THE worldwide media hysteria about Tutankhamun is explored in the current BBC One series Egypt.
The international interest in rediscovering the young pharaoh's treasure in 1923 was further fanned by the sudden deaths connected with it. The death of the excavation's sponsor Lord Carnarvon started the Curse of Tutankhamun stories.
"The series handled this matter quite delicately, but it was an international sensation at the time" says Dr Joyce Tyldesley.
"There is dramatic licence in seeing Carnarvon bitten by a mosquito in the tomb, when in fact it happened while he was taking a break away from the pressure of being at the excavation. The Valley of the Kings is far too dry for mosquitoes.
"Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb, devoted the rest of his life to cataloguing what was discovered, curtailing his other activities. So you could say he was cursed, too, because he knew there was no other choice for him."
Phil Dolling, executive producer, says: "The idea behind the series was to be able to discover Ancient Egypt through the eyes of Howard Carter, the great Belzoni and the scholar Jean-Francois Champollion, who deciphered the Rosetta Stone and the meaning of hieroglyphics."
Dolling and series producer Paul Bradshaw wanted to create a sense of seeing Ancient Egypt's treasures for the first time.
The BBC gained unprecedented access to Nile valley sites. Bradshaw says: "We had fantastic help from the government and a local production crew. Keeping visitors out of shot was nearly impossible, but we tended to shoot early in the day so disruptions were kept to a minimum."
