1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,560 Speaker 1: Hello, it's Richard MacLean Smith here with Unexplained on an 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:05,880 Speaker 1: end of season break. We'll be dipping back into the 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,560 Speaker 1: archive each week until season nine begins on Friday, October thirty. First. 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: This week's episode takes us to Egypt's Valley of the 5 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: Kings in nineteen twenty two, where years of painstaking excavation 6 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:23,240 Speaker 1: were about to yield one of archaeology's most infamous discoveries. 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: For centuries, these ancient burial grounds had surrendered their secrets reluctantly, 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: and one tomb had remained stubbornly hidden, lying in the 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: darkness beneath the desert sands. When that first crack of 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: light pierced the burial chamber, it revealed wanders beyond imagination, 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: golden treasures that had lain untouched for over three thousand years. 12 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: But some believe that disturbing the eternal rest of a 13 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,959 Speaker 1: pharaoh comes with a price, and that some doors are 14 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: never meant to be opened. This is Unexplained Season three 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: episode From Eternity to Here. It is the year ten. 16 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,039 Speaker 1: Along the banks of the river are Sits, the majestic 17 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: city of warst the largest in all the land and 18 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: capital of the mighty Kingdom of Casset, the world leading 19 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: beacon of knowledge, industry, and culture. It is the year 20 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: ten because it is the tenth year of their king's reign. 21 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: It is also his last, for on the edge of 22 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: the city, inside a grand stone temple, their king, a 23 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: young man of nineteen, lies dead. With his death comes 24 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: great uncertainty for a nation only recently restored under the 25 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: watchful eye of the great God mun though none of 26 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: that matters for him now. It is not the end 27 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: by any stretch, as is well understood by all who 28 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: are gathered by his side. His death is but the 29 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: first step in the ultimate journey, a journey that, with 30 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: the correct preparations, will see his spirit in human form 31 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: carried to the other side and voyage into eternity to 32 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: walk forever among the gods in the golden fields of Aru. 33 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: It begins with the ex cerebration, the washing of the body, 34 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: followed by the puncturing of a hole through the back 35 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: of the nasal cavity, into which a seven inch tall 36 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: fashioned from the stem of palm leaf with a small 37 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: hook carved into the end is inserted. Since the brain 38 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: is thought to serve no function, the embalmer extracts what 39 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: they can, before pouring a solution into the cavity to 40 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: dissolve what is left. Next, the lungs, liver, stomach, and 41 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,239 Speaker 1: intestines are removed through a small incision cut into the 42 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: left side of the torso, before being cleansed and packed 43 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: into natron salts alongside the body. Forty days later, as 44 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,559 Speaker 1: the sweet smoke of incense fills the room, the desiccated 45 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: body is smothered in a pungent concoction of herbs, oil 46 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: and resin, before being carefully wrapped in linen, into which 47 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: a number of totems for the gods are inserted, all 48 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: the better to aid him in his journey. Priests solemnly 49 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: chance spells read from papyrus scrolls known today as the 50 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: Book of the Dead, urging Osiris, the great god of 51 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: the underworld, to take their king from this mortal realm 52 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: and lead him safely to paradise. As an exquisite mask 53 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: of solid gold inlaid with precious stones and glass, is 54 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: gently fitted onto his head, his lifeless body now seeming 55 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: almost alive, as two bright eyes of obsidian and quartz 56 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: stare back into the room. On the forehead stands the Euaeus, 57 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: a vigilant cobra rearing up to protect its master. Fifteen 58 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: days later, and this newly bedueled body is transferred to 59 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: a coffin of solid gold, encasing the king in the 60 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 1: flesh of the gods. This, in turn is placed in 61 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: two further coffins before being lowered into a vast stone sarcophagus, 62 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: all covered over in more spells for the dead. A 63 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: short time later, under the searing heat of the great 64 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: orb in the sky, the very eye of the great 65 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 1: god Moon Rah, the funerary procession makes its way across 66 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: the desert, the taut, sinuous bodies of the king's slaves 67 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 1: strained with the weight of the three ton sarcophagus as 68 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: it is dragged across the sand toward the Great and 69 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: Majestic Necropolis. Two vast giants rear into view mighty sandstone 70 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: statues of the King's grandfather, towering sixty feet high above 71 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: the procession, their eyes following the sarcophagus as it moves 72 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,360 Speaker 1: across the dusty land, until finally stopping at the entrance 73 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: of a small tomb carved into the rock. Here, the 74 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: body of the king is delivered into the ground as 75 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: the final spells are encanted, and his body left for eternity, 76 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: the tomb blocked, sealed, and filled in with rubble to 77 00:05:54,360 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: prevent his body from being disturbed. For most, the onely 78 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: to paradise was a dangerous and terrifying ordeal, requiring the 79 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: completion of a treacherous gauntlet while being chased by grotesque entities. 80 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: For kings and queens, however, since they were considered virtual 81 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: deities themselves, success was all but guaranteed, provided, of course, 82 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 1: their bodies remained preserved and undisturbed for all eternity. And 83 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: so we must leave our young king in peace or 84 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: risk condemning his spirit to a lifetime of restlessness. After all, 85 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: we wouldn't want to come between a king and his paradise, 86 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:48,679 Speaker 1: would we. You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm Richard MacLean Smith. 87 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 1: Having left our king, we returned to the surface to 88 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: find three thousand, two hundred years have passed and much 89 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:10,239 Speaker 1: has changed. The Eye of Amunrah now seemingly closed forever, 90 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: known instead as merely the Sun. The once great city 91 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: of war Set transformed into al Uxur, also known as 92 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: luxor that Mighty River. Are more commonly referred to as 93 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 1: the knee Ill or River Nile, the ancient kingdom of 94 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: Carset and leading seat of civilization, known of course as 95 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: Misron or Egypt. Though much remains of the majestic necropolis 96 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: known today as the Valley of the Kings, the paean 97 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: to a once mighty civilisation is now little more than 98 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: a museum, reduced to rubble and dust, a valley of 99 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: lifeless things where once the effigies of Titans passed as 100 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: Shelley would have it compelled Ye mighty to look on 101 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: their works and despair. Now only their weathered and crumbling 102 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: statues remain a reminder of distant, unknowable and long forgotten people. 103 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: Even their language would have all but vanished were it 104 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: not for the discovery in seventeen ninety nine of a 105 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: large broken tablet etched all over in words and symbols. 106 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: The stone was dug up by French soldiers stationed at 107 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: the fort of kite Bay, near the city of Rashid, 108 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: also known as Rosetta, on Egypt's north coast. The writing 109 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: on the Rosetta stone, although little more than a mundane decree, 110 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: would ultimately turn out to be among the most important 111 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 1: discoveries in archaeology composed of three languages, Hieroglyphics, Ancient Greek, 112 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 1: and Demotic, a languish thought to have evolved from hieroglyphics. 113 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 1: The writing on the stone proved to be nothing less 114 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: than the key to unlocking the language of the ancient Egyptians. 115 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: Roughly twenty years after its discovery, French linguist Jean Francois 116 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: Champollion cracked the code, and with a very particular kind 117 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: of magic, an entire civilization had been resurrected, and with 118 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: it came a sudden resurgence of interest in this newly 119 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: decipherable culture. Champollion's discovery heralded the birth of modern Egyptology, 120 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,839 Speaker 1: and goes some way to explaining why. In nineteen o seven, 121 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:47,120 Speaker 1: on the outskirts of Luxor, we find an Englishman sweating 122 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: profusely in a three piece suit, next to his wife 123 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: in equally ill suiting clothing, her expensive jewelry glinting in 124 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,959 Speaker 1: the sun as they watch workers in long white thobes 125 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: scrape and dig at the ground before them. The man 126 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: is George Edward Stanhope molneu Herbert, otherwise known as the 127 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: Fifth Earl of Carnarvon born in eighteen sixty six. At 128 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: the age of thirteen, George, like all Carnarvans before him, 129 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: was sent to Eton College, the nation's most exclusive independent 130 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: boarding school. Despite being an academic failure such as the 131 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: way of Things, he was nonetheless granted a place at 132 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: Cambridge University. In eighteen ninety after the death of his 133 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: father at the age of twenty four, George inherited his 134 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: title along with the number of properties, including the family's 135 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: stately home, High Claire Castle, a vast and sprawling seventeenth 136 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 1: century mansion and five thousand acre estate in the County 137 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,839 Speaker 1: of Hampshire. High Claire Ishashaps, best known as the home 138 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,720 Speaker 1: of the Crawley family from the wildly successful period drama 139 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: Downton Abbey. Within a matter of years, George, who has 140 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: a ponchant for automobiles and horse racing, has spent most 141 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 1: of his inheritance racking up vast gambling debts. In the process. 142 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: Spotting a fix, Lord Carnarvan proposes to Almina Wombwell, the 143 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: illegitimate daughter of the banker Alfred de Rothschild, and the 144 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 1: couple married soon after. In eighteen ninety five, the resultant 145 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 1: settlement provided by Rothschild will be enough to keep the 146 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: Rakish Canarvan from ever having to worry about anything as 147 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: tiresome as getting a job. A son, Harry and daughter 148 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 1: Evelyn arrived soon after, in eighteen ninety eight and nineteen 149 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: oh one, respectively. Carnarvan's interest in Egypt had been slim 150 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: at best until he is advised by a doctor to 151 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: begin wintering in the newly fashionable location after suffering a 152 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: near fatal car crash in Germany. Bored and alienated from 153 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: his cars, he soon finds himself drawn to the intriguing 154 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: world of archaeology and the thought of finding treasure in 155 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: the desert, wondering if he too might not be able 156 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: to find some of his own. It was a decision 157 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 1: he would not live to regret. In the early nineteenth century, 158 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 1: there was one Egyptian treasure more sought after than any other. 159 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: What drew most archaeologists to the country at that time 160 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,839 Speaker 1: was the valley situated northwest of Luxor, known as the 161 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: Valley of the Kings, the final resting place of over 162 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 1: sixty pharaohs, nobles and royalty, each buried with a mountain 163 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: of riches to take with them to the afterlife. By 164 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: nineteen oh seven, however, the valley had been almost completely plundered, 165 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 1: with many of the tombs having been robbed thousands of 166 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:16,840 Speaker 1: years previously. Of all the pharaohs buried in the valley, 167 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: only two tombs were thought to remain undiscovered, that of Horemheb, 168 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: the last ruler of the eighteenth dynasty, and that of 169 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: a little known pharaoh, also of the eighteenth dynasty, a 170 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 1: mysterious boy king known as two tank Armoun. It is 171 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: this that has brought Lord Carnarvan to the edge of 172 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: the desert in his thick cotton suit, swatting flies as 173 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: he watches his workers scrape fruitlessly in the dirt. After 174 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: a few years of little success, it becomes clear to 175 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: the hopeless amateur that some expertise is needed, and on 176 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: the advice of an acquaintance, Carnarvan dec to pair up 177 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:07,439 Speaker 1: with another Englishman named Howard Carter. Born in Kensington, London 178 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,559 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy four. Carter had first traveled to Egypt 179 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: at the age of seventeen, having fallen in love with 180 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 1: the idea of it as a boy. Working initially as 181 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: an artist, sketching ancient artifacts for archaeologists to study. Carter 182 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: had soon become somewhat of an expert on the subject himself, 183 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: and had, by the age of twenty five, risen to 184 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: the position of Inspector General of Monuments for Upper Egypt. However, 185 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: in nineteen oh five, Carter was forced to resign, having 186 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: taken the side of local sight guards, allowing them to 187 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 1: defend themselves against a group of drunk tourists Cutter drift. 188 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: Carter feared his days as an archaeologist were over when 189 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: Lord Carnarvan approached him in nineteen oh seven. Instantly taken 190 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: by the u s young archaeologist, perhaps recognizing something of 191 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 1: his roguish self, Carnarvan offered Carter the chance to work 192 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: for him. Any hope of finding a pharaoh's tomb, however, 193 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: was hampered by the fact that only one person was 194 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: permitted to dig in the Valley of the Kings. Like Carnarvan, 195 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: Theodore Davies had been lured to Egypt by the thrill 196 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: of the chase. The wealthy American lawyer had secured the 197 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: permit for the valley back in nineteen o two and 198 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 1: had shown little sign of giving it up since convinced 199 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 1: that the undiscovered tombs of teutonk Armen and horum Hep 200 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: were lurking there. In nineteen oh eight, Carnarvon and Carter 201 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 1: perceived the devastating news that horum Heep's tomb has been discovered, 202 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: though little is lost when it is found to have 203 00:15:55,400 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: been plundered many years before. Worse is to follow, however, 204 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,680 Speaker 1: with news of teutonk Aarmen's tomb being discovered a short 205 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: time later. Davies's team had been excavating a site near 206 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: the tomb of the nineteenth dynasty pharaoh SETI the First 207 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: when they came across it. After careful excavations, a dozen 208 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: sealed jars were discovered, containing, amongst other minor treasures, a 209 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: series of linen bandages bearing the name of toutonk Aarmen. 210 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: Everything else, according to Davies, had likely been stolen by 211 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: tomb robbers shortly after the king had first been laid 212 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: to rest. Davies promptly made an announcement to the press, 213 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: and in nineteen fourteen published a detailed account of his findings. 214 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: But something needles at Carter. Davies had undoubtedly found artifacts 215 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: related to toutonk armen, and though such objects were often 216 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: found near a tomb, they tended to be buried in 217 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: a separate room away from the main body. Believing he 218 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,919 Speaker 1: had discovered everything of any significance in the valley, in 219 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:17,120 Speaker 1: nineteen fourteen, a victorious but exhausted Davies relinquished his permit 220 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: and returned to his home in the United States. Perhaps 221 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,640 Speaker 1: at this point Carter and Lord Carnarvan should have taken heat. 222 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,920 Speaker 1: Although he may not have found Teuton Carman's body, those 223 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: rags of linen had been buried close to it since, 224 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,680 Speaker 1: having come into contact with it during the burial process. 225 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: They were considered a part of it. To disturb them 226 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,440 Speaker 1: was to disturb the body as a whole, and within 227 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 1: a year the man who found them would be dead. 228 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: Believing Davies to be mistaken about his find, Carter convinced 229 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,120 Speaker 1: Canarvan to take on his per so they can look 230 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:06,479 Speaker 1: for the tomb themselves. Within weeks of securing it, however, 231 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: dark clouds were gathering. Two gunshots on the streets of 232 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: Sarajevo start a diplomatic cascade that culminates in the outbreak 233 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:20,919 Speaker 1: of war. The brutal and bloody lights of which the 234 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:25,719 Speaker 1: world has never seen. Almost as if it were a warning, 235 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: Carter and Carnarvan are forced to put their efforts on hold. 236 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 1: Carnarvan returns home to manage his estate, though in truth 237 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,439 Speaker 1: his wife Almina shoulders the brunt of it, helping to 238 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 1: transform High Claire Castle into a military hospital, working as 239 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:48,639 Speaker 1: a nurse for the duration of the war. Carter is 240 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,159 Speaker 1: also fortunate to escape the fighting, being employed as a 241 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 1: diplomatic courier and translator for the British government in Egypt. 242 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifteen, Arta contacts the New York Metropolitan Museum's 243 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:07,440 Speaker 1: director of Egyptology, Herbert Winlock, to discuss his theory about 244 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: Davies mistake. Winlock is convinced too it isn't the tomb 245 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: that he has discovered that is still out there. A 246 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: desperate Carter and Carnarvan can only sit back and wait 247 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:35,400 Speaker 1: in frustration. Back at High Claire, Invigorated by his adventures abroad, 248 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: Lord Carnarvan is becoming increasingly fascinated with the occult. The 249 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: mythology of ancient Egypt had long held a fascination for 250 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:50,480 Speaker 1: purveyors of esotericism, which was only intensified by the resurgent 251 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: interest in Egyptology. Many secret orders, most notably the Freemasons, 252 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: were influenced by the mysteries of the ancient Egyptians, incorporating 253 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,320 Speaker 1: many of their spells and beliefs into their rights and symbolism. 254 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 1: It was the mythology of the great Egyptian gods of Osiris, 255 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: Isis and Horace that Aleister Crowley would draw on when 256 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 1: establishing his own esoteric order, having apparently communicated with an 257 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: ancient Egyptian entity in Cairo in nineteen o five, it 258 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 1: is unlikely that Lord Carnarvan, being a man of high society, 259 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: was unaware of such connections. For his part, Carnarvon, who 260 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:35,679 Speaker 1: was thought to have been a member of the London 261 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:40,639 Speaker 1: Spiritual Alliance, would regularly hold seances in his grand family home, 262 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: dedicating one room, the East Anglia Room, especially for the practice. 263 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: Carnarvan's son Henry, spoke of one story that occurred in 264 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: the spring of nineteen nineteen, whilst he was home from 265 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:59,199 Speaker 1: military duty in Mesopotamia. Having been invited to attend a 266 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: seance along with his sister Evelyn and Howard Carter, amongst others, 267 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 1: Henry had watched in astonishment as one of the guests 268 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: entered into a trance and began to speak a strange, 269 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:17,639 Speaker 1: unrecognizable language. It wasn't strange to Carter, however, who slightly unnerved, 270 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:23,400 Speaker 1: recognized it as Coptic, the language of modern Egypt. Only 271 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: the woman speaking it had never before uttered a word 272 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: of it herself. Later, the group would witness a vase 273 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: of flowers levitating above the table, with a form of 274 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: peace being declared. In nineteen eighteen, Carnarvon and Carter reconvene 275 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:49,000 Speaker 1: their work in the Valley of the Kings. Four years later, 276 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: having diligently and meticulously supervised the clearing of most of 277 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 1: the valley, Carter had found nothing, and Carnarvan's money was 278 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: beginning to run out by the end of an especially 279 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: barren season of excavations. Having long ago grown bored by 280 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:13,120 Speaker 1: the laborious, mundane realities of his exotic hobby, Lord Carnarvan 281 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,680 Speaker 1: summons Carter to a meeting at High Claire. On arrival, 282 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: Carnarvan informs the tired and broken Carter that he no 283 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:28,920 Speaker 1: longer wishes to finance this fool's errand in desperation, Carter 284 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: requests the lord's permission to dig for one final season, 285 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: with only a small section of the valley left to investigate, 286 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:42,159 Speaker 1: offering to cover all costs himself. Stirred by his friend's 287 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:46,239 Speaker 1: commitment and perhaps hearing the voice of his father, who 288 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,920 Speaker 1: had never thought his son would amount to anything, Carnarvan 289 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 1: changes his mind and agrees to one more year, and 290 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: so it is that Carter returns to Egypt in October 291 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty two for one final push. In late October, 292 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: with digging due to start again the following week, Carter 293 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,120 Speaker 1: travels to Cairo to help an antique dealer friend inspect 294 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: a number of antiques that have recently come into his possession. 295 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: He has just arrived at the shop when his attention 296 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 1: is caught by the sweet, lilting sound of bird song. 297 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: Strangely uplifted and moved by the melody, Carter finds himself 298 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,959 Speaker 1: stepping into the cafe next door to locate its source, 299 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,199 Speaker 1: discovering it to be a bright yellow canary in an 300 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: ornate cage. Unable to forget the bird song that night, 301 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: he returns to the cafe the following morning, and, with 302 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: the help of the antique dealer's assistant, convinces the proprietor 303 00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: to sell him the melodious canary. Arriving back at his 304 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,040 Speaker 1: home in Luxall, Carter is greeted by his house staff, 305 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: who declare the bird a welcome addition to the house 306 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: and a sure sign of good fortune. The next morning, 307 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: Carter rode up to the Valley of Kings, its silent 308 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:23,200 Speaker 1: majesty and hidden secrets, never failing to move him there. 309 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 1: Gazing out across the pale, low lying peaks before him, 310 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: he knew this was his last chance. After five years 311 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 1: of excavations, Carter and his team had only one small 312 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: area left to investigate, a triangle of land to the 313 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 1: northeast corner of the tomb of Rameses, the Sixth, mostly 314 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: taken up by the ruins of some stone huts that 315 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: had housed the slaves who built Rameses's tomb. Work began 316 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: on November first, and by the third the last remnants 317 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 1: of the huts had been removed, leaving only the three 318 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: feet of earth they were constructed on, and below that 319 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: the bedrock of the valley. At some point the following day, 320 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 1: having eventually cleared away the mounds of earth, one of 321 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 1: the workers noticed something strange about the ground. How oddly 322 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: flat it seemed compared to the surrounding bedrock. Scraping away 323 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,879 Speaker 1: at the dirt and sand, he couldn't believe what he 324 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: was looking at. It wasn't just bedrock, it was carved stone. 325 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: As Carter rode up to the site that morning, he 326 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:42,680 Speaker 1: sensed immediately that something was up. The bustle and clanking 327 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:47,199 Speaker 1: of picks and spades was conspicuous by its absence, and 328 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,639 Speaker 1: up ahead he saw his team excitedly huddled around a 329 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:56,119 Speaker 1: small section of the dig. Carter dismounted and made his 330 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 1: way to where the men had gathered. The circle of 331 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,200 Speaker 1: workmen opened up and they smiled at the Englishman as 332 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 1: he drew near. Removing his hat, he squatted to the 333 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: floor and ran his hand over the exposed stone, feeling 334 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:17,639 Speaker 1: his way around the edges. It wasn't just carved stone, 335 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: it was a step. Further excavation soon after unveiled the 336 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: clear outline of a stairwell, and as the men labored 337 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 1: into the evening, one step after another was revealed, descending 338 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: further into the ground. As a bright full moon rose 339 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: into the sky, it was time to call it a night. 340 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,240 Speaker 1: That evening, an elated Carter returned home to find his 341 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:59,399 Speaker 1: canary strangely subdued. The bird had ceased its singing the 342 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: following day. Twelve steps down, a short passage is discovered 343 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,879 Speaker 1: and an entrance way that has clearly been officially sealed off. 344 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:12,919 Speaker 1: Carter stoops down into the chamber, and shining a torch 345 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,640 Speaker 1: onto the plaster, finds the mark of the royal Necropolis 346 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,399 Speaker 1: stamped into it the clear image of a Nubis, the 347 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: jackal god of the dead, with nine characters kneeling below, 348 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: their arms held back and bound by rope. Whatever this was, 349 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: at the very least it had been created by royal appointment. 350 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: That it was found hidden under the tomb of a 351 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: twentieth dynasty pharaoh would suggest it hadn't been seen for 352 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: at least three thousand years. Taking a small chisel and hammer, 353 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: Carter made a slight peephole through the plaster and peered 354 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: through it to the passageway beyond. Though full of rubble, 355 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: he could clearly see its stretching some way into the rock, 356 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,080 Speaker 1: but that was as far as he could go. With 357 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,400 Speaker 1: darkness approaching. Having made his most exciting discovery in over 358 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,359 Speaker 1: twenty years of work, Carter ordered the stairwell to be 359 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 1: filled in once more and destructed his most trusted workmen 360 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 1: to guard their find. Unable to proceed any further without 361 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: Canarvan and the supervision of the egypt Antiquities Department, Carter 362 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,440 Speaker 1: composes a telegram to his friend and benefactor the next day, 363 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: accompanied once again by the bright melodies of his pet Canary, 364 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: almost as if it had become reanimated. At the returning 365 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:47,920 Speaker 1: of the earth to the excavated tomb back at High Claire, 366 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 1: Canarvan has just returned from walking his beloved dog, Susie, 367 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 1: when he is greeted by his butler carrying Carter's telegram. 368 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:01,200 Speaker 1: At last have made wonderful discos goovery in the valley. 369 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: It reads, a magnificent tomb with seals intact. Congratulations. Carter 370 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: is forced to wait over two weeks before Carnarvon can 371 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: make it back to Luxell, arriving with his daughter Evelin 372 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 1: on November twenty third. Two days later, under the watchful 373 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,800 Speaker 1: eye of Carnarvon and the Chief Inspector of Antiquities, Carter 374 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: breaks through the first entrance to expose the passageway beyond. 375 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,440 Speaker 1: Over the next few days, the excavators work tirelessly to 376 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,320 Speaker 1: clear out the tunnel, until finally, twenty five feet in 377 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,719 Speaker 1: they hit another sealed entrance that also appears to be 378 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: intact and marked with the seal of Touton Carmen. Moments later, Carter, Carnarvan, 379 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 1: and his daughter Evelin stand on the precipice of quite 380 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 1: possibly one of the greatest rediscoveries in the history of 381 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: human kind. Barely able to keep his hands steady, a 382 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: trembling Carter positions his chisel to the upper left hand 383 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: corner and makes a tiny breech in the plaster. Holding 384 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,560 Speaker 1: a candle up to the hole, he tests for any 385 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: toxic gases before widening it just enough so that he 386 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: might peer through it. Taking the candle, he extends his arm, 387 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 1: pulls himself up to take a look, and gasps, well, 388 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 1: can you see anything, asks Canarvan. Yes, replies Carter, wonderful things. 389 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: It had taken a moment for his eyes to adjust 390 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: to the darkness, the candle flame almost going out as 391 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: a sudden rush of warm air escaped from the chamber. 392 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: Having adapted to the light, Carter had stood completely dumb 393 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: struck as there on the other side of the wall, 394 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:11,800 Speaker 1: strange figures were beginning to emerge from the darkness, life 395 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 1: sized statues of men, bizarrely shaped animals, and everywhere the 396 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 1: unrelenting glint of gold. They had at last rediscovered the 397 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:29,560 Speaker 1: untouched tomb of King Teuton Carmen. Moments later, a young 398 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 1: boy descends into the tunnel to deliver a message to 399 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: the archaeologist. Just as Carter had been making his hole 400 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: in the wall, a cobra had made its way into 401 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 1: his house, up a table leg and into the cage 402 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: of his canary, killing it instantly and swallowing it whole. 403 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: The boy was terrified. It was a clear sign, he said, 404 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: the cobra, representing royalty and protection as symbolized by the 405 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,640 Speaker 1: Uaeus as worn on the crown of all pharaohs, had 406 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:13,719 Speaker 1: killed the lucky bird. Though Carter will later write that 407 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 1: he and Canarvan choose this moment to halt the excavation 408 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: until an antiquity's official could be alerted, as was required 409 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: by Egyptian law at the time, in truth, they did 410 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:32,280 Speaker 1: no such thing. Undeterred by the ominous omen, Carter proceeded 411 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 1: to make the hole wide enough for himself, Canarvan, and 412 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 1: Evelin to slip through it into the next chamber so 413 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 1: they could examine their find at closer quarters. Moving into 414 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,560 Speaker 1: the sacred space, it was as if they had stepped 415 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: back three thousand years. A half filled bowl of mortar 416 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: had been left on the side, ancient fingerprints still marked 417 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,960 Speaker 1: the walls, and all about was filled with hundreds of 418 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 1: extraordinary statues and other bedeeled and golden objects, but there 419 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 1: was no sign of the king's body, meaning they had 420 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: only reached the ante chamber. Carter walked to the far 421 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: side of the room that was flanked by two life 422 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 1: sized statues, presumably of the king, made from ebony and gold, 423 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: effigies placed to guard the entranceway to his burial chamber. 424 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 1: Carter held up the candlelight to their faces, illuminating the 425 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 1: sacred cobras set into their crowns right under their gaze. 426 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: He made another small hole, just large enough to squeeze through, 427 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:48,600 Speaker 1: and then Carter, Canarvan, and Eveland made their way into 428 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:52,880 Speaker 1: the next room, a cramped space taken up by what 429 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:57,479 Speaker 1: seemed like a vast golden box. They had found it, 430 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 1: the king's final resting place, with the seal to its 431 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:08,600 Speaker 1: entrance still intact. This now being highly illegal, The three 432 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,720 Speaker 1: of them slipped back into the ante chamber and covered 433 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:17,280 Speaker 1: up the whole. Returning to the surface, an exhilarated Carter 434 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:22,000 Speaker 1: and Canarvan congratulated each other on their fiend, but found 435 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 1: themselves strangely subdued as they made their way to their 436 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 1: respective beds that night. With the moment they had craved 437 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:34,120 Speaker 1: for so many years having finally arrived, it was as 438 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:38,360 Speaker 1: if something of the wonder in the world had vanished forever. 439 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 1: Within days, news of the find had made its way 440 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:54,279 Speaker 1: around the globe, and Carter and Lord Carnarvan became overnight celebrities, 441 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,840 Speaker 1: their extraordinary rediscovery roundly heralded as one of the greatest 442 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:05,520 Speaker 1: in history. As protocol dictated, it would be some months 443 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,080 Speaker 1: before Carter was able to access the burial chamber, as 444 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,840 Speaker 1: all objects in the first room needed to be removed 445 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:16,759 Speaker 1: and documented first. Over the next few weeks, a number 446 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:19,719 Speaker 1: of dignitaries would come from far and wide to view 447 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:25,520 Speaker 1: the tomb for themselves. On December third, Lord Carnarvan returned 448 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,479 Speaker 1: home to wait out the next phase, where he found 449 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:33,080 Speaker 1: a bizarre message waiting for him. It had been sent 450 00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:38,799 Speaker 1: by the self styled Count Louis Lawarna Hammon, otherwise known 451 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 1: as world renowned fortune teller and self described clairvoyante. Keiro 452 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,759 Speaker 1: the Apparent psychic, born William John Warner in Ireland in 453 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:53,240 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty six, had made quite a name for himself, 454 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,879 Speaker 1: having apparently successfully foretold a number of recent events, from 455 00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:01,040 Speaker 1: the signing of the Balfour Declaration to the failure of 456 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:06,960 Speaker 1: Sir Ernest Shackleton's second expedition to the Antarctic. His message 457 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 1: to Carnarvan was a warning delivered to him he maintained 458 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: in the form of automatic writing from one of King 459 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:19,680 Speaker 1: teutonk Armand's sisters. It was a plea that he not 460 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,600 Speaker 1: remove anything from the King's tomb, or else he would 461 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:27,160 Speaker 1: suffer an injury, a sickness from which he would never recover, 462 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:34,360 Speaker 1: and that death would claim him in Egypt. Undoubtedly shaken 463 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 1: by the message, Canarvan none the less returned to Egypt 464 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 1: in January to witness the formal opening of the inner 465 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: burial chamber, which took place on February sixteenth. Soon after, 466 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:51,520 Speaker 1: proceedings were halted again when Carter and Carnarvan had a 467 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:56,200 Speaker 1: falling out over the management of the site. Since the 468 00:36:56,280 --> 00:37:00,040 Speaker 1: tomb's initial rediscovery the treasure within it had become the 469 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:04,120 Speaker 1: subject of much diplomatic wrangling over who in fact owned it, 470 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:08,320 Speaker 1: with it eventually being declared the property of the Egyptian state. 471 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:13,240 Speaker 1: The pair were later reconciled after Carnarvan apologized to Carter. 472 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:19,520 Speaker 1: One month later, Lord Carnarvan was bitten by a mosquito. 473 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: He had all but forgotten the bite until he cut 474 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:28,960 Speaker 1: himself on it shortly after whilst shaving. Within days, the 475 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 1: cut became infected and he developed sepsis. Over the next 476 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,560 Speaker 1: few weeks, his body struggled to fight the infection, and 477 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: by early April, the Lord was completely bedridden. At his 478 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:48,720 Speaker 1: suite in the Savoy Hotel in Cairo. Shortly after midnight 479 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:52,879 Speaker 1: on April fifth, a strong gust of wind swept through 480 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:59,600 Speaker 1: the city of Cairo, rattling the shutters outside the lord's bedroom. Inside. 481 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,920 Speaker 1: A weary Canarvan watched with concern as the lights of 482 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:08,080 Speaker 1: his suite flickered out, as did all the lights in 483 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 1: fact in the city, plunging it into total darkness. By 484 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:16,839 Speaker 1: the time they had come back on barely minutes later, 485 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:24,280 Speaker 1: Lord Carnarvan was dead. Electricians working the city's power terminal 486 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:28,120 Speaker 1: the following day, will fail to find any obvious cause 487 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:35,839 Speaker 1: for the blackout. On hearing of the death, Author Arthur 488 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,759 Speaker 1: Conan Doyle is one of the first to suggest that 489 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:42,560 Speaker 1: Carnarvan had been the victim of a curse, having broken 490 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,960 Speaker 1: into the sanctity of a pharaoh's tomb. He will not 491 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,279 Speaker 1: be the last, and nor would Lord Carnarvan be the 492 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:56,480 Speaker 1: only apparent victim of such a curse. Over the next 493 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:59,840 Speaker 1: few months, a number of people linked to the discovery 494 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:05,200 Speaker 1: of the tomb died in strange or unexpected circumstances, such 495 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:09,000 Speaker 1: as twenty three year old Prince Ali Camel Farmi Bay, 496 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:14,279 Speaker 1: who was shot dead by his wife Marie Marguerite on 497 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:20,040 Speaker 1: July tenth, shortly after he had visited the tomb. Aubrey 498 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:25,000 Speaker 1: Herbert Carnarvon's half brother, had also visited the tomb, shortly 499 00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:29,239 Speaker 1: before a routine dental operation led to a fatal blood poisoning. 500 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:35,560 Speaker 1: He also died that same year. In September. The following month, 501 00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:40,719 Speaker 1: Captain Richard Bethel Howard Carter's forty six year old secretary, 502 00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:44,760 Speaker 1: was found dead in bed of a suspected heart attack, 503 00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:51,640 Speaker 1: the cause of death ultimately being unconfirmed. Over the next 504 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:55,520 Speaker 1: ten years, as many as eleven people would die apparent 505 00:39:55,640 --> 00:40:01,320 Speaker 1: victims of the curse. Howard Carter, who had no patience 506 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:05,520 Speaker 1: for superstition, and while talk of ancient curses, would live 507 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:09,600 Speaker 1: for another sixteen years before dying of Hodgkin's disease at 508 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:19,360 Speaker 1: the age of sixty four. Those who knew about the 509 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,279 Speaker 1: ominous warning sent to Lord Carnarvan by the psychic Key 510 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,560 Speaker 1: Roe were left to wonder if there had been any 511 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:31,120 Speaker 1: truth to his claim. Perhaps they had unsettled the pharaoh's 512 00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:35,919 Speaker 1: spirit after all by disturbing his grave, or perhaps by 513 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:42,960 Speaker 1: taking something that wasn't theirs to take. Canarvan and Howard's 514 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:46,359 Speaker 1: insistence that they didn't at any point steal anything from 515 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,879 Speaker 1: inside the tomb seemed to negate the second point. At 516 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:57,440 Speaker 1: least sixty five years after Carnarvan's death, High Claire Castle 517 00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:02,400 Speaker 1: became the property of the fifth Earl's grandson, Henry. It 518 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:05,360 Speaker 1: having fallen to him to carry out an inventory of 519 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:09,360 Speaker 1: the family estate. He called in his father's retired butler, 520 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:15,759 Speaker 1: Robert Taylor, to help with the review. Having finally detailed 521 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:20,160 Speaker 1: every last item in the house, Henry assumed that everything 522 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:26,400 Speaker 1: had been accounted for well, that is everything, said Taylor, 523 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:33,880 Speaker 1: except for the Egyptian stuff. I'm sure just what Taylor meant. 524 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:37,799 Speaker 1: The former butler proceeded to lead Henry to a pair 525 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:41,680 Speaker 1: of small, ornate doors that had long ago been blocked 526 00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:47,240 Speaker 1: off with furniture. After removing the tables and chairs, Taylor 527 00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:51,160 Speaker 1: opened the doors to reveal a long forgotten, dark and 528 00:41:51,239 --> 00:41:57,560 Speaker 1: dusty passageway. Henry followed Taylor inside, who stopped in front 529 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:01,120 Speaker 1: of a set of panels in the wall, opening them 530 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:06,399 Speaker 1: to reveal a secret storage space behind inside which were 531 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:13,200 Speaker 1: stored a number of sealed tints. Henry would later open them, 532 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:19,000 Speaker 1: discovering a collection of over three hundred ancient Egyptian artifacts, 533 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:23,880 Speaker 1: a secret that Lord Carnarvan had taken to his grave. 534 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,800 Speaker 1: Thank you as ever for listening. Unexplained as an Avy 535 00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:40,319 Speaker 1: Club production podcast created by Richard McLean Smith. All other 536 00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:44,000 Speaker 1: elements of the podcast, including the music, are also produced 537 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:48,480 Speaker 1: by me Richard mclin Smith, Unexplained. The book and audiobook 538 00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:52,680 Speaker 1: is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, 539 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:57,560 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. Please subscribe to 540 00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:00,640 Speaker 1: and rate the show wherever you get your podcast and 541 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:02,960 Speaker 1: feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or 542 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,600 Speaker 1: ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps 543 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:08,919 Speaker 1: you have an explanation or a story of your own 544 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:11,400 Speaker 1: you'd like to share. 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