The Murder of King Tut - James William Patterson [63]
Once again, Carter was faced with the dilemma of whether or not to wait before making a hole in the wall.
Once again, Carter chose to ignore the possible political consequences and see what was on the other side. He only hoped his decision wouldn’t prove disastrous at some future time.
But of course, it would.
Chapter 91
Valley of the Kings
November 26, 1922
AT THE BOTTOM right corner of the hidden doorway, Carter found a three-foot-tall hole that had been plastered over at some time in antiquity. This was a sign that tomb robbers had preceded him.
For the third time that day, Carter chipped away at some thief’s ancient plasterwork, pulled back the stones that had been used to build an impromptu wall, and shone his light through.
At first it didn’t look like much. A narrow hallway?
Carter slid through ahead of the others. He went feetfirst, dropping down into a sunken room.
He scanned the narrow walls with his flashlight.
At first it appeared that the light was playing a trick on him.
Then he realized that one of the walls was not a wall at all. He was inside a stunning square chamber, not a narrow hallway.
The low wall that confused him was actually a shrine. It was decorated in blue faience and gold.
He had found the burial chamber.
Chapter 92
Valley of the Kings
November 26, 1922
AS LADY EVELYN and Lord Carnarvon hurried to join him—Callender was too portly to squeeze through—Carter examined the shrine.
He was facing a pair of mighty wooden doors secured with an ebony bolt. Inside, as Carter well knew, would be several smaller shrines like this one. Only after each shrine had been opened would he be able to see the sarcophagus, coffins—and the mummy itself.
At this thought, Carter’s heartbeat quickened. There was definitely a mummy here. There was no way tomb robbers could have stolen the body without destroying the shrines, and these shrines were in pristine condition.
With Carnarvon’s help, Carter slowly and carefully slid back the bolt. The doors swung on their hinges. A linen shroud decorated with gold rosettes was draped over the next shrine. One rosette fell away as the door was opened. Carter slipped it into his pocket without a second thought.
Now he lifted the shroud and saw further evidence that the mummy had not been disturbed: on the bolts of yet another opening, to yet another shrine, was a royal seal. It was the royal necropolis stamp, with a jackal and nine bound captives, signifying that a pharaoh lay within.
By now, it was almost morning. The group explored a while longer, but soon they left. The Carnarvons needed rest. They weren’t used to the heat or the manual labor. Even Carter needed a break, though for him a short one would suffice.
They climbed the steps, walking from the ancient past to the cool predawn air of the present in just a few seconds.
Carter’s men were still standing guard. They helped secure the tomb for the night and would remain there to protect it from possible invaders.
The greatest day of Howard Carter’s life was done.
Chapter 93
Valley of the Kings
December 1922
BACK AT “CASTLE CARTER”—as the news of his discovery sped around the world via cable and telephone—Carter took a moment to think about what he had found and the consequences of that discovery.
The specter of Tut’s death hung over Carter as he peered out at the valley from his home’s lofty viewpoint. He struggled to make sense of the findings inside the tomb—the toy sailboats, the chariots, the golden shrines and shabtis and jeweled amulets—and wondered how a young man so full of life had come to die. Even more mysterious to Carter: Why was the tomb located where