The Lost Silver Pharaohs of Tanis

March 2023. The world's largest Egyptology museum is set to open at the foot of the Giza Pyramids. For the occasion, the finest treasures of ancient Egypt are being transferred to this colossal new building, which cost over a billion euros. For the first time, this museum will bring together the 5,000 sumptuous pieces from the legendary tomb of Tutankhamen. 15 kilometers from here, in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, in the former exhibition halls for the jewels of the most famous of pharaohs, another treasure discovered during one of the most fabulous adventures in archaeology takes its place. Everyone knows about Tutankhamen's tomb, but few people know that in fact we have several other royal tombs that were found intact, and these are the treasures of Tannis. This is something that is really marvelous because it's so unknown, but probably more spectacular than Tutankhamen in a certain way. The treasures of Tannis are exceptional. Over 60 kilos of gold, two one-of-a-kind silver coffins, funeral masks without equal. They were found in a forgotten necropolis in the Nile Delta, a true valley of kings in northern Egypt. It reveals a little-known side of ancient Egypt and the saga of long-forgotten pharaohs who, like Tutankhamen before them, left their mark on Egyptian civilization. People don't know the names of Sucenese, or Sorcon, or Taclot, or people like that, yet these kings ruled Egypt and, most excitingly, their tombs were found intact, filled with coffins, sarcophagi, and jewels. There is gold, there is silver, there's treasures, and there's a great story behind that. Nothing like them had ever been found, but it never really captured the public imagination in the way that Tutankhamen did. The reason? Bad timing. The discovery of the royal necropolis at Tannis coincided with the outbreak of the Second World War. So people are paying attention to what happens in Europe, to the tangents between the countries, and this is so important that ancient Egypt kind of suddenly becomes more and more unimportant for the public. So it doesn't make the news media the way Tutankhamen did, or the way you would think it would. Yet it is one of the most fascinating and extraordinary episodes in the history of Egyptology. And it's the work of a Frenchman, Pierre Montay. Though his name may not be well known, Tannis is, thanks to a legendary film. Tannis is a site that is not just known for its treasures, but it's also known from something else. It's known from a famous Hollywood movie. Tannis is where the climactic scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark movie are to be found. As is evident in this scene, the archaeological site of Tannis is at the heart of the plot of Steven Spielberg's film. It's the place where Indiana Jones takes place. This masterpiece of adventure cinema is loosely based on the real history of the site, a city revived by an Egyptologist and his team against the backdrop of a world in chaos. To understand the significance of this discovery, you must travel a thousand kilometers from Tannis. In 1921, Pierre Montay began excavations at Byblos in Lebanon. At the time, he was a 36-year-old archaeologist and professor at the University of Strasbourg. In three years, he unearthed the oldest Phoenician inscription ever identified and exhumed the tombs of the city's princes, some of which are still intact. When he opened the sarcophagi, he made an astonishing discovery. The rulers there regarded themselves very much as the friends of the Egyptians, and they were buried with treasures which included Egyptian items. The remains are covered in Egyptian treasures that are as wondrous as they are beautiful. This find confirms the close links between Egypt and Phoenicia in antiquity. Pierre Montay found what he was looking for in the years to come. And he wanted to trace when it started, its extent, and what it meant, not just for the history of Lebanon or the history of Egypt, but for the entire Mediterranean world. He's very much interested in this connection between the cultures. He's finding lots of evidence of Egypt in Lebanon, and he's perhaps beginning to think what evidence might there be of foreign cultures back in Egypt. It was with this goal in mind that he found himself on the delta of the Nile in Egypt. One site in particular drew his attention, Tanis. It is a site known for a very long time that has a very long history, a very important site just judging from the monuments that are lying around everywhere on the surface. The city had been excavated to some extent by archaeologists previously, but they had by no means finished the job. There was a lot more still there to discover. Could Tanis bear any traces of the Phoenicians or other Near Eastern people? Pierre Montay is convinced that it does. From 1929 to 1939, Pierre Montay multiplies his discoveries. In 10 years of excavations, he identifies most of the major monuments in this multi-layered archaeological site. Montay makes the city start to rise from the ashes. It's now beginning to look like a real ruined city rather than just simply a disaster zone. The layout of all of this were a huge boost to our understanding of an urban and religious center in the delta, as well as bringing Tanis from obscurity into the forefront of the Egyptological world. The most important is the Temple of Amun. This colossal structure, measuring 400 by 300 meters, is the size of the Louvre Museum. It is a massive temple enclosure befitting the kind of religious site devoted to the Egyptians' principal deity, Amun. But no one was expecting the arrival of new enemies. The Nazis have been increasing pressure in Europe since seizing power in Berlin in 1933. The whole world is marching to war. The Nazis are in power in Germany, and they are beginning to build a very strong nation, strong economically, strong militarily. The Egyptologist is increasingly worried. He fears he will not be able to complete his work. If hostilities actually break out, how can work be carried on? What could happen if work is suspended? While the political situation in 1939 is so problematical, Pierre Montet sets out to go to Tanis, and he will make the discovery of his life. It will be the probably most important season of excavation of Montet, and it's one of the most important seasons of an excavation in all the history of Egyptian archaeology. January 1939. Despite fears of a second world war, Pierre Montet begins his 11th season of excavations. When he goes to Egypt for that season, Montet is unaware that that season will bring to light something unimaginable, something that makes whatever he'd found over the previous 10 years completely fade into the background. The Egyptologist and his team move tons of earth in search of new clues, and then comes the startling realization that if powerful pharaohs have succeeded one another here, is it possible they are also buried here? Where were the people buried? Where are the cemeteries? In the surrounding area, no tombs are discovered, no necropolis, and even less a royal necropolis. If this is northern Thebes, then logically there must be the equivalent of the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings near Thebes in present-day Luxor was home to the tombs of the pharaohs of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties, those of Tutankhamen, Ramses, and Thutmose. The final resting place of these illustrious monarchs was outside the city. We have the Valley of the Kings, we have all these famous tombs of the great pharaohs of that period, but after this period, the tombs of the kings are missing. The reason is simple. All these tombs, with the exception of Tutankhamen's, were plundered in ancient times, leading subsequent pharaohs to change their strategy, particularly in Tannis. What they decide is that instead of burying the pharaohs out in the secret desert, they'll put them where everybody can see them, in the middle of the temple. We are inside a sacred area. Never before have kings considered building tombs inside a sacred area. This is a domain reserved for the gods. Pierre-Monté continues his excavations around the Temple of Amon. He explores a number of mud-brick buildings, and at one point, something fairly intriguing comes to light. At the foot of a building, a circular pit appears that has been filled in. The workers clear it, and at the bottom of the pit, they discover a stone slab. A very, very large piece of stone, which he thought, great, this is the ground. Except it wasn't. But what could it be? Pierre-Monté quickly had the eight meters of earth above the slab excavated. He falls upon a flat surface several meters long. The slab seems to continue until a protruding surface appears. While clearing it, he discovers several fragments of what are known as Ushabti funerary statuettes. Funerary material, material that would accompany a burial orb. Generally speaking, when you find Ushabti, you're potentially in a necropolis area. There's no room for doubt. Pierre-Monté has just made an unprecedented discovery. If these statuettes are there, it's because the sarcophagus of the deceased, his treasures, and his mummy are in a nearby tomb. He carefully inspects the relics and discovers the name of the dead man, and it's not just anyone. This is Shishank III, a pharaoh of the 22nd dynasty who reigned 400 years after Ramses II. Pierre-Monté learns from ancient texts that it was the capital of the 21st and 22nd dynasties. These two dynasties represent one of the darkest periods in Egyptian history. Around 1000 BC, the unity of the empire was shaken after the death of pharaoh Ramses XI. Ramses XI, who was the last king of the new kingdom, the last of the Ramesside kings, had no sons to succeed him. He only had two daughters. And so there were two rivals for power at the time, the priests of Amun in Thebes, who were getting very powerful, and then the kings in the Delta. So the country was almost split because we had the high priests of Amun then declaring themselves king in Thebes, but also the rulers then in the Delta also declaring themselves as king. These kings of the Delta were the pharaohs of the 21st and 22nd dynasties. They ruled northern Egypt between the mid-11th and late-8th centuries BC. Those of the 22nd dynasty, including Chichonk III, came from one of the tribes of distant Libyan origin who had settled long ago in the Egyptian Delta. Very little was known where they had lived, where their city had been located, their capital city was not even clearly established. We just have every now and then the mention of them in some texts, a very few small monuments. We cannot really write a history of this period at that point. So this was a bit of a mystery. He continues his inspection and in one place spots a slight anomaly. He finds a gap between what appear to be the stones of this floor and puts a stick down and finds there's a cavity below. It's not a floor, it's a ceiling. Beneath it, there is a void, and that void is filled with perhaps one would say wonderful things. He must have been fantastically excited. He must have known there was the possibility, even if it was just a tiny chance, that he was going to find something amazing, something to rival Tutankhamun. It's quite exceptional. We are on the trail of a large building, perhaps the necropolis. Pierre-Monté immediately had the slab cleared, but disappointment is the order of the day. He realizes that it masks an old thieves' hole filled in with two small limestone blocks. This hole is every archaeologist's nightmare. It means that somebody has got there before. So the joy of discovering and entering a tomb is immense, but at the same time, there's great apprehension and a near certainty that the tomb has been looted. In ancient times, tombs were ravaged by thieves in search of gold. The Valley of the Kings was completely looted, with the exception of Tutankhamun's tomb. Could this burial site have escaped the brigands? So he starts opening this hole. Pierre-Monté has the two limestone blocks removed and contemplates the interior of a two-meter high room. February 27, 1939, the Egyptologist and his team enter this small room. It's otherwise very dark inside. They were able to see more or less. Equipped with a flashlight, Pierre-Monté illuminates the walls of the room and notices that they are decorated. Hieroglyphics and engravings gradually reveal themselves before his eyes. But above all, he faces a royal cartouche, the signature of the pharaohs. So he knows that he's dealing not with the tomb of someone, but with the tomb of a king. Pierre-Monté manages to read the name of the owner of the tomb he has just entered. It is King Orsakan II, a well-known king of the 22nd dynasty. After Sheshank III, here is a second pharaoh of the 22nd dynasty. Pierre-Monté doesn't know it yet, but he's just gotten his hands on a royal Egyptian necropolis, a kind of valley of the kings of the north. But who is this Orsakan II? For Monté, Orsakan II is a name he knows. He is one of the more important kings of his period, and various objects naming him have been found over the years. So his place in history is reasonably secure. We know he's quite important, but we don't know much else about him. Could this be his tomb? If so, what might it reveal about this pharaoh? The discovery of his sarcophagus and treasure would reveal a great deal more about him and one of ancient Egypt's least known dynasties. Then not only is it, you know, a sensational discovery in terms of finding the place where a king is buried and perhaps finding some burial equipment, we know that the tomb of Tutankhamun is full of treasure. But on top of all of that, there's the possibility here to enormously extend what we know about this period of history. Excitement is at its peak. At the far end of the first room entered by Monté and his team, an opening leads to a second chamber. Probably the entrance to something, a passage into this kind of building. At the far end is a square opening, also about a meter by a meter, which leads visibly into a second room he enters. So Monté goes through with this flickering light looking in, and there he finds a burial chamber with what looks like a burial. A burial chamber. Every Egyptologist's dream. Pierre Monté is the first to contemplate what no one has seen for millennia, the interior of this pharaoh's tomb. Unfortunately, it has been emptied of its treasure. Looking around on the walls, they realize these are inscriptions of King Azorkhan II. These are scenes of him in the underworld, scenes from the Book of the Dead, a scene of his heart being weighed in front of Osiris. In the center of the room is a pink granite sarcophagus. What they have found is absolutely spellbinding, because nobody has ever found a tomb of a king of this period. Pierre Monté immediately sends a telegram to his wife. He inspects the sarcophagus, but there is no inscription mentioning Azorkhan II. Is it really his? What's more, a hole appears in the sarcophagus chamber, which doesn't bode well. Six days later, on March 3rd, the Egyptologist and his team are able to open the sarcophagus. Of course, having seen the hole, Monté is slightly prepared for the worst, and when he opens the sarcophagus and clears it over, he sees that it is empty. Disappointingly, the coffin has also been looted. Inside is nothing more than a few bones and some fragments of gilded wood. So no sign of the treasures that one would expect from the tomb of a pharaoh. Monté is clearly disappointed, but there may be more to be found in the tomb. Despite the disappointment, the discovery of this tomb is a great step forward for Egyptology, but the archaeologist doesn't stop there. He goes on searching for more because he starts realizing probably there's more than just this one tomb. Pierre Monté has no idea that he's about to uncover a real necropolis that will help us to understand a whole part of Egyptian history that was unknown to us until then. The Egyptologist examines the walls of the sarcophagus chamber and notices that a block is missing from the top of one of them. It appears to be a fairly thin partition with nothing behind it. He points out that, in fact, the proportions are such and the walls are such that there must be another room. He crosses to the other side and finds himself in a tiny room, still beautifully decorated. It features two passages blocked by huge boulders that are impossible to remove. Could one of them be the real entrance to the tomb, or would they lead to other rooms or vaults? The boulders that conceal the grave entrances are so heavy, so monumental that they have to be maneuvered with hoists, pulleys, things like that, and there wasn't enough room. Pierre Monté then decides to approach it from the exterior. They realize that it's not just a vault they've entered, but a whole series of rooms and probably several burials and graves. Maybe this is another tomb, and maybe it has escaped the robbers. And so, with great trepidation, they enter it. It is now March 6, 1939. The archaeologist enters the first small rectangular chamber covered with mud. Pierre Monté has the layers of earth removed. A new, deeply recessed sarcophagus is revealed, buried in the ground. Excitement and joy are, of course, at their peak. A new royal tomb has just been discovered. Hundreds of funerary statuettes representing the pharaoh's servants and the afterlife are stored here. They reveal the identity of its occupant. We're dealing with a new king, King Takalot. A King Takalot, once more a pharaoh of whom we almost know nothing. Takalot I was the third pharaoh of the 22nd dynasty and the father of Ozorkon II. His reign lasted 14 years, between 887 and 873 BC. This was a widespread custom in ancient Egypt when a pharaoh ascended to the throne. He had to bury his own father, his own predecessor, so it's not totally illogical to find a vault dedicated to his father inside a king's tomb. Unfortunately, the sarcophagus is also empty, apart from a few gold fragments left behind by the thieves. The second tomb is a big disappointment for Monte, and he makes no secret of it. It's not going to be like this for the whole campaign. Despite this new disappointment, the archaeologist continues to explore the tomb. He returns to the first tomb, which he attributes to the pharaoh Ozorkon II. He detects the presence of a large granite block in the masonry of the walls. Could this be a new passageway? This granite is set into the limestone masonry with mortar joints. A small section of this mortar has fallen away, revealing a very small opening behind it. But there is a void behind it. And so they hope that maybe this third chamber is still intact and hasn't been visited by thieves. Unfortunately, the sarcophagus next to it makes it impossible to extract the heavy obstruction. The Egyptologist scratches around to enlarge the opening and makes a wonderful observation. It is indeed a vault occupied by a gigantic granite sarcophagus. The obvious finally seems clear. It was here, in this mysterious chamber, as Monte called it at the time, that the tomb's main occupant Ozorkon II was probably laid to rest. But it would take a little more patience before they could be certain. He would quickly realize that he hasn't reached the end of this discovery. First of all, he has found a royal tomb. Something nobody has done for many, many years. But also looming over everything is the prospect of war. Something which will, if it comes, will destroy his plans for the future. Despite the frightening danger ahead, Pierre Monte is determined to see his excavation campaign at Tannis through to the end. Before returning to France, the Egyptologist decides to continue clearing the roof of the necropolis for a while longer, even though he knows he won't be finished before the end of the season. It's here that he makes an exciting and promising discovery that will finally fulfill all of his expectations. He follows the ceiling, the roof of this tomb, and begins to realize that there is, in fact, another building immediately next to it. He sees that all the roof beams and panels are perfectly joined and show no signs of tampering. And that's a very good sign. Pierre Monte chooses to have the panels removed. Underneath, he finds a square pit, 1.7 meters on each side, filled with soil, which he has removed. The next day, March 16th, it is completely emptied. He goes down the shaft, and for once he is not disappointed. Two meters, 40 below, an opening appears blocked by a wall. There are no signs of forced entry. He's going to be thinking, I have another chance, perhaps, at an intact tomb, a burial stuffed full of treasure. He thought there might be tombs there, but he hadn't expected to find royal tombs and intact ones as well. Monte rejoices. What could be behind that wall? The day comes to an end. He postpones the opening until the next day. Friday, March 17th, at dawn, Pierre Monte and his team descend to the bottom of the shaft and set about unsealing the wall. And this time, it's easier to remove. It's lime or plaster mortar, so it's relatively easy to loosen them and then remove the blocks. The archaeologists first enter a small corridor where they must crawl on all fours. And there's no doubt about it. It's a vault, and it's an intact vault. The walls are adorned with inscriptions and a royal cartouche, that of Susanus I, an important pharaoh of the city of Tannis in the 11th century BC. The name on the wall he's thinking is the clue to the owner of this tomb. But it isn't the most striking thing that he sees in this chamber. A sight which few other archaeologists had ever seen or even imagined was before Monte's eyes. In the middle of this cellar, unusual and intriguing reflections stand out. He couldn't see very well, and yet the light catches something glinting. It's something metallic. Here, Pierre Monte sees silver. One of the great characteristics of the Tannis treasure is that there are many silver objects. This is silver. Solid silver. Nothing like this is known in Egypt at this point. Pierre Monte approaches the silvery reflections that illuminate this two-by-four-metre room. And what he sees leaves him speechless. On the right-hand side, on a base of limestone blocks, rests a sumptuous silver coffin. It's quite rare in that it's shaped like an anthropoid coffin, meaning in the shape of a man, but with the head of a hawk. It's very rare for a king to be depicted like this on his sarcophagus. It is unique in the world. It's a little cracked, but the gold elements inside are still visible. Pierre Monte is surrounded with wonders that light up the room. The archaeologist also discovers that this silver coffin was accompanied by two mummies in very poor condition. The rest of the room is cluttered with countless funerary furnishings. We also have shabtis and other grave goods, so he is so excited. And the inscriptions everywhere keep mentioning Sucenis. So Monte crawls out, thinking maybe this is Sucenis. Every indication is that nobody has entered this room since the last burial was placed there. This time, Pierre Monte is right. A month after his discovery at the Tanis Necropolis, he has finally unearthed an intact tomb, and not just any tomb. Nothing like this has ever been found before. It's completely unique. So he was rewarded beyond his wildest dreams, but there was even more still to come that he didn't know. End of the day on March 17th. Incredible. A contingent of armed guards is immediately sent to Tanis to secure the area. This discovery is, of course, a sensation, and news spreads like wildfire. An intact pharaoh's tomb and its fabulous treasure have been discovered. This is potentially a new Tutankhamun for the 1930s. Everybody is very excited, and Monte suddenly finds that he has all the support that he needs, and the interest of some very important people, including the king of Egypt, King Farouk. The 19-year-old Egyptian king arrives in Tanis to witness the opening of the coffin. A moment in history that will bring Pierre Monte face-to-face with a new enigma. It's March 20th, 1939. It is with great emotion that Pierre Monte and King Farouk approach the sovereign's coffin, not suspecting for a moment that a major surprise awaits them. He is going to be thinking that this is Susanis I. The name is on the wall. This must surely be Susanis. And yet, it's not. The archaeologists clean the tops of the coffin and realize that the inscriptions show that it is not Susanis I buried there, but a ruler who is once again called Sheshank or Sheshank or Sheshak, a Shoshenk who's never been heard of before. Another kind of mystery and something totally unexpected. Who is this Sheshank? Could this be the Sheshank who Zuseptis was found when the necropolis was discovered? When it turns out not to be Susanis, the press might like it that it's Sheshank. Journalists believe that the Sheshank found in the silver sarcophagus is well known. In fact, he was one of the most important and famous pharaohs in history. They are already making this association between Sheshank, whose body they hope is inside the coffin, and Sheshank of the Bible. Sheshank in the Old Testament is said to have conquered the city of Jerusalem on the death of the famous King Solomon, looting his city and taking everything with him, including the legendary Ark of the Covenant. The press goes wild over this discovery and begins to believe that the treasures of King Solomon of Jerusalem had finally been found. This is the thought that is conveyed to the public that this is the sarcophagus and perhaps inside the body of this important figure from the Bible. And so this is how it appears in the newspapers, though obviously this is not the case at all. For Montay, there has never been any doubt. The Sheshank he has just discovered is absolutely not the one in the Bible. Time and thorough archaeological research will identify this silver pharaoh as Sheshank II, nothing to do with the plunderer of Jerusalem. On the other hand, the scholar clearly understands that this Sheshank is a completely unknown ruler. In the tomb, in the presence of King Farouk, Pierre Montay lifts the lid of the silver coffin. One of the most beautiful jewels in ancient Egypt appears. There is a mask, a golden mask that is almost as beautiful as the mask of Tutankhamen, something of extraordinary beauty. It's really quite spectacular. And then a whole set of jewels, bracelets, and chest decorations, each one finer and more magnificent than the last. The two men contemplate the contents of the silver vessel. Adornments and jewels are clearly visible and appear to be in place, but are tangled together revealing that the burial site has sustained considerable damage. The mummy is gone. Only the bones remain. Unlike the dry climate of the Valley of the Kings, the humidity of the Nile Delta is not conducive to preservation. The remains of Sheshank and indeed of the other kings who were found in the cemetery were all reduced to badly decayed skeletons. In spite of everything, the discovery is extraordinary and the joy is tremendous. As for the other two mummies, they cannot be immediately identified. It is only much later that the study of a few Usheptis found nearby allows us to restore their identity. The first is Pharaoh Siamon, one of the successors to Susannes I during the 21st dynasty. The second is his successor and the last ruler of the dynasty, Susannes II. Mummies without a coffin, without a sarcophagus. What does this mean? These corpses were probably removed from their original burial sites following ancient looting. This vault must surely be a hiding place. Pierre Montay continues his exploration of the tomb. It became clear to Montay this was not a tomb built for any of those three pharaohs because on the walls of the chamber were inscriptions of Susannes I, perhaps the greatest of the 21st dynasty pharaohs. Where is his burial chamber? As he clears away these precious treasures, Pierre Montay takes a closer look at the walls of the burial chamber. He's now had experience of how these tombs work and he realizes there are places which are plugs and places where you can maybe enter other chambers. Concealed behind this decor are two square openings. Could these well-sealed passages lead to new vaults? But there's not enough time to go any further. The end of the campaign is fast approaching and there's already a lot to do to take care of what's been discovered. Further exploration, full of promise, was wisely postponed until the following year. Before returning to France, Pierre Montay longs to discover the secrets of the mysterious chamber for the giant sarcophagus seen in the other tomb. Around the granite plug, which cannot be removed, he enlarges the opening which, three weeks earlier, had provided a brief glimpse of the vault's interior. Pierre Montay manages to get a slightly larger opening, about 30 centimeters wide, but it's still a very narrow opening. He tries to enter the tomb, to no avail. On March 24th, a very slim worker tries once again but is unsuccessful. In the end, it's a relatively slender teenager who makes his way through the narrow opening and into the room. And it is that member of the team that is able to say to Montay, yes, there is something inside here. The young teenager circles the giant sarcophagus and carefully inspects the vault. There's obviously an opening that's been sealed, so most certainly another thieves' hole, which provides hope that they will ultimately be able to penetrate the vault. Pierre Montay then places all his available workers in this area and asks them to speed up the opening of the roof since time is running out. The end of the campaign, scheduled for the first week of April, is fast approaching. On March 26th, the Egyptologist finally enters the Great Vault and discovers a granite sarcophagus of colossal dimensions, over three and a half meters long. Is this indeed the sarcophagus of Ozorkhan II, as all the inscriptions in the previously discovered rooms suggest? There's nothing yet to confirm this, but there's little doubt. The chamber appears to have been pierced by ancient looters, which does not bode well for the condition of its contents. Only three mummies in very poor condition are found inside the following year. There are debris in the sarcophagus from a royal coffin, but whether these mummies, either of them are his or they are of later intrusive burials, is unknown. But while clearing away the rubble that had fallen from the thief's hole, the archaeologists make an unexpected discovery. At the head of the large sarcophagus is the beautifully sculpted quartzite lid of a much smaller sarcophagus. Second sarcophagus, which is inscribed and proves to belong to a son of Ozorkhan II, who apparently died in childhood. This is a prince by the name of Hornakt. We knew almost nothing, if anything at all, about this individual. The results of the 1939 campaign are already considerable. Three new royal tombs, one of which is intact, five stone sarcophagi, one silver coffin, a gold mask and extraordinary funerary furnishings, and promises of more discoveries to come. The Egyptology community and the press are enthusiastic about this extraordinary achievement. Pierre Montaigne is uncovering a whole swath of Egyptian history from this 21st and 22nd dynasty of which very little was known at the time. But poor man, he had something quite serious to deal with because there were huge rumblings in Europe because this was the start of the Second World War and this was going to overshadow his life and his discovery. The end of 1939. France and Germany have been officially at war for four months without direct combat. Hitler is busy destroying Poland. Pierre Montaigne teaches in Clermont-Ferrand, where the University of Strasbourg withdrew at the start of the conflict. This is a very dramatic time. What does the future hold? It's a complicated time for Pierre Montaigne because he's not sure he'll be able to return to Tannus. Despite international tension, the archaeologist wants to return to Egypt where the treasure of Soussenes I awaits him. Though France is in a state of war, he somehow manages to find funding for a new excavation campaign. Although he imagines finding new jewels in the royal necropolis of Tannus, he doesn't expect to make a discovery as important as that of Tutankhamen's tomb. It's January 15th, 1940. Pierre Montaigne is back in Tannus. He can't wait to find out what hides behind the wall of the chamber where Chachanque II lay. Pierre Montaigne immediately sets to work on the potential openings in the walls of Chachanque II's burial chamber. They are covered in decorations bearing the image and cartouches of two pharaohs, Soussenes I and his successor Amenemope. Without hesitation, the Egyptologist chooses to begin by exploring the vault of the first. The problem at the outset is that the doorway is blocked by an enormous granite blocking stone, enormously heavy. And the big question is how does one actually move this huge lump of granite out of the way? It must be possible because they put it in to start with. They gently trim away the contours of this two meter long block on a slight slope. It's a real challenge for the archaeologist to free this enormous stone, which is in fact part of an obelisk put in place by the ancient Egyptians. Pierre Montaigne and his team try a clever technique. He manages to pass a steel cable, which enables him to pass large marine ropes several times around the block. A set of ropes is attached to a hoist installed in the antechamber. Block is pulled very gradually in an attempt to extract it. It's laborious and very slow. It takes hours and hours to finally move the block a few centimeters. But after a few days, suddenly everything changes. And the obelisk is moving much easier. It seems it's rolling on something. What they don't yet know is that they're being helped by bronze rollers placed there when this piece of obelisk was laid three millennia ago. This ingenious technique, well known in ancient Egypt, was to prove an invaluable tool for the tomb's explorers. And once they realize this, they simply have to reverse the process. And now exactly those same rollers are used by Montaigne and his team to open it again. And finally, it moves out of its position, allowing proper access to the chamber for the first time. And then, at last, the great discovery. It is February 16th, 1940. Two days after starting to remove the stone, Pierre Montaigne enters a narrow room measuring five meters long by 1.7 meters wide. A magnificent vision appears before him. A pink granite sarcophagus surrounded by the most wondrous treasures. And they are confronted by an incredible sight, a monumental stone sarcophagus surrounded by burial equipment. This is a very, very exciting moment. It's the start of something totally new. It's probably like Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. It opens a whole new chapter for Egyptology and for ancient Egyptian history. The French Egyptologist sees hundreds of Ushabti and an incredible collection of precious tableware, masterpieces in gold and silver. Most of these objects bear inscriptions revealing the insignia of Susanus I. There is no doubt about it. This is his vault. And its contents are intact. The tomb has been undisturbed. No one has been in there before. They start finding all these wonderful objects that you would expect in a royal tomb. So really the most spectacular discovery in Egypt since Tutankhamen. On February 20th, Pierre Montaigne opens the sarcophagus. The lid, weighing 800 kilos, is gently lifted using levers. Inside, two other coffins are assembled like Russian dolls. As with Tutankhamen, we also have this system of nesting dolls. Meaning, a coffin inside, which is a coffin inside, which is a coffin. The last of these is one of the most beautiful jewels in the history of archaeology. A new silver coffin unlike anything in the world. This time, it doesn't depict a falcon's head like the one on Shishank II. This is the face of the pharaoh. This coffin is extremely fine, refined, sculpted. It's a pure marvel, a pure jewel. So this was something, except in silver, to rival what we had in Tutankhamen's most inner coffin. When the silver lid is lifted, a new surprise awaits. And then inside that, of course, is a spectacular gold mask. And the mummy of the king, covered with jewels and spectacular gold. Unfortunately, the mummy is in very poor condition. But it is surrounded by marvelous jewels such as these chest plates, set with fine stones. Cases for the pharaoh's fingers, these rings, and these bands. There are no fewer than 26 bracelets and numerous necklaces, very heavy. One necklace alone weighs eight kilos. A second, almost as much, seven kilos. A bracelet weighs almost two kilos of solid gold. It's a colossal discovery for Egyptian archaeology. A treasure worthy of Tutankhamen. And the discovery of a powerful pharaoh from the 21st dynasty. Susanus I is not just any pharaoh in Tannus, but the king who built Tannus. He built the great surrounding wall that encloses the city's major temple, the Temple of Amman, as well as the number of other buildings that bear his name. His tomb expands the field of knowledge of the 21st pharaonic dynasty. Despite the exhumation of this precious treasure, the Egyptologist is not at the end of his surprises. On April 16th, 1940, two months to the day after the great discovery of the silver sarcophagus and treasures of Susanus I, Pierre Montey inspects the second burial chamber behind the other blocking stone. And so he opens that up and then again finds another largely intact tomb. That of Amenemope, the son of Susanus I. Once more, chamber full of wonderful things, full of treasures. Once more with the mummy that is almost, that has fallen into dust. But once more, he finds another king in Tannus. Such an event should have shaken the whole world. But it is the spring of 1940 and France has just suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Nazis. Paris is occupied, as is the northern half of the country. It doesn't make the news media the way Tadengamen did or the way you would think it would. The discovery was found just at the wrong time. As a result, it never got the publicity it deserved at the time and really subsequently seems to have been lost in obscurity. Back in France, Pierre Montey tries to survive in this chaotic territory. Egypt and the pharaohs would not really be mentioned for years to come. And when he is able to return in 1945, as the war draws to a close, he learns some terrible news. The site was looted in 1943 and some of Tannus' treasures, which had been safely stored in the Cairo Museum, have also disappeared. It is a horrible thing for any excavator. Some were found later, but others have never been found. And that's a loss for science. Dejected, Montey nevertheless resumes his excavations and the following year a stunning new discovery awaits him. It is now spring 1946. After all his unique and dazzling discoveries, Pierre Montey unearths a new intact burial site, somewhat different from the others. It's not a king, but a high-ranking military general called Wen-Jabao En-Jed. And he was a favoured soldier at the course of Sucednes I and had clearly been given a very lavish burial by the king. His vault contains sumptuous gold objects, including this stunningly realistic mask and jewels as magnificent as they are refined. In the end, Pierre Montey unearthed an exceptional funerary complex designed for at least 13 royal and princely burials, six of which were intact, or nearly so. More than half a century after Pierre Montey's death, the capital of Sucednes I still fascinates archaeologists. The French Tannus excavation mission continues to carry out research there and now uses modern technology. Let's not forget that the site covers an area of 220 hectares and that the temples that have been excavated represent only about 15% of the entire site. The city itself, which surrounds the temples, has never been explored. The whole city is there lying under the ground, so there's hundreds of years of work left to do at Tannus. So it will yield, I'm sure, more spectacular discoveries as the days and years go by. A site that may have slipped under the radar due to history, but which could well be the focus of attention in the years to come. Who knows if fabulous new treasures will be discovered by a new generation of adventurers in search of lost pharaohs.