Newsreel documenting the sensational discovery of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh's tomb and the priceless treasures within.

The excavation of the tomb of 'King Tut' was a 1920s sensation. This contemporary newsreel enacts a journey down the Nile to the Temple of Luxor and beyond the desert to the site of the tomb. Archaeologist Howard Carter is seen standing outside the tomb, while an ebony chair and a gem-encrusted wheel from the pharaoh's chariot are shown being removed.

Tut-ankh Amen's tomb was discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in November 1922, by a team led by archaeologist Howard Carter. It would take another ten years to collect and document all of the artefacts found within. In April 1923, just a month after this news film was released, the excavation's patron, Lord Carnarvon, died from an infected mosquito bite, an incident that immediately sparked stories of a supposed curse upon those who had defiled the pharaoh's final resting place.

The cultural fascination with all things Egypt goes back to at least the early 20th century, with Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of the Seven Stars (1903) being a key early example. But the publicity surrounding both the discovery and the ensuing 'curse' fuelled a new Egyptology boom, with numerous lurid articles, novels, stories and films exploring ancient curses and the vengeful bandaged mummies.