On Nov. 4, 1922, the greatest archeological find in history was made by British archeologist Howard Carter.  On that day, he uncovered a stairway that led to a seal indicated it was the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, the “Boy King” who ruled from 1333-1324 B.C.  He had taken over at age 9 and died around age 19, probably from a leg injury that became infected.  Carter had begun excavating the Valley of the Kings in 1917 under the sponsorship of a wealthy Englishman who was fascinated by archeology, Lord Carnarvon.  Four years passed with little to show.  Carnarvon wanted to pull the plug on his financing, but Carter convinced him to give him one more season.  When Carter made the discovery, he waited for Carnarvon to rush to the site to be there for the opening.  A peek through a hole in the doorway revealed wonderful sights to the pair.  Invaluable treasures preserved because after the tomb was completed a workers’ camp had been built on the site covering it.  It was only disturbed by two sets of robbers who only managed to drill two small holes and remove a few small items over the years.  Some of the odder items included two mummified premature babies (probably from Tut’s marriage to his half-sister) and 130 walking sticks (possibly confirming Tut’s lameness).  As far as the supposed curse placed on all involved in disturbing his resting place, it is true that Carnarvon did die a few months later from an infected mosquito bite.  However, Howard Carter continued to excavate the tomb and catalog the artifacts until 1932 and died in 1939 at age 64. 

Amazing 33-34

Death Mask of King Tut