© Kathryn Forbes 2009

I was an archaeologist working in Egypt to discover the ancient burial grounds. Now, we all know all the myths about those so-called curses that follow these tombs around. I have to say that I believe it is nothing but a load of old nonsense. Designed, I am sure, to stop people going in and looting the place for the treasure we all knew was buried beneath our feet.

The maps had all been studied and I knew exactly where I wanted to go digging. It was not one of the pyramids because I was not looking for one of those pharaohs. Instead, my goal was to find the burial site of a noble.

The only thing I wanted to do was to see a sarcophagus in the place where the Egyptians had intended it to spend eternity.

When we broke through that final wall our excitement was almost palpable. Understandably, quite a lot of the team instantly went for the treasure but I only had eyes for one thing. How beautiful it was. I mean, nothing like the brilliantly decorated face of Tutankhamen, but still beautiful.

My admiration turned to fear when the face I was staring at blinked.

Written for Sunday photo fiction