In the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo may be seen the mummies of many of the most famous Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, kings who left behind them great monuments, magnificent temples and colossal statues, and whose names have become as familiar as those of modern monarchs, though separated from them in time by some thirty to forty centuries. Little was it expected that a king of obscure origin with a short and uneventful reign should one day attract the attention of the whole world, and that, not on account of fame attaching to himself, but to the single fact that while the tomb of every other Pharaoh yet discovered had been rifled in ancient times, that of Tut-ankh-Amen was found practically intact. In the confined space of this small tomb was contained an assemblage of royal possessions such as had never before been seen. What then must have been the contents of the tombs of Seti I, of Rameses II, and others, in one of whose halls alone all the wealth of the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen might have been stored? But the tomb of every one of these monarchs had been entered by thieves, and that not once or twice, but over and over again until not a shred of the original tomb furniture remains.

The wrappings of the royal mummies had been torn open in search of jewels and in some cases much damage had been done to the body itself.