall with gold rosettes, reminiscent of the night sky, covers the smaller shrines within.
Dec. 30th, 1923
Carter, Mace and an Egyptian worker carefully roll up the linen pall covering the second shrine.
December 1923
Carter, Callender and two Egyptian workers carefully dismantle one of the golden shrines within the burial chamber.
October 1925
Carter examines Tutankhamun's sarcophagus.
October 1925
Carter and a worker examine the solid gold innermost sarcophagus.
c. 1923
Lord Carnarvon, financier of the excavation, reads on the veranda of Carter's house near the Valley of the Kings.
