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Piers Litherland has been called a modern-day Indiana Jones. He’s a former banker-turned-archaeologist who led the discovery of the lost tomb of Tutankhamun's relative, Thutmose II. As a child, Litherland was obsessed with Egypt. It was a passion that never left him, even as he pursued a career in finance. But it was only after a chance meeting with an eminent Egyptologist from Cambridge that he decided to ditch the office job and follow his heart. Since then, Litherland has headed a joint Anglo-Egyptian mission in Egypt’s Western Wadis - funding the project himself. Then, in February 2025, his team made what’s been called ‘the discovery of the century’ - the tomb of Thutmose II, an ancestor of Tutankhamun. Litherland said he cried when he realised what he'd found. Stephen Smith speaks to friends, family and colleagues of Piers Litherland, charting his life and passion that led to the discovery of the first tomb of an Egyptian King since Tutankhamun in 1922.

Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Ben Crighton and Natasha Fernandes
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Nick Holland
Credits:
Archive recording and audio logs of archaeological dig, Rabee Eissa and Jenny Litherland