Toutânkhamon Exhibition in Paris This Summer Retraces the Tomb's Discovery

An exhibition at the Parc des Expositions de la Porte de Versailles in Paris from July 3 to September 6, 2026, will recount the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. On November 4, 1922, water boy Hussein Abdel-Rassoul uncovered the first step of a staircase in the Valley of the Kings. Archaeologist Howard Carter, funded by Lord Carnarvon, had been digging for years despite Theodore Davis's claim that the valley held nothing. Carter's team excavated under Ramesses II's tomb, their last chance. They found a 16-step staircase descending four meters. Carter telegrammed Carnarvon: "At last have made extraordinary discovery in the Valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact." Twenty days later, they read Tutankhamun's name on seals. Carter peered through a hole and saw "strange animals, statues, and gold—everywhere the glint of gold." Inside were nested shrines and an intact sarcophagus. KV62 was officially opened on November 29, 1922. Over ten years, 5,398 objects were removed. Ironically, workers digging Ramesses VI's tomb had accidentally covered KV62's entrance, preserving it until 1922.