Narrator:
Tomb robbers were a plague on Egypt. The tombs of the pharaohs were empty. All the treasure of the pharaohs had been taken away in the distant past. Yet one man believed that there was still a tomb to be discovered. With the money provided by a rich Englishman, Lord Carnarvon, Howard Carter had searched for the tomb of King Tutankhamen for many years. He had found nothing and Lord Carnarvon was growing weary of always losing money. We now travel to Lord Carnavon’s house, Highclere Castle in the United Kingdom.
(Howard Carter arrives at the castle.)
Butler:
Mr. Carter! Good to see you again, sir. Please come into the library and I’ll tell his lordship that you’ve arrived.
Lord Carnarvon:
Carter, welcome back to England! How are you?
Carter:
Very well, thank you. I see that you are enjoying good health.
Lord Carnarvon:
Yes, yes, but I must admit I asked you here because I think we need to have a chat about our work in the valley.
Carter:
I suspected as much, my lord, and…
Lord Carnarvon:
The truth of the matter is I simply cannot put up the funds for another season of digging. As you know, the expense is considerable. We’ve been at it for five years now and have come up with nothing. I think you’ll have to agree that the Valley of the Kings does not hold the tomb of Tutankhamen.
Carter:
(He pulls a folded, frayed map from his jacket pocket.)
There’s just this one last triangle of ground that we haven’t explored yet, my lord. It’s here, near the tomb of Rameses VI. As long as there’s an untouched spot in the valley, we must continue our search.
Lord Carnarvon:
I’m sorry to disappoint you, Carter, but I really have made up my mind.
Carter:
If you are agreeable, my lord, I’d like to put up the money for one more season myself. And if I do find the tomb, the discovery will still belong to you since the license is in your name.
Lord Carnarvon:
(He stares at the map for a few moments, and then looks at Carter.)
That’s a very generous offer, Carter, but we can’t have that; can we? I give in – we’ll keep digging, but for one season only, I will, of course, continue to foot the bill.
Carter:
Thank you, my lord. I will leave for Egypt immediately.
Narrator:
Carter returned to Egypt to continue his search for the tomb of Tutankhamen. He took with him a yellow canary, which the workers thought would bring them luck. He made his plans for the season and told his foreman, Reis Ahmed, where to tell the crews to dig. One morning when Carter arrived at the site, he was greeted by a strange silence. No one was talking or singing. No one was working. Carter thought there must have been a terrible accident.
Carter:
What is it? What has happened?
Reis Ahmed:
Mr. Carter, the water boy has found a step cut into the rock. He was trying to find a place to set down a jar of water, when he struck something hard. He called me and I had the workmen dig until they uncovered a step.
Carter:
Show me at once:
Narrator:
Carter’s workmen soon uncovered steps leading down into a tomb. A sealed tomb with royal seals. He immediately sent a telegram to Lord Carnarvon, covered the steps again and posted guards. Only when Lord Carnarvon arrived did they proceed to excavate the entire staircase and open the tomb. However, in the meantime the misfortune struck the Carter’s yellow canary.
Reis Ahmed:
The golden bird has been killed by a cobra.
Carter:
What a shame. Well, make sure the snake is out of the house.
Reis Ahmed:
The pharaoh’s serpent ate the bird because it led us to the hidden tomb.
Carter:
What? That’s superstitious nonsense.
Reis Ahmed:
You must not disturb the tomb.
Narrator:
Carter paid no attention to superstition. As soon as Lord Carnarvon arrived, they proceeded to open the tomb.
Lord Carnarvon:
Well, Carter, what have you found for us?
Carter:
Come, my lord. Look. The seals say Tutankhamen. This may be the tomb we have searched for all these years. But wait, part of the door has been opened and resealed. Someone must have entered the tomb after it was sealed.
Lord Carnarvon:
Keep your spirits up, Carter. Let’s open it and see what fate has brought us.
Narrator:
Carter began to make a hole in the door. When it was large enough to look through, he held a candle up and peeked inside.
Lord Carnarvon:
Can you see anything? Carter, can you see anything?
Carter:
Yes, wonderful things.
(The curtain opens and wonderful treasure is revealed.)
Carter:
We have succeeded where others have failed.
Lord Carnarvon:
The greatest treasure ever found.
Carter:
The sarcophagus itself must be behind this golden screen.
Reis Ahmed:
Let me help you move it out of the way, master.
(They carefully move aside the screen.)
Carter:
This is the mummy of Tutankhamen, the only king of Egypt whose treasure has not been stolen. And look at these magnificent statues of the gods and goddesses of Egypt.
Lord Carnarvon:
Never has anyone gazed upon such splendor.
(Suddenly the gods and goddesses begin to move and speak.)
Ra:
How dare you profane the tomb of a king and god of Egypt? Have you no respect for the dead? I am Ra, the creator and god of the sun. Every day I travel across the sky in a great ship and at the end of the day I die and begin my night voyage. The next day I am born again. I am the father and grandfather of all the gods.
Carter:
Oh great Ra, do not be angry with us.
Horus:
You must be punished for entering the tomb. I, Horus, am one with the Pharaoh. I am a fighter, a warrior who defends the Pharaoh. So now I must fight and destroy you, tomb robbers.
Carter:
No, great god, we are not tomb robbers. We are archaeologists. We will take these treasures to museums where all people can marvel at their beauty.
Ra:
What are archaeologists but another name for tomb robbers? The Pharaoh’s treasure goes with him to the next world. It cannot be taken to a place called a museum.
Horus:
These treasures are not for men to look at. They are only for the Pharaoh.
Lord Carnarvon:
But think now wonderful it would be for all people to be able to see and appreciate them.
Maat:
The taking of the treasure would disturb the fundamental order of the universe and all creation would perish. As the daughter of Ra, I am pledged to bring order out of chaos and ensure that each Egyptian king is honourable and promotes order and justice. And so was Tutankhamen. His honour must be preserved.
Anubis:
I, god of the dead, will conduct Tutankhamen through the underworld to the Fields of Peace, where he will become a god and remain forever. For this journey he must have the treasure that he will need there. You cannot take it. I have overseen the process of his mummification. It was done with great skill and he is well prepared for the journey.
Maat:
Anubis has weighed the heart of Tutankhamen on the Scales of Justice against my feather of truth and found that he was a just and honourable person. He will be welcomed by Osiris into the Blessed Land.
Ra:
Everything is as it should be. You archaeologists must be destroyed by Horus, the defender of the Pharaoh and Tutankhamen must continue his journey to the after life.
Carter:
Wait! Oh great gods and goddesses of Egypt. The tombs of the other pharaohs of Egypt were robbed in ancient times and their treasures lost forever. Yet surely these Pharaohs were able to reach the Blessed Land.
Horus:
Stolen! Lost forever! What are you saying mortal man?
Carter:
Yes, stolen. Lost, gone, the gold melted down, the gems stolen. People have dreamed for centuries of finding a tomb with the Pharaoh’s treasure inside. They will guard it and gaze upon it with awe and wonder at the might of the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Anubis:
Surely, my father will welcome the soul of Tutankhamen as he has welcomed all the Pharaohs of Egypt, with or without their treasure.
Maat:
If the balance has not been disturbed by ancient tomb robbers, then it will not be by modern ones. But should we not ask the King himself.
Ra:
Let us do so. Let Tutankhamen decide the fate of his treasure. Waken the King, Anubis.
(Anubis goes to the mummy and awakens Tutankhamen, who rises from his sarcophagus.)
Tutankhamen:
At last the Blessed Land.
Anubis:
No you have not yet reached the Blessed Land. We have a question about your treasure?
Horus:
These are archaeologist and they want to put your treasure in a place called a museum so that people can forever gaze upon it and remember your name. It will not be lost as the treasure of all the other Pharaohs has been.
Tutankhamen:
But do I not need my treasure in the Blessed Land. How will I live?
Anubis:
My father, Osiris, will provide for you.
Carter:
Your treasure will be taken to a place which will be prepared especially for it. Every day thousands of people will come and gaze upon it and remember your name. You will be more famous that Rameses II and Thutmosis III. You will be the most famous Pharaoh of all time.
Tutankhamen:
The most famous Pharaoh of all time. Known throughout all the land and beyond. That is an honour I would like. But my mummy must remain here in my tomb so that Anubis can continue leading me to the Blessed Land.
Carter:
We can promise that.
Lord Carnarvon:
Yes, we will do as you want.
Reis Ahmed:
We will take great care of every object in your tomb.
Narrator:
And so it came to be. The treasure of Tutankhamen was taken to the museum in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, where it can be seen even today. Thousands of visitors come from all over the world to gaze upon the treasure. Tutankhamen became the most famous Pharaoh in all of Egypt’s history because Howard Carter found his treasure.