A young local delivers water by donkey to the tomb's labourers and armed guard. Then as now, the sturdy beasts served as essential transport in the Egyptian countryside.
Crowding along the retaining wall above King Tut's tomb, spectators lean in to hear the press conference and get a glimpse of the assembled dignitaries.
As the curious crowd looks on, a crew of labourers carefully removes parts of one of the six chariots buried with Tut.
Bending to the task, workmen haul away wooden boxes, painted white, that encased joints of mummified meat. Tut’s grave goods also included wine, bread, fruits, and vegetables for his eternal sustenance.
National Geographic correspondent Maynard Owen Williams emerges from Tut’s tomb on the morning after its official opening. He and other members of the American and British press had been offered a view of the burial chamber and its still sealed sarcophagus.
Visiting the Valley of the Kings can be hot business, even in February. This camel delivered a load of ice to cool the drinks of the distinguished guests attending the formal opening of the tomb.
British archaeologist Howard Carter, in the bow tie at left, supervises the removal of two gilded chariot wheels from the tomb. A. C. Mace, in the hat at right, joined the project from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.