Tutankhamun’s mummy remains on display

British archaeologist Howard Carter had been searching for Egyptian artifacts for three decades when he found Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. Archaeologists thought all the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, which is located across the river from ancient Thebes, had already been excavated at the time of the discovery. The most intact tomb ever discovered, the new one rapidly generated excitement across the world. Ten years were needed for Carter and his team to inventory and empty the tomb.

King Tut's tomb treasures have been included in several popular museum displays that have traveled the globe, including the "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibitions that ran from 1972 to 1979. The exhibition of the golden burial mask and 50 other priceless artifacts from the tomb was seen by eight million visitors across seven American cities. The burial mask and other delicate relics are no longer taken out of Egypt. The layered coffins of Tutankhamun's mummy have been replaced with a climate-controlled glass box, which is still on exhibit inside the tomb in the KV62 chamber of the Valley of the Kings. The Tutankhamun collection is currently housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, although it will eventually go to the Grand Egyptian Museum or GEM.