ABSTRACT
This chapter explains that Carnarvon and Carter were deeply committed to their excavations and supervised them carefully with long-term plans in mind. They worked in a well-explored area of the necropolis. Ultimately the excavations were a laborious task of clearance, of removing limestone chippings, flood debris, and spoil heaps from earlier excavations to see what lay underneath. The Earl, who may have learned something of this from his earlier excavations, took Carter's example to heart. From all indications, Carter found life in wartime Egypt dull, except for purchasing antiquities as the market picked up in 1917. The Earl's health was much more unpredictable after his accident and the war years. In early 1918, he had emergency surgery for a septic appendix and recovered only slowly. There were archaeological difficulties emerging, too, notably in the person of Pierre Lacau, who was much more restrictive about the export of spectacular finds.
