Tomb of treasures

Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s burial site is shown in colour for the first time

- HANNAH DAVIES, IAN MACEWAN, SEAN MARLAND

There has never been a more famous archaeological discovery. On 26 November 1922, after five years spent searching the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in Egypt, Howard Carter finally broke into the tomb of ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Because of the effects of World War One and the 1919 Spanish flu pandemic, the British Egyptologist and his aristocratic financial backer Lord Carnarvon had almost run out of money and hope. But their find made history – more than 5,000 precious objects, including a solid-gold coffin and the boy king’s famous gold mask.

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