Just outside the makeshift “laboratory” at the entrance to the tomb of Sethos II (KV 15), Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas pause over a fragile royal object newly brought into daylight. The colorization emphasizes the warm desert stone and the cool formality of their work clothes, a striking contrast to the delicate, patterned surface of the chariot body set on a rough support and protected with sheets of paper. Crates, simple chairs, and a bare table turn the rocky threshold into a working conservation space where every movement matters.
Mace, positioned on the left, leans in with careful attention while Lucas works close to the chariot’s side, stabilizing its surface before anything more ambitious can be attempted. The title links the object to the famed Antechamber inventory (Carter no. 120), and the photograph communicates why such catalog numbers mattered: this is archaeology at the point where discovery becomes preservation. Even the improvised setup—open air, dust, and bright light—suggests the urgency of treating ancient materials that can flake, crack, or collapse the moment conditions change.
Behind them, the dark doorway and a small cluster of workers hint at the wider team and the constant flow of tasks surrounding a major excavation: lifting, sorting, packing, documenting. Rather than focusing on spectacle, the scene foregrounds conservation practice in the field, capturing the quiet craft that protects painted wood, gilding, and fragile joinery from further loss. For readers searching for Valley of the Kings history, early archaeological conservation, or the practical realities of tomb work, this image offers an intimate look at how iconic finds were made stable enough to survive.