90 Years Ago: Howard Carter's Expedition Discovered the Stone Coffin of Pharaoh Tutankhamun2 photos

For centuries, Egypt’s advanced culture has amazed people around the world. Scholars and philosophers from Greece traveled to Egypt in search of knowledge. The Nile River valley was also a place where sick and weary travelers sought healing, as Egyptian doctors were renowned for their medical skills. But above all, Egypt attracted people with its unparalleled masterpieces of art. Tombs, like sealed chambers, preserved ancient treasures of art. Among them was the tomb of Tutankhamun—the only one to remain untouched, almost intact until it was discovered in 1922 by British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.

The Valley of the Kings, located on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor, has been a site of archaeological excavations for centuries. Many expeditions had already explored much of it, leaving little hope for new discoveries. However, Carter was convinced that Tutankhamun’s tomb lay somewhere in this area. Scientists held out hope that they might find the entire burial site intact. On February 16, 1923, Carter’s team discovered the pyramid’s most precious treasure: the stone coffin of the pharaoh.

When the coffin was opened in February, inside it was found a golden sarcophagus containing the pharaoh’s mummy. The coffin was made of gold and weighed over 100 kilograms, while the mummified body was carefully preserved. The room surrounding the coffin was filled with countless precious items, so much so that it took five years to catalogue and organize them all. The sarcophagus with Tutankhamun’s mummy remains in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, while the treasures found there are now displayed in the Cairo Museum.