Tag: Luxor

Six missing pieces of Pharaoh Amenhotep III & Queen Tiye statue found at king’s funerary temple

The pieces recovered come from Amenhotep III's chest, nemes headdress and leg, and Queen Tiye's wig, left arm, fingers and foot. A small section of the base of the double statue was also found. Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny announced today that six missing pieces from the colossal double statue of the 18th Dynasty King Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye, have been discovered at the kings mortuary temple on Luxors west bank.

The fragments were found during excavation work by an Egyptian team under the direction of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

Cairo Museum, Egypt

The pieces from Amenhotep III‘s statue that were recovered come from the right side of his chest, nemes headdress, and leg.

Statue fragments of Queen Tiye that were uncovered include a section of her wig, and pieces from her left arm, fingers and foot.

A small section of the base of the double statue was also found.

The measurements of the six missing fragments range from 47cm to 103cm.

After French egyptologist Auguste Mariette discovered the double statue at Medinet (Thebes) in 1889, the statue was restored, and an Italian team filled in the missing pieces with modern stonework.

Today, the statue of Pharoah Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye – parents of Akhenaten – is a centerpiece of the main hall at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which was founded by Mariette.

The newly discovered pieces are currently being held at the site of Amenhotep III s mortuary temple on the west bank, but will soon be relocated to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for restoration and placement into the colossal statue (explore the treasures hidden in the Cairo Museum’s basement, in this video featuring Dr Zahi Hawass).

Archaeologist Abdul Ghafar Wagdy, supervisor of the excavation at the site in Luxor, said that the pieces of statuary were found as part of a project to lower the ground water on the west bank of Luxor (watch our Heritage Key video about saving Amenhotep III’s funerary temple at Thebes).

These six pieces are only a few of nearly 1,000 statuary fragments that have been found dating from the Pharonic to the Coptic era.

All the pieces that have been found to date are being stored in the west bank magazines for documentation and restoration.

New lighting system at Valley of the Kings means longer visitor hours for ancient Egyptian tombs

Dr Hawass said the new lighting system will aslo provide a beautiful and a dramatic scene at night for the pedestrians walking along the Nile cornice on the east bank in Luxor Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, announced that with a total of 922 units the installation of the new lighting system on Luxors west bank has been completed, allowing for people to visit the tombs in the evening.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the aim of this project is to preserve the tombs and temples located on Luxors west bank.

The thousands of tourists that daily visit the heritage site will now be distributed throughout the day, from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.

This, he continued, will reduce the level of humidity inside the tombs, which negatively affect its paintings.

The humidity and fungus generated through breath and sweat is gradually eroding the soft stone chambers, and slowly destroying the ancient paintings and carvings.

Hawass added that the new lighting system will also provide a beautiful and a dramatic scene at night for the pedestrians walking along the Nile cornice on the east bank in Luxor.

The new lighting system is one of various measures taken in a bid to preserve the tombs, which include tomb closures, and maybe even the reconstruction of a 'Replica Valley of the Kings'.

Dr. Sabri Abdel Aziz, Head of the Pharaonic Antiquities at the SCA, said that that the project included the lighting of the mountains located on the west bank, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the noblemens tombs, the northern side of Al-Qurna, and Hatshepsuts temple.

The project, carried out by the SCA in collaboration with Egypts Sound and Light organization and the French lighting company Architecture Lumire, had a budget of 56 millions LE about 6.2 million, or almost ten million USD.

The installation of the ‘cool lighting’ system is just one of many steps taken to preserve the royal tombs.

Dr Hawass earlier announced that, in a bid to encourage tourists to visit the less popular tombs, some of the most famous tombs in the Valley of the Kings would be closed to those on a moderate budget.

“Whoever wants to visit the original tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari must pay a huge amount of money,” he commented then.

Eventually, Dr Hawass hopes to create a ‘Replica Valley’, containing identical replicas of the three tombs for tourists to visit, as with Lascaux II has been successfully done for the caves of Lascaux.

These replica tombs will be based on laser scans and high-resolution photographs of the burial chambers and sarcophagi. These would incorporate missing fragments of the tombs that are now held at foreign museums. With King Tut’s replica mummy already looking scaringly real, and Sandro Vannini’s fabulous images of the tomb paintings as examples of what can be achieved with the right combination of equipment and knowledge, I have high hopes for the reconstruction results.

Until the physical replica of KV62 is finished, you can still have a look at a 3D replica of the tomb based on Sandro Vanninis photographs using Heritage Key Virtual, or visit a ‘real life’ – and truly astonishing – replica of how Howard Carter found King Tut’s tomb, at the travelling exhibition ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ currently visiting Manchester. Watch a preview and learn how the replicas were made in this video.

Ancient Egyptian ‘Avenue of Sphinxes’ gets twelve Sphinxes longer

The newly discovered part of the Avenue of Sphinxes, with the Mut Temple Gate shown in the far left. - Image courtesy the SCA Archaeologists have unearthed twelve ancient sphinx statues at Luxor, Egypt.

The sculptures were found at a newly discovered part of the Avenue of Sphinxes, an ancient road stretching from the temple at Karnak to the temple of the goddess Mut at Luxor.

The discovery, made as part of excavation and restoration works at the site by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), was announced by Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni.

The statues of the mythical creatures, inscribed with the name of Pharaoh Nectanebo I, were found in the last sector of the Avenue of Sphinxes, a part of the sacred pathway that although its existence was known to historians from ancient texts was never precisely located.

The sphinxes found are often shattered in multiple pieces. Here one is being put on his base again. Mansour Boraik, Supervisor of Luxor Antiquities, indicated this is the first time a new road that runs from east to west towards the Nile has been found.

The total length of the road to the Nile is estimated to be about 600 metres, with 20 metres excavated so far.

These 20 metres were built from sandstone, brought in from the quarries at Gebel Silsila, north of Aswan.

The discovery is not located within the known road of the Avenue of the Sphinxes between Karnak and Luxor Temples, but instead at the end of the newly discovered road of Nectanebo I, explained Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA.

Dr. Hawass added that along this way the sacred boat of Amun, king of the gods, traveled on the gods annual trip to visit his wife, Mut, at Luxor temple.

The Avenue of Sphinxes is about 2,700 meters long and 76 meters wide. Although the path was already in use during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, it was the 30th Dynasty Pharaoh Nectenabo I (380 to 362 BC) who constructed the avenue itself. He lined it with 1350 sphinxes, all inscribed with his name.

The sacred road was the location of important religious ceremonies, most notably the Beautiful Feast of Opet.

This festival was celebrated annually in Thebes, during the New Kingdom period and later. Hidden from sight in a sacred barque, the statues of the gods of the Theban Triad – Amun, Khonsu and Mut – were escorted down the Avenue of Sphinxes, from the temple of Amun in Karnakto the temple of Luxor, in order to relive their marriage.

Amenhotep III & sun god Re-Horakhti statue unearthed at pharaoh’s funerary temple in Luxor

Statue of Amenhotep III and sun god Re-Horakhti discovered a the pharaoh's funerary temple at Luxor Archaeologists today discovered the upperportion of a statue of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III at Luxor, Egypt.

The find part of a double statue featuring King Amenhotep III with the falcon-headed sun god Re-Horakhti was made at the pharaoh’s funerary temple, locatedon the west bank of the Nile.

In a press statement, Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny said that the discovery was made during routine excavations at Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple carried out by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

The dig issupervised byDr. Zahi Hawass, who thinks of the newly discovered statue as one of the best of the recent finds in the area, because of its expert craftsmanship which reflects the skills of the ancient Egyptian artisans.

Previously, the SCAmission alreadyuneartheda double statue of the pharoah and the god Amun, several sculptures depicting the king with solar god Amun-Re and an uniquegranite colossus, depicting the god of wisdom Thoth in the form of a baboon.

This is the first time that we have found a standing statue of the god Thoth, said Dr. Hawass about the baboon statue.

Video: Saving Amenhotep III’s Temple

18th Dynasty king Amenhotep III, (1390-1352BC) is well known for the overwhelming amount of statues dedicated to him, particularly group statuary featuring the king with the ancient Egyptian deities.

These include Amun-Re, Re-Horakhti, Bastet, Sobek, and most frequently Sekhmet, the ancient Egyptian goddess of healing (as well as destruction).

So far, more than 80 statues of the goddess have been unearthed by the Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project, directed by Dr. Hourig Sourouzian (watch the video about the project on the left).

It has been suggested that the Sekhmet statues were erected because Amenhotep’s failing health during the final years of his reign.

A number of group statues of Amenhotep III are still partially buried under private the farmland surrounding the temple. The government and the SCA are now trying to reach an agreement with the landowner to purchase the section so the statues can be fully excavated.

Amenhotep III’s funerary temple – famous for its Colossi of Memnon – was built closer to theNile than any other temple in Thebes, right on the edge of the floodplain.Consequently,less than 200 years after the pharaoh’s reign, it had almost completely collapsed, withmost of its stones being removed from the site to be reused in other construction projects.

Ancient Egyptian tomb of Karakhamun at Assasif: a major tomb for a minor priest?

TT223 Tomb of ancient Egyptian priest Karakhamun at Assasif Archaeologists have rediscovered the ‘lost’ tomb an ancient Egyptian priest at the Theban Necropolis in Egypt.It was announced today by Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, that the team excavating and conservating the tomb has now cleared the burial shaft of tomb and reached its burial chamber.

The tomb is located at Qurnet Murai, south Assasif, on the west bank of the Nile opposite to Luxor, and belonged to a priest named Karakhamun. It dates to the 25th Dynasty (the Reign of Shabaqo, circa 700BC) and is referenced as TT223 (Theban Tomb 223). The el-Assasif area is a well known archaeological site, containing nobles tombs from the New Kingdom, as well as the 25-26th Dynasties.

Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the team discovered the burial chamber of Karakhamun at the bottom of an 8m deep burial shaft. He added it is in very good condition and contains beautifully painted scenes.

The entrance to the chamber is decorated with an image of Karakhamun and the ceiling is decorated with several astrological scenes, including a depiction of the sky goddess, Nut.

Ancient Egyptian Priest Karkhamun

Not much is known about Karakhamun. There is no information about his family, and he himself did not seem to have any important administrative positions. His priestly title, First ‘k Priest, does not signify any particular importance.

Yet Karkhamun’s tomb consists of two spacious pillared halls and a five-room burial chamber, and isthe largest tomb excavated at the South Assasif Necropolis so far. This suggests he had close connections to the royal court or family.

As we know only little about his life, the tomb’s dating to the 25th Dynasty or Nubian dynasty, when Egypt ‘s rulers originated from the Kingdom of Kush is based largely on the priest’s Nubian name.

The tomb’s architectural features as far as they are known also confirm this date. Karkhamun’s serpentine shabti is of a Nubian type with facialeatures that suggest a pre-Taharqo date, probably Shabaqo, writes the South Asasif Conservation Project (ACP) on its website.

TT223 Discovered Thrice

After its initial discovery in the 1820s by Wilkinson, Hey and Burton and again in the 1940s by Lepsius the tomb of priest Karkhamun at Assasif was left open and unprotected. It was photographed in the 1970s by Eigner. Some time after Eigner’s visit,its ceiling collapsed and the tomb became buried once more by the sand.

It was considered ‘lost’ until in 2001 archaeologists started exavating what was a mere crack in the sand,and foundwall carvings with a life-size figure of Karkhamun in front of an offering table.

In 2006, an Egyptian-American team lead by Dr. Elena Pischikova started carrying out conservation works at the tomb as part of the ACP.

Because of the exceptional preservation of colour of the wall paintings, and the quality of the scenes, Dr Pischikova believes the tomb of Karakhamun could be one of the most beautiful tombs from Dynasty 25.

Statue of ancient Egyptian god Thoth Discovered at Amenhotep III’s Mortuary Temple

Thoth Statue found at Luxor Amenhotep III funerary temple Archaeologists have discovered a colossal statue of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth at the north-western side of King Amenhotep III’s funerary temple at Luxor.

The red granite statue depicting Thoth, the ancient Egyptian deity of wisdom, is 3,5 metres tall and 140 cm wide. In a statement, Dr Zahi Hawass said that evidence found at the excavation suggests more colossi could be found here still. The first traces of these large statues were uncovered during works aiming at controlling the subterranean water level on Luxor’s west bank.

Only months ago, the head of 2,5 metres high statue depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep III in standing position possibly the best preserved depiction of the pharoah’s face found to date – was unearthed at the King’s funeral temple at Kom El-Hettan only months ago. Astatue of the god Thoth in the shape of a baboon was discovered as well. In 2009 two black granite statues of the pharaohs were found at the temple.Previous excavations also revealed a 5 metres high statue similar to the Thoth statue.

Afifi Rohayem, assistant director of the excavations, said that the site could contain an avenue of Thoth statues, who once outlined the original path leading to Amenhotep III’s funeral temple.

Recent research hasidentified Pharaoh Amenhotep III who ruled Egypt between 1390 BC and 1352 BC as themost likely grandfatherof Tutankhamun.

Thoth Statue found at Luxor Amenhotep III funerary temple Built closer to the river than any other temple ot Thebes – right on the edge of the floodplain – after less than 200 years Amenhotep III’s funerary temple had collapsed. Many of its stones were subsequently pilfered for building projects of later pharoahs.

The famous Colossi of Memnon, two 18-metres-high stone statues of Amenhotep III, are all that remains of the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, once the largest religious complex an ancient Egypt.

Since 1998, the mortuary temple of Amenhotep IIIhas been on the World Monument Fund’s list of the planet’s 100 most endangered monuments. Extensive excavation and restoration works at thetemple site are taking place. I believe that in less than 20 years we will have achieved our objectives here, Dr Hourig Sourouzian, head of the conservation project,said in a video interview with Heritage Key. The final stage of the works at Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple will be the creation of an open-air museum.

Video:Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian about saving Amenhotep III’s funerary temple at Thebes

Church and Nilometer Discovered on the Avenue of Sphinxes

new discoveries at the avenue of sphinxes at luxor egypt Archaeologists working at the Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor, Egypt, have uncovered the remains of a fifth century Coptic church and a Nilometer, a structure used to measure the level of the Nile during floods.

According to a statement released by the SCA, the church’s remains were found on the second of five sections of the ancient religious path leading to the Karnak temple.

Thechurch was built with limestone blocks originally belonging to the Ptolemaic and Roman temples that once stretched along the Avenue. The blocks are well preserved, with many of them bearing depictions Ptolemaic and Roman kings offering sacrifices to ancient Egyptian gods. One particular block contains information on Muntomhat, mayor of the Luxor area during the 26th Dynasty.

Also this week, in the avenue’s fourth section, the Egyptian team discovered the remains of a Nilometer. Constructed out of sandstone, the Nilometer is a cylindrical structure seven metres in diameter and has spiral steps which used to descend into the Nile. During periods of flooding it was used for measuring the increase in water level of the river. A collection of New Kingdom clay vessels were discovered inside the Nilometer.

The development and restoration works at the Avenue of Sphinxes aim to revive this 2700-metres-long and 76 meters wide ancient route connecting the Luxor and Karnak temples. It is thought that originally no less than 1350 sphinxes were guarding the path.

Other recent discoveries along the Avenue are foundation stones decorated with depictions of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, the chapel of 21st dynasty priest Min-Kheber-Re and a number of fragmented sphinxes that are now being restored in order to be reinstated along the Avenue.

Learn about the restoration of Saint Anthony’s Coptic monastery in this video, and keep an eye on Owen’s blog (next to the author profile you can now find options to subscribe via RSSor e-mail) for news from the Coptic Symposium in Toronto, this year focussing on ‘Egyptian Graffiti’.

Colossal Head from Statue of King Tut’s Granddad Found at Amenhotep III Funerary Temple Site

Head of gigantic Amenhotep III statue discovered at Luxor A multi-national team of Egyptian and European archaeologists excavating at the site of Amenhotep IIIs enormous funerary temple in the Kom El-Hettan area of Luxors West Bank have uncovered the 3,000-year-old head of a massive statue of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh, the king of Egyptian kings, whom DNA testing has recently proven was Tutankhamuns grandfather.

The find made by the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project was announced on Monday by Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni. Measuring 2.5 metres, made from solid red granite and depicting Amenhotep III wearing the Upper Egyptian white crown, it has been described by Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass as a masterpiece of highly artistic quality.

Old Big Head

The head, added Hawass, is a portrait of the king with very fine youthful sculptured features. It was sheared from the body statue at the chin and neck. The body statue fragments of which are currently in restoration is believed to show Amenhotep III in a standing position, with his hands crossed over his chest and holding the royal insignia.

It is a masterpiece of highly artistic quality and shows a portrait of the king with very fine youthful sculptured features.

Leader of the project at Amenhotep IIIs funerary temple Dr. Hourig Sourouzian said that more of the statue may still lie in the rubble of the enormous ruined monument, one of the biggest man-made structures in ancient history. Measuring 700 metres long and 500 metres wide, and covering an area of 350,000 square metres it was ten times larger than any other mortuary monument in Egypt.

Investigation and restoration of Amenhotep IIIs funerary temple is expected to take upwards of 20 years (you can see Dr Sourouzian discussing the daunting task in this Heritage key video interview). 84 colossi statues have been unearthed there already, among them representations of King Amenhotep III and his wife, Queen Tiye.

Grandpa Amenhotep

Queen Tiyes mummy was recently identified by Dr Hawass and a team of scientists as part of a painstaking medical and archaeological endeavor the results of which were revealed last week in the Discovery Channel documentary King Tut Unwrapped to map the family history of Tutankhamun. The project also determined that Amenhotep III ninth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, ruler of Egypt between 1390 BC and 1352 BC was King Tuts grandfather. The boy king is believed to have been born of an incestuous marriage between Akhenaten and his sister, both the offspring of Amenhotep III.

Amenhotep was the wealthiest and most powerful of all the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. In a list compiled by American business and financial bible Forbes in 2008, he was ranked as the 12th richest person in human history.

Restoring The Avenue of Sphinxes and Protecting it for the Future

the avenue of sphinxes - photo by jennifer willoughby Egypts Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, and Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), along with the governor of Luxor, Samir Farag, will embark today on an inspection tour along the Avenue of Sphinxes that connects the Luxor and Karnak temples. During this visit, they will install the piece of red granite that was returned to Egypt by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its original place at the Ptah temple at Karnak.

Built by the 30th Dynasty king Nectanebo I (380-362 BC), the avenue is 2,700 meters long and 76 meters wide, and lined with a number of statues in the shape of sphinxes. Queen Hatshepsut recorded on her red chapel in Karnak temple (explore the evolution of this temple in Digitial Karnak) that she built six chapels dedicated to the god Amun-Re on the route of this avenue during her reign, emphasising that it was long a place of religious significance.

The Avenue of Sphinxes is one of the most important archaeological and religious paths in Luxor, as it was the location of important religious ceremonies in ancient times, most notably the Beautiful Feast of Opet.

The Opet Festival was celebrated annually in Thebes, during the New Kingdom period and later. The statues of the gods of the Theban Triad – Amun, Khonsu and Mut – were escorted, hidden from sight in a sacred barque, in a joyous procession down the Avenue of Sphinxes from the temple of Amun in Karnak, to the temple of Luxor in order to relive their marriage.

Dr. Hawass said that developing the Avenue of Sphinxes is part of the SCAs collaboration with the Luxor government – one of the issues is to tackle air pollution damaging the monuments – to develop the whole city into an open-air museum. The SCA allocated an amount of LE 30 million to remove all encroachments and compensate those who own houses and shops along the route, as well as another LE 30 million for excavation and restoration works. These works are carried out in three phases; the first was to build a low wall alongside the avenue in order to preserve it from any further encroachment, the second phase is the excavation and the final step is the restoration of the area.

The excavation team unearthed a large number of fragmented sphinxes that are now undergoing restoration efforts led by SCA consultant Dr. Mahmoud Mabrouk in order to be placed on the site.

Along the avenue there were originally 1350 sphinxes. Many of the stone guardians were removed and reused during the Roman period and the Middle Ages.

Each of the excavation sections is revealing more sphinxes as well as the cartouches of several kings and queens.

One of the reliefs bears the cartouche of Queen Cleopatra VII. Dr. Hawass believes that this queen likely visited this avenue during her Nile trip with Mark Anthony and implemented restoration work that was marked with her cartouche.

Remains of Queen Hatshepsuts chapels, which were reused by king Nectanebo I in the construction of sphinxes, have been found as well, along with a collection of Roman buildings – remains of wine factories and a huge cistern for water.

Examples of other restoration and protection works currently ongoing in Egypt are the make-over for the Giza area – including the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum and drilling under the Sphinx to keep its paws dry – as well as preventing Saqqara’s Step Pyramid from collapsing. The Getty Institue is getting it very busy cleaning King Tut’s tomb (just what are those weird brown spots?!), but in the end, we tourists might even end up with an entire Replica Valley of the Kings to visit. What about things (a tiny bit) less ancient? Watch the video about the restoration of one of the oldest Coptic Monasteries still existing, Deir Mar Antonios.

Discovering Tut – Carter & Carnarvon: The duo that Unlocked the Tomb of Tutankhamun

“The whole discovery of Tutankhamun needed both ingredients to make it work. It wasn’t all Howard Carter, certainly not only Carnarvon. But it needed the two of them.” George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon, ebbs deeper into the bond which drove two of archaeology’s greatest characters to the biggest discovery of all time. But how did the two men, so different in background and expertise, even forge such a strong relationship?

Lord Carnarvon – or to give him his full tongue-twisting title, George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon – was an aristocratic explorer and adventurer of the highest order. Born into money and obsessed with sailing, photography, travel and motor racing, he was the pinnacle of a 19th century playboy. Yet a race too far in Germany left him badly injured, and when a doctor recommended he seek refuge from the harsh British winter, what better place to get your kicks than the ancient playground of Egypt?

“The discovery of Tutankhamun needed both ingredients to make it work.”

Howard Carter was a working-class lad who’d been taught the archaeological ropes by the meticulous Flinders Petrie. His star had already risen in Egypt, having been appointed the First Chief Inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service in 1899. However a messy dispute with French tourists in 1905 had left him out of work – and by the time the two were introduced in 1906, Carter was making a meagre living selling paintings to tourists.

“Great-grandfather was introduced to Carter perhaps as a way of bringing more experience and expertise on the ground,” says the 8th Earl, as he rifles through Highclere Castle’s infinite archives, “in line with a very keen, enthusiastic and financially independent excavator.” The modern Lord and Lady’s affection for their illustrious forebear is palpable: not only have they built their own Egyptian exhibition in the castle’s cellars, but Lady Carnarvon has written two books on the pair and their discovery, Carnarvon& Carter(buy) and Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun (buy), both which you can purchase on Heritage Key.

Their enthusiasm is understandable – Lord Carnarvon typifies the spirit of adventure which spurred so many great discoveries. Yet the financial lengths he went to are staggering. Lady Carnarvon looks through some of the original photos from Carter and Carnarvon’s exploits together (and you can purchase Fiona Carnarvon’s book Carnarvon and Carter here) as she mentions the scale of their projects. 170 to 235 men worked on each tomb, and key players were afforded their own tents shipped straight from England – complete with food from luxury store Fortnum & Mason.

Lord Carnarvon (left) and Howard Carter (right) could not have found the Tomb of King Tutankhamun without each other's help. Lady Carnarvon chuckles at the sheer audacity of her forebear’s exploits. There was, “a tent for himself; a tent for his wife; a tent for Howard Carter; a tent for his doctor; and a tent for a dining room. It was extraordinary!” Even Carter’s famous rest house, recently converted to a museum, was shipped brick-by-brick from Bretby in Derbyshire. You can also learn more about the museum at Highclere Castle by purchasing Egypt at Highclere:The Discovery of Tutankhamun by Fiona Carnarvon.

Yet Tutankhamun, the king Carnarvon and Carter were determined to find, had still managed to elude them. Clues littered the Valley of the Kings: surely the boy-king must have been buried there somewhere? American archaeologist Theodore M. Davis had searched the area, yet Lord Carnarvon explains how the lawyer missed his squandered his turn in the spotlight. “He sent things back to America but rather thought that Tutankhamun was so unimportant that he’d been buried in a shallow grave.”

But Davis was wrong. And when in 1922 Metropolitan Museum explorer Herbert Winlock pointed out a vase with King Tut’s name on it at the Valley, the search was afoot. The men had spent almost two decades scouring Egypt for ancient treasure – suddenly they were on the verge of greatness…

HDVideo:Discovering King Tut – Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter

(Click here to read a transcript of this video)

Look out for four more special Highclere videos, coming soon!You can watch a whole host of great videos here at Heritage Key – from the perils of Venice to the lost tombs of Thebes. Catch us here or on YouTube. Keep up-to-date with everything by subscribing to our RSS feeds, or by following us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and iTunes.

You can also buy Fiona Carnarvon’s books right here:
Buy Carnarvon & CarterHERE
Buy Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun HERE