Herbert, George Edward Stanhope Molnyeux (1866-1923)

British Egyptologist who collaborated with Howard Carter in excavations near Thebes 1907-12 and 1919-23. After World War I, Carnarvon obtained a concession to excavate in the Valley of the Kings near Thebes, where he and Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen, of the 18th dynasty, November 1922; the actual burial chamber and store-chamber were unsealed February 1923, revealing a wealth of treasures.

Educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, Carnarvon succeeded his father 1890. An amateur archaeologist, he worked on excavations in Thebes 1906, and in 1907 began a 16-year collaboration with Carter in which he acted as both patron and associate. He died in Cairo as a result of an infection of a mosquito bite he had received while he was in Thebes to visit Tutankhamen's newly-opened burial chamber.

The achievement of Lord Carnarvon and his excavator Howard Carter was one of the most brilliant successes in the history of archaeology. At the time, Tutankhamen was the only remaining 18th dynasty pharaoh whose tomb had not yet been discovered. Between 1919 and 1922 Carter's excavations had yielded no results, and the excavators were discouraged. Nevertheless, Carnarvon provided funds for a last campaign which began at the end of October 1922. It was this campaign that resulted in the discovery of the burial chamber.