On this day in 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter and his financer Lord Carnarvon became the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years. Carter had been working in the Valley of the Kings for many years, but on 4th November 1922, Carter’s water carrier found the steps leading to Tutankhamun’s tomb and Carter wired Carnavon to come quickly.
On 26th November, Carter made the famous “tiny breach in the top left hand corner” of the doorway, and was able to peer into the antechamber (see picture) by the light of a candle and see that many of the gold and ebony treasures were still in place. When Carnarvon asked “Can you see anything?”, Carter replied: “Yes, wonderful things.”
In the following months, Carter and his team gained access to the antechamber, and began the excavation of the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found. The first item was removed from the tomb on December 27th and on February 16th 1923, the Burial Chamber was oficially opened, where the team found the sarcophagus and the mummified remains of Tutankhamun.