After two years of fruitless digging, Howard CarterΓÇÖs financial backers were ready to give up. Then, on November 26, 1922, the British archeologist peered through a hole into an antechamber that had been sealed from human eyes for over 3,000 years. In this tomb, small by Egyptian standards, was the greatest archeological discovery of the 20th century: the virtually intact treasure of the ΓÇ£boy-KingΓÇ¥ Tut-Ankh-Amun, who ruled Egypt from 1333 to 1342 B.C.
Jars, jewelry, furniture and other treasures of gold and silver were strewn about, as if the tomb had been briefly pillaged -- perhaps by thieves who were interrupted in the process. Nevertheless, the actual death chamber with the sarcophagus, made of solid gold, was wholly untouched.
Archeologists theorized that Tut-Ankh-AmunΓÇÖs tomb had escaped the robbers who had cleaned out other royal graves because it was all but covered by the rubble of the Tomb of Ramses VI, built on top. The Treasure of Tut-Ankh- Amun gave scientists an unprecedented and highly detailed insight into the burial rites and art of the New Kingdom.
For years after the discovery, rumors circulated that the opening of the tomb had unleashed an ancient curse. Lord Carnarvon, CarterΓÇÖs chief financial backer, and many members of the archeological party would indeed die surprising deaths shortly after the opening of the tomb. Carter himself, however, lived until age 65.
