Archaeology has an aura of romance and a long history of startling discoveries wrested from clinging soil. Indeed, patience and persistence can lead to spectacular finds, as they did for Howard Carter in November 1922. After seven years searching the Egyptian desert, Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, and in these vivid words he described what the tomb held in store: At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold. In this text, Brian Fagan gathers together 57 accounts of some of the world's greatest archaeological discoveries, from the tomb of Tutankhamun and the Aegean Marbles to Otzi the Iceman and Machu Picchu, as told by the people who discovered them.