On this day in 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his crew uncovered a single step under some debris in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. They immediately recognized it as the entrance to the tomb of King Tutankhamen.
Egyptology was a craze in the western world at the time, and King Tut was one of many kings that archaeologists had been looking for. But he proved more elusive than most pharaohs, whose tombs had mostly been identified by the time Carter had set foot in Egypt in 1914, despite his best effort to find King Tut.
After World War I passed, Carter returned to Egypt in 1921 and picked up where he had left off, making his discovery the next year. By Nov. 1, 1922, his men had returned to work at the site they’d been excavating pre-war. Three days later, they found the step.
For many years, work was done to clear out and analyze the four rooms in King Tut’s tomb. It proved remarkably well-preserved and provided a wealth of knowledge about Ancient Egyptian culture. It was packed full of elaborate statues, sandals, grandiose couches, several caskets, and many, many more ceremonial items.
Much of what the archaeologists found now sits in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which offers an online virtual tour of its Tutankhamen collection (you’ll have to click a link on the website to launch the tour). Smithsonian Magazine also has a very detailed writeup of the discovery, with beautiful photos of various things found in the tomb.
