It's considered the greatest archaeological find ever. In 1898, Howard Carter stunned the world when he stumbled upon the tomb of Tutankhamun. But tragedy and controversy soon dogged his discovery. Carter’s partner died suddenly, while Carter was refused entry into the tomb. Eventually he made his most incredible discovery: A solid gold coffin, a gold death mask and the mummy of a teenage king.

The extraordinary story of Giovanni Belzoni, an Italian engineer and circus strongman who became a legendary Egyptologist almost by accident. Finding himself destitute in Cairo, Belzoni joined the antiquities 'gold rush' as ancient sites were plundered for their treasures. But Belzoni soon found one of the most extraordinary and heavily decorated tombs of the ancient world.

When Napoleon's army discovered the Rosetta Stone, scholars believed they would now be able to decipher hieroglyphs. But it was not to be so easy. It would take a duel between two geniuses, French child prodigy Jean-François Champollion and English scientist Thomas Young, to finally crack this ancient code. But controversy, illness and battles with the Church threatened to derail their efforts.