A telegram from Howard Carter (1874-1939), the man behind the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, is featured in Nate D Sanders' online sale with an opening bid of $5,000.
The auction will close on August 28.
 Howard Carter was the archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1923 |
The rare lot dates to February 23, 1923, shortly after Carter's team broke through to the burial site's second chamber and discovered an unprecedented hoard of treasures.
It was sent to Abdul Hamid Soleman Pasha, Cairo's minster for public works, and reads in full: "arrangements have been made to close the tomb on Monday 26. please arrange for Saturday or Sunday [illegible]".
An incredible archive of Carter's material and papers from the excavation sold at Bonhams London for ?�109,250 ($169,573) in 2012.
A typed, signed letter by Pierre Lacau, a French Egyptologist present at the dig in 1923, is also offered, with a starting figure of $5,000.
The letter, addressed to the under secretary of state for Egypt, asks for the number of tourists allowed on site to remain limited so that work can proceed quickly.
Lacau had an abrasive working relationship with Carter. The two men fell out on several occasions during the eight year project.
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