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On the 16th of February, 1923, the Tomb of Ancient Egypt's most famous pharaoh, Tuntan

Carmen, was open for the first time.

In today's episode, Mike Gallagher is taking us back to the discovery of his resting place.

This November 1922, the location, the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, Egypt, somewhere beneath

the lifeless, arid rock hidden away from the searing heat for over 3,000 years, like the

remains of ancient Egypt's boy pharaoh, Tuntan Carmen.

And after years of searching, English archaeologist Howard Carter believes he might at last have

found them.

Slowly, desperately slowly it seemed to us as we watched.

The remains of passage debris that encumbered the lower part of the doorway were removed,

until at last we had the whole door clear before us.

The decisive moment had arrived.

Carter had been digging for the legendary pharaoh since 1914, but many people suspected all

the Valley of the Kings' burials had by now been found.

Until the moment of the discovery, even Carter's benefactor, Lord Canavan, had been skeptical.

He'd given Carter one last chance.

This was to be our final season in the Valley.

Six full seasons we had excavated there, and season after season had drawn a blank.

We had worked for months at a stretch and found nothing, and only an excavator knows how

desperately depressing that can be.

We had almost made up our minds that we were beaten, and were preparing to leave the Valley

...