Message #136315

[Bianca]

On November 6 Carter sent Lord Carnarvon the following telegram: "At last have made wonderful discovery in The Valley; a magnificent tomb...; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations."


In England, Carter's cable was opened by Lord Carnarvon's daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, who, later, was to tell Adamson of her serious misgivings over her father's return to Egypt. According to Adamson's recollection, Lady Evelyn said that Lord Carnarvon, a believer in spiritualism, was with a medium when Carter's telegram arrived and, when he returned home, went straight to his bedroom, without reading the cable or even saying goodnight. Anxious to discover the cause of his unusual behavior, Lady Evelyn spoke to the medium, who told her that "the spirits" had warned Carnarvon never to return to Egypt.


Despite this warning, Lord Carnarvon - when he read Carter's cable next day - insisted on returning as soon as possible to Luxor. Lady Evelyn in turn, insisted on going with him and on November 23 they arrived in the valley and excavation of the tomb was immediately resumed.


By the afternoon of the 24th, the entire staircase, 16 steps in all, had been cleared, allowing them to examine the sealed doorway. They were elated at finding the seal of Tutankhamen, but their hopes were quickly dampened by the discovery that the door had been penetrated twice - apparently by tomb robbers - and re-sealed.


Finally, though, on the morning of the 25th, they removed the door, and saw before them a narrow passageway filled with rubble and, more evidence that the tomb had been plundered, broken jars and vases and numerous fragments of smaller articles. That in itself was exciting, but on the afternoon of the 26th, at the end of the 30-foot passage, they found a second doorway - once again with clear signs of opening and re-closing - and Lord Carnarvon, says Adamson, could not contain his excitement.