Tutankhamun's Tomb discovery.

On the 4th November 1922, Tomb KV62 was discovered in the East Valley of The Kings, Egypt. It would later be more commonly known as the tomb of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun and would also be revered for the wealth of valuable antiquities found inside.

Howard Carter - the famed Egyptologist - was hired by Lord Carnarvon to excavate the tomb, which was discovered almost by accident when Carter's crew were clearing some debris and huts He had abandoned some years previously. A young water boy apparently tripped on a rock which later turned out to be the top stone of a flight of steps carved into the rocks.

The process of excavation took 8 long years to complete, partly down to the condition of the tomb which was small, hastily built and had been raided twice over the centuries, and in part due to Carter's meticulous cataloging of artifacts.

In the years following the revelation of Tutankhamun's tomb, several of the team, and visitors to the site died in unusual circumstances, talk of a curse was rife which would affect anyone who was involved in disturbing the resting place of the pharaoh. Arthur Conan Doyle perpetuated this apparently on the event of Lord Carnarvon's death suggesting 'an evil elemental' spirit was created by priests to protect the mummy, no curse was actually ever found in the tomb or sarcophagus.

On this day in 1857 - The Spirits Book.

On this day - April 18th in 1857 - the famous book, regarded as the most important in the spiritist movement was published, The Spirits Book by Allan Kardec.

It is composed mainly of a collection of questions about the origin of spirits, what the afterlife entails, the concepts of good and evil and ultimately the purpose of life. The answers were provided by a group of spirits who called themselves 'The Spirit of Truth' and he communicated with them in many sessions during the 1850's.

It contains many concepts that we still grapple with today, and is still available (on Amazon would you believe it?! See link below) including do spirits pre-exist and survive physical matter, are there good and evil spirits, reincarnation and guardian 'angels'. Fascinating stuff, and groundbreaking especially for the time.