Video - Unearthing ancient tombs

ABC7 Local

Thanks very much to Kat for sending me this link and pointing me to the other videos provided on the site. It is one of ten videos available on the ABC7News Tutankhamun page at the moment.

When Dr. Zahi Hawass became Secretary General of Egyptian Antiquities he realized that all the major discoveries in the Valley of the Kings had been made by archeologists from outside Egypt.

He began training Egyptians in the methods of modern archeology -- cultivating a sense of national pride in the discovery and preservation of Egypt's treasures.

But make no mistake, archeology is backbreaking work. Unearthing and restoring a tomb begins with the careful removal of sand and rocks accumulated over more than 4,000 years.

Hawass: "You know, I'm so happy that I'm excavating now in the Valley of the Kings. First of all, we are working three locations now. The first is behind the tomb of King Tut. And we found an area of how the ancient Egyptian redirected the flood. When the flood comes up to the valley, they redirected then it will not disturb the tomb. And we found in this area, graffiti written year nine of one of the names of the kings, Cartouches of kings, we found scene of Queen giving offering. And now we are working in front of the tomb of King Tut, and actually we are demolishing Mustafa Azir's office. Mustafa is the director of the West Bank and he used all his life to sit in this office. We are demolishing it today because I really do believe that the tomb of Nefertiti is there. Why? This is the tomb of King Tut cave 62, and there in this side cave 55 of Egnahton. And here, the most recent tomb we found of Keya, the mother of Tut Ankh Amun. And the other third site is working in the West Valley, or they call it the Valley of the Monkeys. We are excavating there because there is a tomb of I, and Amenhaten III, and I really do believe that the tomb of the wife of Tut Ankh Amun, Ahnkisinbhatun, or Ankhisinamun, who married I after the death of King Tut should be there, and this why I'm an archaeologist and I did major discoveries in my life."

Sixty-three tombs of ancient Egyptian nobles have been opened in the Valley of the Kings. King Tut's was the 62nd discovered and the only tomb to date not pillaged by grave robbers.