Among the most famous curses in the world is the curse of pharaoh, also known as Curse of Tutankhamen.
Since the tomb of Pharaoh was discovered in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt, stories circulate that those who dared to violate Tutankhamen's final resting place will face a terrible curse.
While not as dramatic as a murderous mummy, it is widely claimed that many people associated with the opening of the tomb were victims of the curse. Many would have died under mysterious circumstances.
The legend gained traction because some of the people who were involved in discovering the tomb actually died shortly after the site was opened.
Tomb of Tutankhamen
The most famous death associated with the curse is probably that of George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert. He was the fifth Earl of Carnarvon. A British aristocrat and amateur Egyptologist who helped fund the search for Tutankhamen.
His death, on March 25, 1923, a year after the tomb was opened, was long considered mysterious. However, he suffered from health problems before arriving in Cairo and today it is known that he died of an illness caused by the bite of a
mosquito.The idea of a curse was promoted by the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – who even wrote a book explaining that fairies were real.
There were dozens of other people connected in some way to the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen. Many of them had unexpected deaths.
Investigator James Randi noted that the average life span of those who should have suffered from the curse was more than twenty-three years after the tomb's opening.
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For example, the daughter of the Earl of Carnarvon died in 1980, 57 years later. Howard Carter, who not only discovered the tomb but also physically opened it, lived until 1939, sixteen years after that event.
Carter lived to be 64 years old before succumbing to cancer. However, Sergeant Richard Adamson, a member of Carter's staff who guarded the burial chamber 24 hours a day, lived for another 60 years, until his death in 1982.
And he is not alone. The group that discovered Tutankhamun's tomb died at an average age of seventy-three years or more. They exceeded the life expectancy for people of that period and social class.
origin of the curse
So where did the curse come from? When Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered and opened in 1922, it was a great event. archaeological.
In order to keep the press under control and the invaders away from their historic discovery, the head of the excavation team, Howard Carter, published a story that a curse had been placed on anyone who violated the pharaoh's remains.
Likewise, the tombs of all royalty, not just Tutankhamen, would have exactly the same "curse." However, all were opened with no ill effects resulting.
Howard Carter was not alone in his efforts to scare off would-be grave robbers. This was a strategy widely used in historical discoveries.
See too:
- Egypt's pyramids
- List of exercises on Ancient Egypt
- 10 historical trivia related to Egypt that you might not know
- Terrorism in Egypt: Worst Attacks in the 21st Century
- Egyptian Mythology: Meet all the gods of Egypt!
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