TUTANKHAMUN: THE CURSE OF A PHARAOH

Sarah Coles

Are fatal events

linked to the opening
of an Egyptian tomb?
Curse or coincidence?

Many tales are told of the measures that the past rulers of Ancient Egypt took to
protect their tombs from vandals and looters. These tombs used to contain not only
the body of the dead king or queen but also many beautifully made objects and
treasures which the Pharaohs believed would accompany them to the afterlife.

When building their final resting place the Pharaohs made sure that warnings or
curses were engraved at the entrances to their tombs to deter those who wished to
disturb them and steal their treasures. Interestingly, such warnings are not only
found in tombs in Ancient Egypt but also found in tombs across the world in such
places as Mexico, Norway and China.

What many scientists dismiss as just unexplained occurrences holds a fascination for
others - is there such a thing as the curse of the Pharaohs? One of the most
mysterious tales of the curse of the Pharaohs is the true story of the discovery of
Tutankhamuns tomb in November 1922 by a British archaeologist called Howard
Carter.

Tutankhamun was a young man and he ruled Ancient Egypt for only a short time
before he died but significantly, his tomb was one of the very few tombs which was
not disturbed by vandals and was found, still intact, by the archaeologists in the
1920s. On the outside of the tomb the now famous curse was written in hieroglyphics:
Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the King. This
message was viewed with amused scepticism during the excitement of the discovery
of the tomb.
As soon as he made his discovery and realised that the tomb was still intact, Howard
Carter contacted his wealthy patron, Lord Carnarvon and together the two men
became the first men to enter the tomb for thousands of years. Neither of the men
realised that by breaking the seal of the tomb and ignoring the warning inscribed on
the outside of the tomb, they were to start a series of events that many people believe
were caused by the curse of the Pharaoh.

Lord Carnarvon had taken some steps to find out about the curse and the dangers
and had visited two mediums before he had left Britain to join Carter. Both mediums
had warned him that this trip to Egypt would be his last.

After visiting the tomb in April 1922 Lord Carnarvon died of a high fever caused by an
infected mosquito bite on his cheek. As he died, an unexplained power cut struck
Cairo and the city was in darkness. In England, his pet dog, Susie, started barking and
by the morning she had died too. Back in Cairo, a cobra ate Carnarvons pet canary -
the cobra being considered the protector of the Pharaohs. Later, a small blemish was
found on Tutankhamuns cheek in the same spot as the infected mosquito had bitten
the archaeologist.

The curse of the Pharaoh has remained the subject of much speculation over the
years, fuelled by unexplained occurrences and tragic deaths. Of all the members of
the expedition to uncover Tutankhamuns tomb, by 1969 only two members of the
team had avoided the curse. In the 1970s when an exhibition of the treasure of
Tutankhamuns tomb was being held in Britain a successor of one of the original team
died the same night as he finished packing the treasures. Two men who were
organising the exhibition and who were flying the treasures from Egypt died from
heart attacks.

There are theories to explain these occurrences. One scientist put forward the theory
that the floors of the tomb were covered with radioactive substances, for example,
uranium. However, to this day, no one has managed to explain satisfactorily the
occurrences surrounding the strange events following the opening of Tutankhamuns
tomb. And perhaps the strangest fact of all is that the man who discovered the tomb,
Howard Carter, survived the curse and died of natural causes at the age of 66. Why
did the man who made the famous discovery escape the curse while many of his
colleagues met untimely and tragic deaths? Only the Pharaohs can say.
Source: New English Digest
GLOSSARY
rulers: people who rule or command
(gobernantes)
tombs: graves, places for the burial of corpses
(tumbas)
vandals: people who deliberately damage
property (ladrones, vndalos)
looters: people who steal property during wars
or natural disasters (saqueadores)
pharaohs: the title of the ancient Egyptian
kings (faraones)
afterlife: the life after death (la otra vida, la vida
futura)
curses: evil spells, appeals to some
supernatural power to inflict evil on someone
after death (maldiciones)
to deter: to discourage (para desalentar)
steal: to take without the owner's consent
(robar)
holds: has, keeps (conserva, mantiene)
on swift wings: very fast (muy rpidamente)
scepticism: doubt or mistrust (escepticismo,
desconfianza)
neither of the men: none of them (ninguno de
los dos hombres)
seal: fastener that provides a tight and perfect
closure (precinto de seguridad)
to find out: to investigate, to search (para
averiguar, para descubrir)
mediums: people who serve as intermediaries
between the living and the dead (mdiums o
intermediarios esperitistas)
had warned him: had notified him (le haban
advertido)
bite: a wound resulting from biting by an insect
or an animal (picadura)
cobra: a venomous snake (cobra, serpiente
venenosa)
blemish: a small mark on the skin (mancha,
imperfeccin)
occurrences: events (hechos)
heart attacks: heart sudden failures (ataques
cardacos)
survived: continued to live (sobrevivieron)
untimely: prematurely (prematuramente