On February 16th, 1923 Howard Carter entered the ancient burial chamber of King Tutankhamen in Thebes, Egypt. At first he was unsure of where the tomb might be, but due to ancient manuscripts he knew that the tomb of King Tut was located somewhere in the Valley of the Kings.
Carter’s research and archeology was backed by a very wealthy British man named Lord Carnarvon. One year prior to the opening of the tomb, Carnarvon wanted to cease the archeological expedition. However, Carter convinced him to back the search for one more year, and the wait finally paid off.
In November of 1922, Howard Carter and his team discovered the steps to King Tut’s tomb hidden in the debris near the entrance of another tomb. At the top of the steps was a doorway bearing the name Tutankhamen. The tomb had remained untouched for over 3,000 years, and it was virtually intact. For two months, Carter and his team explored the first three chambers of the tomb. On February 16th, 1923, Carter opened the door to the last chamber in King Tutankhamen’s tomb.
Inside the fourth chamber was a large sarcophagus, in which three coffins rested inside one another. In the last coffin lay the perfectly preserved mummy of King Tutankhamen. His mummified body was a revolutionary discovery, because it was the first perfectly preserved mummy to be discovered.
It had been said that a curse would befall anyone who disturbed the ancient tomb of King Tut. Despite this, all of the treasures were catalogued and removed and are now part of a famous traveling exhibition called the “Treasures of Tutankhamen”. This exhibit has been featured at museums around the world, including The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. The exhibition’s permanent home is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt.