Buried treasure, looting, intrigue and dedicated scholarship; `wonderful things' gleaming in the darkness; the cache of royal mummies; and, most wonderful of all, the tomb of Tutankhamun.

This is the complete story of the rediscovery of ancient Egypt, a tale of extraordinary characters: Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, who braved the `pharaoh's curse'; Belzoni, `the Patagonian Samson'; Champollion, who unlocked the secrets of the hieroglyphs - and a tale of spectacular rescue, with modern technology mobilized to save Egypt's monuments from flood waters and the ravages of time.