TAA i.2.2 (2nd Season)

On 14 November Mace arrived in Luxor and, after consulting with Carter, returned with him to Cairo the same night. On 15 November they met Allenby and Tottenham, reaching temporary agreement despite likely future difficulties. Carter, Merton and Mace returned to Luxor on 16 November, unpacking on the 17th. By 18 November, work had resumed in the Valley, strengthening the tomb enclosure and preparing new working spaces. On 19–23 November, Carter opened the tomb, built a new door, and the team restored the lion couch before beginning work on the chariots. From 28 November–6 December, detailed studies of the Burial Chamber and removal of the partition wall clarified how the shrines were introduced and wrongly oriented. In December, the shrines were dismantled, the pall removed (on 30 December), and discussions held with Lacau and others amid renewed government tension. By 3 January 1926, the innermost doors were opened, revealing Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus.
From 14 January–23 February 1924, work in Tutankhamun’s tomb progressed from preparing statues and dismantling shrines to the dramatic unveiling of the sarcophagus and the ensuing political crisis. On 14–16 January, statues and sticks were examined, and Carter removed shrine sections. By 21 January, the second statue was unpacked, by 31 January, the second shrine was cleared, revealing ostrich fans, bows, and arrows. On 2–3 February, Carter raised the lid of the fourth shrine, exposing the sarcophagus. After preparations on 4–11 February, the official lifting of the sarcophagus lid  took place on 12 February before dignitaries including Lacau and Mohamed Pasha Zaghlul, revealing the outer coffin. The next day, 13 February, a government ban on the scientists’ wives visiting the tomb provoked a walkout. Between 14–23 February, tensions escalated—Carter was denied access, Maxwell initiated legal action, and on 22 February Lacau, with soldiers and police, forcibly broke open and seized the tomb on behalf of the Egyptian Government.