Everyone is intrigued by ancient Egypt. In 1799 during the Napoleonic crusade, The Rosetta Stone was discovered. This initiated a great drive of exploration throughout Egypt in search of relics from ancient times. Explorers from around the world traveled to Egypt, discovering the megalithic stone monuments of the pyramids, the Sphinx, and the grand temples. People were amazed at the beauty of the ancient world. One such gentleman was Howard Carter. As a young boy, Carter developed interest in Ancient Egypt. At 25, he began work in the Egyptian Antiquities Service, and at age 40 he began work, with the financial aid of Lord Carnarvon, in the Valley of the Kings searching for missed tombs from previous expeditions. One in particular: Pharaoh Tutankhamun. After years of searching and begging for continued funding, something was accidently uncovered.

A step. The date was November 4, 1922. The first step of many ended with dense rubble. After partly clearing the staircase, Carter found a doorway sealed with cartouches. Upon removing all of the rubble, another seal was discovered. A cartouche reading Tutankhamun. Carter opened a small hole. He peered inside. Lord Carnarvon asked, “Can you see anything?” Carter’s reply: “Yes, wonderful things.”

Many items of great beauty were catalogued. Gilded furniture, gold statues, boxes of foodstuffs and jewelry, to name just a few. The magnificent-solid gold coffin, where the pharaoh lay, found inside two gilded coffins brought the discoverers to their knees, in awe. One of the most tender personal items found within that gold coffin, was a letter.

Several years ago, the writers’ group that I belonged to handed out the week’s topic: A Love Letter. I wrote the following:

My Husband, My Beloved

A hand-written letter was discovered among her husband’s personal belongings. With tears and a broken heart, this young bride had slipped this final love letter, along with a small bouquet of wildflowers, to him as he began his passage to the here-after. She wrote: “I am thy wife, O great one, do not leave me.” Suddenly, her privileged life was lost. She was now alone and afraid.

Their love had grown from childhood. Each came from a prominent family. They married young. Images of their life together show picnics and parties. Their possessions tell a story of happiness and content. But alas, their marriage produced no children, and this brought her even more pain.

Desperate to keep her position intact, she sent a message to a neighboring land and pleaded for one of its sons to come to her and be her husband. He was ambushed and killed on his way to his new life. Viziers plotted to gain control of the land. The young queen was forced to marry a cunning ruthless man who only wanted the power of which she held.

Her name was Ankhesnamun. Her beloved husband died in his prime at age 19. He was a pharaoh, and his name was Tutankhamun. Their love was forever. They believed that in the afterlife, they would find each other once again and continue their love affair. They came from a family that was beginning to believe in a single God. Perhaps they found him.