ABSTRACT
With another season guaranteed, Carter left England and arrived at Luxor on October 27, bringing with him an unusual pet—a canary in a gilded cage. Work started on November 1 in front of Ramesses VI’s sepulcher. Three days later, the debris in the small triangular area had been cleared. Carter’s long-term reis, Ahmed Gerigar, and his experienced workers began clearing the exposed flood deposits that covered the bedrock. When Carter arrived at the excavation, he was greeted by silence. The reis pointed to a rock-cut step, which both he and Carter knew was the entrance to a tomb. Carter went into high gear. The workers cleared the stairway, with Carter expecting a looted sepulcher. By afternoon, they had revealed a sealed doorway stamped with the necropolis seal. The jackal god Anubis, protector of the dead, sat above nine captives, representing Egypt’s enemies. With admirable self-control, he filled the stairway with rubble, set guards on the tomb, and sent the most famous telegram in archaeological history to Carnarvon, who was still at Highclere: “At last have made wonderful discovery in the Valley. A magnificent tomb with seals intact. Recovered same for your arrival. Congratulations. Carter.” 1
