Water Boy Finds Step, Englishman Finds Pen

A story that will be told for generations holds that the first step down to the tomb was found not by Howard Carter but by a boy bringing water to the dig, who scraped at the sand to set down his jars and hit stone. Carter's diary, written by Carter, says Carter found it.

Historians can't settle it, and the boy's identity is debated too. What is certain is that the excavation depended on dozens of Egyptian workmen and foremen whose names rarely made the papers. The Gazette regrets that it was also late in noticing them.

Satire. For what actually happened, see the “What really happened” box in the full issue.

← Back to the issue: Archaeologist Finds One Step in Valley of the Kings, Calls It 'the Beginning of a Staircase,' Refuses to Say More