One hundred years ago on November 4, 1922, a 12-year-old Egyptian boy named Hussein tripped over a stone while fetching water for Howard Carter and his team of archaeologists at Luxor’s Valley of the Kings. This misstep quickly turned into the first step that led to a discovery that has gripped the world ever since – the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The boy king, who ruled during the eighteenth dynasty in ancient Egypt, was only nine years old when he ascended the throne and died less than ten years later. 

Archaeologists the world over have described his short reign as one that brought back stability to a land that was in turmoil.

He was buried in the Valley of the Kings, and his tomb sealed off with the intention that no human eye should ever see the gold, jewels and works of art his mourners had packed into the tiny chambers. 

The king’s treasures remained hidden beneath the sands for thousands of years, until they were discovered in 1922 by British Egyptologists, Howard Carter, and Lord Carnarvon-the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who had spent six years excavating the Valley of the Kings.

Tutankhamun’s reign lasted barely nine years in the vast span of ancient Egyptian history, and although his successors tried to erase the king’s record from history, this valuable discovery has given the boy king an immortality his mourners never thought of, according to Professor of Egyptology at The American University in Cairo, Dr. Salima Ikram. ©Reuters