The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun was the archaeological find of the century.
Exactly three thousand years the tomb stood inviolate, untouched nor greedy of booty tomb robbers, religious fanatics and such had already uncovered many other tombs in the valley of the Kings.
February 16, 1923, the Egyptologist Howard Carter and Amateur archaeologist George Carnarvon went into the tomb. They live, as well as other involved in the case, had less than a year.
The child-ruler
The young Pharaoh Tutankhamen came to the throne at the tender age of nine and died at about 18 years. Ten years Tutankhamen rules Egypt and was able to make a lot of prominent cases, from the conquest of the Syrian tribes to appease the two warring religions. His death became as mysterious as his appearance: even in those days people very rarely die so early.
The mystery of birth
Surprisingly, Egyptologists still are not able to provide exact origin of Tutankhamun. There are two versions: one the father of the Pharaoh was Akhenaten, on the other Smenhkare. Both do not stand up to scrutiny — radiocarbon analysis showed that the DNA of Tutankhamun is not close to any groups. Thus, the most famous Pharaoh of Egypt literally came out of nowhere.
The last of the kings
The discovery of the true tomb of Tutankhamun archaeologists plunged into shock. The tomb of three thousand years stood untouched, while all other graves in the valley of the Kings was long ago looted by thieves. In 1922 the expedition of the British aristocrat George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon first came to the sealed door of Tutankhamen’s tomb.
What was found inside
Found in the tomb of treasures is estimated at several billion dollars. The whole world at that time listened to the news from the valley of the Kings; here they began to flock to the numerous rogues, and lovers of gain. However, the celebration lasted long. The sudden death of Lord Carnarvon so frightened the public that in a few days the space at the tomb was empty again.
Sudden death
So, Carnarvon died. Died under extremely mysterious circumstances two days after he rose from the tomb on the surface. Moreover, on the neck of British aristocrat the coroner found the scar, identical to what was on the neck of the mummy of the Pharaoh. This fact was documented by the correspondent of the newspaper “daily Mail” Arthur Weigall
Darkness over Cairo
At the time of death of Carnarvon all over Cairo suddenly the power went out. May be, of course, a mere coincidence — however, in this story, too many coincidences. The dog Lord died the same evening in the family castle Highclere. The message about the death of Carnarvon came only the next day.
The remaining victims
Soon began a series of deaths of everyone who was somehow involved in the opening of the tomb of the Pharaoh. Archaeologist Arthur Mace, radiologist sir Archibald Douglas-Reid, financier George Gould (also visited in the tomb), brother of Carnarvon, traveler and diplomat, Colonel Aubrey Herbert. A few months later, the list continued: died present at the opening of the tomb member of the Egyptian Royal family, Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey (shot his wife), died younger Carnarvon — Mervin Herbert.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, expressing his personal opinion in favor of the existence of the curse, assumed that the death of Lord Carnarvon was caused by some “elementals” created by Tutankhamun’s priests to guard the Royal tomb. This further sparked interest in the media. This famous respected writer explanation was sufficiently flexible and, if desired, could fit in both scientific and mystical version of what happened.
The frightened fascist
Not to believe in the power of the curse when such evidence was just stupid. People all over the world came to fear to Egyptian mythology, and Benito Mussolini, upon learning of the death of Carnarvon and gold, ordered to immediately remove from Palazzo Chigi brought him a present of an Egyptian mummy.
Beware of mummies
Of course, today, scientists are less likely to regard death as the result of a curse. There are a few more scientific theories, it is able to explain the sudden death. For example, ancient mummies could carry some dangerous types of mold, bat guano is a dangerous bacteria. Richard Bachman from Cornell University suggests that the death of Lord Carnarvon — a clear proof, and he died, according to the researcher, from the contact of the claw of a bat with a wound on the body of the Lord.
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