King Tutankhamun, or King Tut, is perhaps the most recognized Egyptian ruler aside from Cleopatra.He is known for becoming pharaoh at the young age of 10, an unusually short reign, and well... his tomb.. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. It was also alleged that the diggers had to be bribed to remain in the tomb once they had read the curse. In any case, Carnarvon died at 1.55am which would have been midnight, not 4am, in England. So where did the curse come from? The legend gained traction because a few of the people who were involved in finding the tomb did, in fact, die not long after it was opened. He tried to claim compensation for a mild stroke supposedly caused by the curse. According to newspaper reports native Egyptians working as diggers for Carter saw the curse inscribed above Tutankhamun’s body. Instead, he was trying to prevent something unsavory that neither his fame nor fortune could deter: his corpse being dug up by grave robbers. It is well known that Carnarvon wanted to keep the press and the public away from the tomb of Tutankhamun while it was cleared. When Carvarvon died, following the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the notion of a curse was revitalised (but without the reanimation of the mummy). The highest profile death associated with the curse is probably that of George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, a British aristocrat and amateur Egyptologist who helped finance the search. In 1922, Howard Carter and his team of archaeologists discovered Tut’s tomb underneath some … King Tut's head was severed off to remove his golden death mask and his hands, legs and pelvis were removed as the archaeologist excavated his coffin. As all the invited guests stood fast and waited with utter patience, Carter, after 10 minutes of hard … Visit our corporate site. His death on March 25, 1923 — a year after the tomb was opened — is widely regarded as mysterious, but, in fact, he suffered from poor health before he arrived in Cairo, and in any event died from a decidedly mundane mosquito-carried disease. The bite became infected and he died on the 5th of April. King Tut's tomb: What's the curse of the Pharaoh? A cookie which helps me track how many visitors come to my site and what pages they look at. The curse of the pharaohs has many stories and a long line of alleged victims in their history. Cookies that are necessary to enable my site to function. Ever since King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, stories circulated that those who dared violate the boy king's final resting place faced a terrible curse. The novelist Marie Correlli referred to the Arab superstition in a letter to the press before the death of Carnarvon; “I cannot but think some risks are run by breaking into the last rest of a king in Egypt whose tomb is specially and solemnly guarded, and robbing him of his possessions. In fact the average survival rate following any involvement with the tomb (as calculated by Randi) was around 21 years. Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922 sparked a global interest in ancient Egypt, with the find one of the great archaeological discoveries of all time. Currently, Tutankhamun's tomb is crowded with tourists on daily basis with some even taking selfies with the dead pharaoh. Sir Henry Rider Haggard (author of King Solomon’s Mines) described the idea of the curse as, “dangerous because it goes to swell the rising tide of superstition which at present seems to be overflowing the world.”. Benjamin Radford - Live Science Contributor Legend has it that anyone who dared to open the tomb would suffer the wrath of the mummy. Sources of the curse According to Christine el-Mahdy, it was the Arab peoples of Egypt in the first century AD who were the first to suggest that a mummy could come to life and attack anyone who broke into a … Happy birthday, curse of Tutankhamun. Often called the "boy-king," he ascended the throne at around the age of 10. “They who enter this sacred tomb shall swift be visited by wings of death.”. This curse has made his name famous and kept his memory alive. Your choices will not impact your visit. The curse of the pharaohs originated after the death of Lord Carnarvon, who helped open the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922. Secrets of the discovery of the most important Tombs of The Pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt. According to Randi, "When Tut's tomb was discovered and opened in 1922, it was a major archaeological event. Egyptians didn’t write curses in their tombs. Cobras, as the goddess Wadjet, are the traditional protectors of the Pharaoh. It was said that pharaohs’ tombs were cursed to prevent them from ever being opened and potentially disturbing the pharaoh in the afterlife. The book . When King Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened in November 1922, the world fell under his spell. Carter, as famous for surviving the mummy's curse (at least until his death in 1939) as he is for discovering Tutankhamen's tomb, hated the sensationalism that surrounded the excavation. When members in the Howard Carter group died, the curse of the Pharaohs was brought more into the lime light. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. Munson didn’t just visit the tomb… On the 6th of March, Lord Carnarvon (his financial backer) was bitten by a mosquito. The discovery created a worldwide press sensation and stories spread about a curse on anyone who dared to break into a pharaoh’s tomb. Eventually, some archeologists … Howard Carter, who not only discovered the tomb and physically opened it, but also removed the mummy of Tutankhamun from the sarcophagus, lived until 1939, sixteen years after that event. The Legendary Curse of King Tutankhamun’s Tomb When Howard Carter and his team finally found the tomb of King Tutankhamun in February of 1923, the scientific community celebrated. One of the most interesting and notorious curses is … This makes it even less likely that the entire tomb could be cleared without the discovery of the text. You may change your settings at any time. The actual definition for the curse of Tutankhamun is simply whoever opens the tomb and disturbs the boy king’s resting place will face severe consequences such as illness and some serious circumstances in their day to day life. Immortality Through Fame Exquisite Pectoral from the Tutankhamun Exhibition in London is made of gold, inlaid with silver, glass and semiprecious stones. There is no evidence that a curse was found anywhere in Tutankhamun’s tomb, even though the contents were fully recorded. Howard Carter entered the burial chamber of Tutankhamun on the 17th of February, 1923. 22 March 2014. Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh who lived between roughly 1343 and 1323 B.C. There were numerous spells but these were intended to help the deceased pass through the underworld or to ensure that the deceased received the food (and other) offerings he or she needed in the afterlife. Howard Carter was far from alone in making an effort to scare away potential grave robbers with the threat of supernatural wrath. 1922. Tutankhamun is the only New Kingdom (c 1550–1070 BC) monarch to have been discovered undisturbed in his own sarcophagus. In fact, the tombs of all royalty — not just Tutankhamun's — were said to have exactly the same "curse" and had been opened with no resulting evil effects. You will receive a verification email shortly. In order to keep the press at bay and yet allow them a sensational aspect with which to deal, the head of the excavation team, Howard Carter, put out a story that a curse had been placed upon anyone who violated the rest of the boy-king." There is no record of this phrase anywhere in the report on the tomb of Tutankhamun (and no obvious reason for the Egyptologists to want to cover it up) and the inscription itself has since mysteriously “vanished”. Carter's team opened the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in 1923, launching the modern era of Egyptology. Stay up to date on the coronavirus outbreak by signing up to our newsletter today. There are a number of problems with the curse from a purely logical standpoint: This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience.