[History] What is the Curse of King Tutankhamun?

What is the Curse of King Tutankhamun?

1. The Curse of King Tutankhamun

In 1922, archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon excavated King Tutankhamun's tomb and uncovered numerous secrets. However, Lord Carnarvon died five months later in Cairo. That night, all electricity in Cairo went out, and in England, Carnarvon's dog barked and suddenly died. Carnarvon died from complications of a mosquito bite on his left cheek, and strangely, King Tutankhamun's mummy had the same wound on its left cheek.

Carter died in 1939, and Everell, who made an inventory of treasures excavated from the king's tomb, committed suicide at age 49. In 1966, Egyptian official Mohamed Abraham, who had agreed to send the treasures to Paris for an exhibition, was hit by a car as he was leaving a meeting and died two days later. Additionally, Carnarvon's relative Herbert, who had entered the tomb, died of peritonitis; Egyptian Prince Ali Fahmy Bey, who visited the tomb, was murdered in a London hotel, and his brother committed suicide. George J. Gould died from complications of a cold he caught when visiting the tomb.

2. The Truth Behind the Curse

King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922 in a cliff cave in the Valley of the Kings near Thebes. Although there were signs of tomb robbery, the artifacts remained intact. King Tutankhamun ascended to the throne at the age of 10 in 1361 AD and died at the age of 19.

Archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb after six years of excavation work, and it took another eight years just to examine and organize the approximately 2,000 items found inside. The king's mummy was contained in several layers of coffins, and the golden mask shown in the photograph was covering the mummy.

As people who entered King Tutankhamun's tomb mysteriously died one after another, the phrase "Curse of King Tutankhamun" emerged. The first victim was British Egyptologist Hunevillen White. After visiting the king's tomb, he suffered from an unknown illness and eventually committed suicide in 1924, leaving a note written in blood stating that he was "dying by the curse of King Tutankhamun."

Dr. Carolyn Stinger Phillip claims that the reason people continued to die was not because of King Tutankhamun's curse, but because of mold created by decaying fruits and vegetables buried in the tomb. The problem was the mold.