Eric Cline

They almost closed down the dig in 1936 because they had run out of money.

But then they suddenly found an extra $50,000 that was part of a grant that they had semi-forgotten about.

And so they said, okay, one more year, one more year, which turned out to be two more years.

And during those two years, they found the gold hoard and the ivory hoard.

So they almost didn't find it, but they did.

No, local probably.

The gold hoard, which is stratum 8, that actually might be closer to the time of Thutmose III.

And that seems to be exactly what it sounds like.

Somebody buried gold.

a horde intending to come back for it and did not.

So we don't know, a king, a prince, a princess, a queen, not sure.

It's very near and partially under a wall in the palace.

The ivories are, I think, almost more interesting.

They were found in a separate area that Gordon Loud dubbed the treasury.

It's a room with three chambers, and the ivories are found scattered

in those three actually broken up so that a piece from the back chamber will match up with a piece from the front chamber.

Obviously, something happened and they all got scattered.

And what Loud and others, and Loud actually published a book called The Megiddo Ivories, he thought that in the destruction of the palace, a couple of boys and a camel were

got into the treasury and created havoc because when they excavated, they found what Loud said was the skeleton of a camel and a couple skulls and rib bones from young boys.

And he thought they wandered down and they got, you know,