1922: Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.
With over 5,000 artifacts, it sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun’s mask, now in the Egyptian Museum, remains a popular symbol.
The deaths of a few involved in the discovery of Tutankhamun’s mummy have been popularly attributed to the curse of the pharaohs. Some of his treasure has traveled worldwide with unprecedented response; the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities allowed tours beginning in 1961. He has, since the discovery of his intact tomb, been referred to colloquially as “King Tut”.
