Egypt's Treasure Guardians

One part of the Grand Egyptian Museum that is finished is the Conservation Center. Here treasures found across Egypt are being gathered, catalogued, restored and preserved, in anticipation of going on display once the main museum building is finished. One room of the Conservation Center is dedicated to the treasures found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

As the end of the digging season approaches, John and Maria tidy their site, ready to close it down for the season. As they work on one tomb, another member of their team, Moamen, works on the adjacent one. John is called over. It looks like Moamen has discovered something. The base of the cave appears to be not what it seems.

On the Gebel el Silsila site is a Necropolis. John and Maria have discovered what looks to be a tomb. John wants to check the space for salt damage (the site is regularly flooded by the Nile) so he needs to crawl inside and have a look. The bones and pottery he discovers convinces him he’s in a tomb. Then, he discovers a man made opening at the back of the tomb, leading to another chamber.

John Ward and Maria Nilsson are archaeologists running the excavations at the ancient quarry known as Gebel el Silsila. They believe stone from their quarry was transported along the Nile to Karnak, home to the largest ancient religious site in Egypt. Quarry marks, carvings made by the workers on the stones, appear to link the two sites.

Follow a select group of individuals determined to bring Egypt back from the brink, to discover more of the country’s history, keep its heritage safe and persuade tourists to visit the country again.