The mystery of the curse of Tutankhamun's tomb. Secrets of Tutankhamun. Child of Incest, Caucasian Pharaoh and the Deadly Curse Hidden Camera in the Pyramid of Cheops
At the age of 18, Tutankhamun died. This happened unexpectedly and his tomb was not yet ready. The young pharaoh had to be buried in a hastily prepared small tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Soon the burial was forgotten, and the builders who built the tomb of Ramesses VI blocked the entrance with garbage. was not disturbed until 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter and his financial partner Lord Carnarvon made the most exciting discovery in the history of archaeology. After Carter's discovery, crowds of reporters, photographers and tourists flocked to the Valley. 
Meanwhile, Lord Carnarvon, in urgent need of rest, sailed south to enjoy a few days of peace and quiet at Aswan. There he was bitten on the cheek by a mosquito. While shaving, he accidentally cut the bite and caused an infection. The temperature rose sharply, a fever began, accompanied by chills. Lord went to Cairo for medical help, but died in a Cairo hotel room on April 5, 1923.
Finally, journalists have waited for an incident worthy of mention! Carnarvon's death marked the beginning of a series of unexpected deaths. All the dead visited the tomb of Tutankhamun. The newspapers were full of headlines about the revenge of the pharaoh who was disturbed in his tomb. 
Soon there was a rumor about an allegedly discovered inscription that cursed everyone who disturbed the peace of the pharaoh, but no one confirmed the presence of such an inscription. Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, opined that Lord Carnarvon was killed by an evil force, which the writer called "the primordial." Egyptologist Arthur Weigel published a story that on the day the tomb was opened, Carter's canary was swallowed by a cobra. Cobra is an ancient symbol of royal power in Egypt.
Tales of the curse spread, and people began to worry about Egyptian artifacts—both real and fake—in their private collections. Many simply destroyed objects of Egyptian origin or anonymously donated them to museums. There was even a theory put forward that the death of the Titanic passenger liner in 1912 was due to the fact that the mummy of an Egyptian soothsayer from the time of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV was transported on board. 
In 1934, Egyptologist Herbert Chinlock decided to study the fate of everyone who was present at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb. He found that six of the 26 people died within ten years, while only two of those present at the opening of the sarcophagus died shortly afterwards. It is curious that the “main culprit” who was the first to disturb the peace of Tutankhamun’s ashes, archaeologist Carter, seemed to be spared the pharaoh’s curse. Carter, who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb and examined the pharaoh's mummy, died of natural causes in 1939 at the age of 66.
Ancient Egypt has been exciting the minds of scientists and ordinary people since the Great Sphinx was first cleared of sand. And although archaeologists have already made many discoveries related to Egypt, the land of the pharaohs still keeps many secrets under its sands. And sometimes it happens that new discoveries give rise to even more mysteries and answered questions.
1. The Lost Labyrinth of Egypt
2,500 years ago in Egypt there was a huge labyrinth, which, according to the Egyptian chroniclers, “exceeded even the pyramids.” It was a huge building, two floors high, containing 3,000 different rooms, connected by a winding labyrinth of passages so complex that no one could find the exit without a guide. Below was an underground level that served as a tomb for the kings, and above was a massive roof made from a single giant stone.
Countless ancient authors described the labyrinth, claiming to have seen it with their own eyes, but 2,500 years later, scientists have no idea where it went. The closest thing that has been found is a massive 300-meter rock plateau, which some believe was the base of the labyrinth. If this is so, then history needs to be rewritten.
In 2008, a team of geolocation specialists checked the plateau and discovered that underneath there was an underground labyrinth, as described by one of the ancient writers. At this point, however, no one has even begun excavating what may be Egypt's greatest archaeological wonder.
2. Unknown Queen of Egypt
In 2015, archaeologists stumbled upon the tomb of a woman who was buried among the great pyramids of Egypt's Old Kingdom. In her tomb there were inscriptions that called her "the wife of the pharaoh" and "the mother of the pharaoh." 4,500 years ago she was one of the most powerful women on the planet. But no one knows who it is. Historians have dubbed her "Khentakawess III", based on the assumption that she was the daughter of Pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and Queen Khentkawess II, as well as the wife of Pharaoh Neferefre and the mother of Pharaoh Menkauhor. But this is just a guess. Whoever she was, she was once an incredibly powerful woman, but today everyone has forgotten about her.
3. Israeli Sphinx
In 2013, in Tel Hazor, Israel, archaeologists discovered something they never expected to find so far from Egypt: a 4,000-year-old Egyptian sphinx. To be more precise, they found the statue's paws resting on the pedestal. The rest is believed to have been deliberately destroyed thousands of years ago.
Before anyone destroyed this sphinx, it was approximately 1 meter tall and weighed half a ton. Nobody knows what an Egyptian statue is doing in Israel. The only clue they were able to find was an inscription on the pedestal that read “Pharaoh Mykerinus” (the pharaoh who ruled Egypt around 2500 BC). It is very unlikely that Tel Hazor was conquered by the Egyptians. During the reign of Mikerin (or Maenkaur), Tel Hazor was a trading center in Canaan, directly between Egypt and Babylon. It was vital to the economic well-being of the two major powers in the area. Scientists suggest it could have been a gift.
4. The mysterious death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
Pharaoh Tutankhamun was only 19 years old when he died, and no one knows exactly what happened to him. His death is a mystery. Scientists believe that Tutankhamun had a whole bunch of illnesses, and it is impossible to say specifically why he died. He had malaria and was born with so many genetic disorders that historians are convinced his parents must have been brother and sister. He had a crooked leg and genetic defects that some believe may have made his death no more than a matter of time.
The mummy also had a fractured skull, so archaeologists for a long time believed that the pharaoh was killed by a blow to the head. But today there is a version that his head was simply damaged during embalming of the body. Tutankhamun injured his knee shortly before his death, leading to the theory that he died in a chariot accident. But this is also just a theory. In any case, his body was so deformed that the young pharaoh, apparently, could not even stand without assistance.
5. Hidden camera in the Cheops pyramid
The largest pyramid was built 4,500 years ago for Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops). It is a huge structure, almost 150 meters high, built from more than 2.3 million stone blocks. Until recently, everyone believed that there were three chambers inside it. If anyone feels like there is too much free space left inside, they are not alone. That's why a team of researchers checked the pyramid in November 2017 to see if scientists had missed anything.
Above the Great Gallery of the pyramid they found signs that there may be a large hidden chamber (about the size of the largest chamber found in the entire pyramid). It is strange that the Egyptians deliberately built a hidden chamber, making it completely inaccessible. There are no corridors or other paths to it. The only way to place something inside was to do it during the construction of the pyramid and seal it. No one has ever seen what is inside the hidden chamber. But whatever it was, Pharaoh Khufu apparently didn't want it to ever see the light of day again.
6. A mummy wrapped in a foreign book
In 1848, a man bought an ancient Egyptian mummy from a shopkeeper in Alexandria. For years he displayed it as an ordinary artifact, not realizing how strange the artifact he had found was. It was only after removing some of the bandages from the mummy several decades later that scientists discovered something very unusual. The mummy was wrapped in the pages of a book, but the book was not written in Egyptian. It took years of research to understand what kind of language it was.
Today, scientists know that the book was written in the Etruscan language, which was used by an ancient civilization that once lived in what is now Italy. This is a language that almost no one knows anything about today. The text in which the mummy was wrapped is the longest Etruscan text ever found by researchers. But no one knows what it says. Scientists have been able to understand a few words that appear to be dates and names of gods, but we can only speculate why the dead body was wrapped in pages. Moreover, it is unknown why the Egyptian mummy was wrapped in an Etruscan book.
7. Light of Dandara
On the wall of the temple at Dandara in Egypt there is a huge relief showing a very strange image. It shows (according to the usual interpretation) a snake in a large ball of fire flying from a large lotus flower, which is supported by a pillar with human hands. It's a strange picture, but not just because the counter has arms. It just looks a lot like a Crookes tube, a type of early light bulb invented in the 19th century. In fact, it looks so much like a light bulb that some people think it might be a diagram showing how to create one.
Although this theory is similar to those usually told by pseudo-historians on Youtube, it has some pretty convincing arguments. The room in which the Light of Dandara is depicted is the only room in the entire temple that did not have the usual oil lamps. Archaeologists found carbon deposits, which indicate Egyptian use of lamps, in all parts of the building except this room. Therefore, if there was no similar early version of the light bulb in a given room, how could anything be seen in it at all?
8. Destroyed Pyramid
The Pyramid of Djedefre was to be the tallest pyramid in Egypt. Although Djedefre did not have the resources to create the largest pyramid, he used a little trick. He built a pyramid on a hill. But for some reason, although all the other pyramids in Egypt stood for thousands of years, the Djedefre pyramid was the only one that was completely destroyed. All that was left of it was the foundation.
Nobody knows what happened to the pyramid, there are only theories. Some believe that Djedefra simply died before the pyramid was completed, leaving it in ruins. Others believe that the Romans dismantled it into stone 2,000 years ago, destroying the historical monument. Or maybe the people of Egypt hated Djedefre so much that he destroyed the entire pyramid.
9. The Disappearance of Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti is legendary because she is one of the few women who ruled Egypt. She was the Great Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, and also, probably, the mother of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and, as scientists believe, she ruled Egypt single-handedly for some time. But at the same time, Nefertiti’s resting place is unknown.
The search for her grave continued for years. Until 2018, archaeologists were almost certain that they had found her burial in a secret chamber hidden in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. However, in May they carefully examined the wall and found that there was nothing there. Curiously, there is no mention of her death in Egyptian history. After the twelfth year of the reign of her husband Akhenaten, all mention of her simply disappeared from historical documents. Some believe that this happened because Nefertiti became a pharaoh and took on a different name, but not everyone agrees with this theory. Some believe that the answer is more prosaic. According to Dr. Joyce Tidzely, Nefertiti was never a pharaoh. One way or another, her fate remains a mystery.
10. Lost Punt
Ancient Egyptian writings are full of references to a country called Punt. It was an ancient African kingdom full of gold, ivory and exotic animals that captured the imagination of the Egyptians. And it must have been extremely powerful. The Egyptians dubbed this place the “Land of the Gods.”
But there is no doubt that Punt really existed. There are numerous references to this in ancient scriptures. In the ancient Egyptian temple there is even a painting of Queen Punta, but scientists were unable to find any traces of the existence of this state. The only information that hints at the existence of Punt is the artifacts that the Egyptians owned. Scientists, desperate to find out where this kingdom was located, studied the mummified remains of two baboons that the Egyptians brought from Punt and determined that the baboons most likely originated from around modern-day Eritrea or eastern Ethiopia. This at least gives a starting point as to where to look for Punt, but in reality it is a huge area for archaeological exploration.
And recently in . An amazing discovery.
The Mystery of Tutankhamun's Tomb
In November 1922, the young English archaeologist Howard Carter excavated the tomb of Tutankhamun. Success accompanied him - he found the burial place of the pharaoh. True, in the first chamber of the tomb there was neither a mummy nor a sarcophagus. But from below to the very top it was filled with wonderful works of art: statues, figures of unknown animals, gold jewelry. Carter made a careful description of the finds, and the passage was closed.
The excavations continued. One day, a clay tablet was found with a strange inscription: “Death will spread its wings over those who disturb the peace of the pharaoh.” None of the scientists paid special attention to this warning inscription. But so that Egyptian laboratory assistants and loaders would not spread rumors among local residents about the mysterious warning, the tablet was nevertheless removed from the collection.
On February 17, 1923, Carter and Lord Carnarvon, who sponsored the venture, opened the second room of the tomb in the presence of 21 people. It contained the mummy of the pharaoh. At the entrance to the tomb there was a protective statue, on the back of which was inscribed: “It is I who drives away tomb robbers with the flames of the desert, I am the protector of the tomb of Tutankhamun.” The first time, scientists only examined the room and closed the huge doors. Preparations began to remove the body.
To get some rest, Carnarvon went to Cairo, where he stayed at the Continental Hotel. Here the lord’s temperature suddenly jumped. And 12 days later, on the night of April 5, 1923, at the age of 57, he died. The cause of death was a severe fever caused by a virus of unknown origin.
Perhaps they would not have paid much attention to this sudden death if, soon after Carnarvon’s death, the American Arthur Mace, who broke the wall in front of the entrance to the tomb, suddenly began to suffer from severe exhaustion. He fell into a comatose state and died in the same hotel as the lord...
Journalists, greedy for sensations, saw in these deaths a special mystical sign and immediately started talking about the “curse of the pharaoh.” And death indeed continued to mow down people who were at least somehow involved in the discovery of the tomb of the pharaoh.
In connection with the death of Carnarvon, his longtime friend George Jay Goode arrived from America to Egypt. Upon arrival in the Valley of the Kings, Good and Carter examined the tomb of Tutankhamun. And the very next morning his temperature rose sharply, and in the evening he died. Doctors diagnosed: bubonic plague.
Radiologist Archibald Douglas Reid, who cut the bandages on it to study the mummy, at some point felt bouts of inexplicable weakness and, arriving in England, died.
Suddenly, an “unknown type of fever” ended the life of Egyptologist Arthur Weigall. Having lost control of himself, Lord Carnarvon's half-brother Aubrey Herbert also committed suicide. Lady Almina, the wife of Lord Carnarvon, died in 1929. What was the real cause of her death is unknown. Although the press reported that she died from an “unknown insect bite.”
Tutankhamun's tomb. Guards at the entrance to the burial chamber
In February 1930, Lord Westbury jumped out of the window of his eighth-floor apartment. A year earlier, in November, the lord's son died, although he went to bed in a normal state in the evening. Presumable diagnosis: heart attack. By the way, Westbury Jr. also participated in the excavations of the tomb...
People died one after another. And within just a few years, 22 people who were directly or indirectly related to excavations in the tomb of the pharaoh or who were preparing scientific works about this discovery left this mortal coil. Moreover, thirteen of them were directly involved in the opening of the tomb...
After 1930, of all the expedition members, only Howard Carter remained alive. Moreover, oddly enough, the archaeologist spent more time in it than anyone else. Carter died in 1939 at the age of 66. It is this fact that is considered a serious argument against the version of the “curse of the pharaoh.” Although, on the other hand, perhaps this exception only confirms the rule.
German journalist Helmut Hoefling also believes that the “curse of the pharaoh” is a sensation invented by journalists. In defense of his version, he gives two arguments. Firstly, the existence of a tablet with an ominous inscription has never been proven. Secondly, the age of the deceased scientists who dealt with the tomb and mummy was far from young and averaged 74.4 years.
And yet, scientists did not attribute the entire series of deaths to the natural course of events. And to explain the death of people involved in the opening of Tutankhamun’s grave, several hypotheses have been put forward. Moreover, they did not discount the version of the “curse of the pharaoh.”
Several historical facts testify in its favor. For example, it turned out that Tutankhamun was the only pharaoh who had a diadem on his head, which was given special significance in Egypt, believing that it had magical powers.
In addition, when the cruel and vengeful Horemheb began to rule Egypt instead of Tutankhamun, he destroyed all the statues and tombs of almost all of his predecessors. But - an amazing fact - for some reason he did not touch the grave of Tutankhamun!
In connection with this fact, Egyptologists suggested that before sealing the tomb, the priests left in it some kind of protective agent, which turned out to be not only effective, but also timeless.
But Cairo University professor Ezeddin Taha in 1963 gave a completely different explanation for the “curse of the pharaohs.” He conducted a long-term study of the health of archaeologists and museum staff working in the Egyptian pyramids. And in the bodies of all these people he found microbes that cause inflammation of the respiratory system. The professor discovered similar microorganisms in mummies.
One of these bacteria, Aspargillus niger, is quite resistant to various environmental factors and therefore can retain its pathogenic properties for three to four thousand years.
According to the professor, most likely, it was these microorganisms that became the factor that killed the scientists who entered the tomb of the pharaoh. True, it is still unknown how the killer microbe ended up in the tomb of the pharaoh: did it get there by accident or was it placed there on purpose?
However, the scientist did not at all claim that infection was the only cause of death for such a significant number of people. Ezeddine Taha planned to continue work in this direction, but did not have time, as he soon died in a car accident. Doctors named the cause of death as a heart attack.
However, who knows: what if the “curse of the pharaoh” overtook its next victim?
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95 years ago, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb - the first unrobbed grave - of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. The fact that it was untouched was clear from the very beginning: the door leading into it was sealed. Since the discovery of the tomb, despite numerous studies of the mummy, there are still many blank spots regarding both Tutankhamun himself and the events associated with those who found him.
In 1906, archaeological excavations in the Valley of the Kings began by the famous British archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter. His expeditions were financed by Lord Carnarvon, an aristocrat and wealthy amateur archaeologist. They managed to discover several tombs, but all of them were also plundered.
What happened on November 4, 1926 became one of the most significant events in the development of historical science. During the excavations, it was possible to discover the entrance to the tomb, which by all indications had not been plundered.
A few days later the entrance was opened. Already in the first chamber, such a large number of household items, jewelry and jewelry were discovered that it became clear: this was the first untouched burial discovered by researchers. It took several months to inventory, remove and examine all the artifacts found in the first chamber.
In February, archaeologists unsealed the burial chamber. A massive gilded sarcophagus was discovered in it. Inside it were three more gilded sarcophagi of smaller sizes. In the last of them lay the mummy of the pharaoh with a magnificent golden funerary mask.
The expedition was accompanied by reporters, so information about the most important historical find immediately appeared in the newspapers.
Curse of the Pharaoh
The main mystery that accompanies the story of the discovery of the pharaoh's mummy is the tragic deaths of the expedition members.
Three months after the opening of the tomb, Lord Carnarvon unexpectedly died in the prime of his life. The most common version remains the following: in March, the lord was bitten on the cheek by a mosquito. A few days after this, while shaving, he accidentally cut his wound. She became infected. Fever and pneumonia eventually led to Carnarvon's death.
A month later, American millionaire George Gould, a friend of Carnarvon’s, who was also present at the opening of the grave, died. By the time the seals on the tomb were opened, Gould was already seriously ill: he had suffered from pneumonia all winter and, in fact, came to Egypt in the hope of recovery - then pulmonary diseases were treated mainly by moving to a warmer climate.
Two months later, a member of the Egyptian royal family, Prince Ali, who was present at the opening of the burial, was shot by his wife after an quarrel. After the third death, hysteria about the curse of the pharaoh began in the press. So much so that the fascist leader of Italy, Benito Mussolini, after reading the newspapers, ordered the mummy he received as a gift to be removed from his residence.
Over time, the panic subsided, but each new death of a person, at least indirectly connected with the opening of the grave or the study of artifacts found in the burial, was presented as death at the hands of vengeful Egyptian spirits.
By the end of the 20s, the curse of the pharaohs had already turned into a stable legend that lived on its own and did not need to be reminded of in the newspapers. This plot migrated into popular fiction and onto cinema screens.
However, in addition to those who believed in the legend of the curse, there were also skeptics. They pointed out that most of the deaths of expedition members were natural. A significant part of the archaeologists who took part in the excavations were no longer so young; most were over 50 at the time of the excavations, and it is not surprising that some time after the excavations they began to die.
For example, Egyptologist James Breasted, who deciphered the records in the burial chambers of Tutankhamun, died in 1935, when the scientist was 70 years old. Expedition leader Howard Carter, who spent his entire life denying the reality of the curse, died in 1939 at the age of 64 from Hodgkin's lymphoma, that is, 16 years after the opening of the grave.
In addition, many who were present during the excavations lived long and happy lives. Lord Carnavaron's 21-year-old daughter, who was present at the autopsy, died in 1980 at the age of 79. Alan Gardiner, who deciphered hieroglyphs, died in 1963 at the age of 84.
Lord Carnavaron's wife died in 1969 at the age of 93.
The main developer and popularizer of the legend of the curse of the pharaohs was journalist and Egyptologist Arthur Weigal. The discovery of the intact tomb was a sensational event, and all the leading newspapers sent their correspondents to the excavation. Weigal was recruited by the Daily Mail. However, Carnavarone gave exclusive rights to coverage to The Times.
Weigal harbored a grudge against Carnavaron and, after his death, unleashed a hysteria about the wrath of the gods; in addition, this story brought Weigal circulation and fame no less than if he had covered the opening of the tomb.
Parental incest and the mystery of death
The identity of Tutankhamun discovered by Carter is no less controversial. For 95 years, the mummy was studied using a variety of methods, and during this time, scientists put forward a variety of theories on the questions of what the pharaoh looked like during his lifetime, who he was married to, and why he died.
Tutankhamun ascended the throne at the age of nine in 1332 BC and reigned until 1323 BC. After scanning the mummy and conducting hundreds of studies, scientists were able to recreate his portrait: Tutankhamun looked effeminate - he had thick thighs and the semblance of mammary glands. In addition, he had clubfoot and a congenital dislocation of one foot. Because of the latter, he was forced to walk with a stick.
The results of a genetic examination of the mummy showed that the dynasty into which Tutankhamun was born ruled Egypt for 155 years. Scientists have confirmed that Tutankhamun’s father was Akhenaten, but the mother turned out to be not “one of the wives,” but Akhenaten’s sister. Perhaps the close family ties of his father and mother led to the fact that Tutankhamun suffered from genetic diseases.
The researchers also concluded that there is a high probability of Tutankhamun's death from malaria. The pharaoh already had very poor health, and this disease completely undermined him.
In addition to the version of the disease that led to death, British scientists, using a three-dimensional computer model of the mummy, found that the wheel of a war chariot drove along the left side of the pharaoh’s body. Tutankhamun died on the spot from his injuries.
The third version - about murder - was supported by University of Liverpool professor Ronald Harrison. He took about 50 x-rays of the pharaoh's mummy's head. The photographs clearly show that the bones of the skull are unusually thin in the ear area. This gave reason to believe that it was in this place that one or even several blows were struck. Professor Harrison refrained from drawing definitive conclusions, but a commission of anatomists supported the version of violent death.
Scientists have suggested that Tutankhamun actually received a blow to his temple with some kind of blunt object. Perhaps he only stunned him. Then came the second blow, fatal for the pharaoh. However, other researchers argued that the blow was struck after the death of Tutankhamun.
Two human embryos were found in Tutankhamun's tomb. In 2008, scientists led by specialists from the University of Manchester conducted their study. In their opinion, it is highly likely that female embryos are the children of the pharaoh. Embryos vary in size. The length of the first mummy is 30 cm, which corresponds to an embryo in the fifth month of development, the second - 38.5 cm (eight months of intrauterine development). Despite the difference in size, scientists suggested that both embryos could have been carried during the same pregnancy and were twins. DNA analysis showed that Tutankhamun was most likely their father.
Caucasian pharaoh?
On the Internet you can find hundreds of articles with the headings “Tutankhamun is a Caucasian”. The fact is that German and Swiss scientists conducted a genetic analysis of the mummy's DNA.
Experts compared the DNA of Tutankhamun and modern Europeans. And it turned out that many of them were relatives of the pharaoh. On average, half of European men are “pharaohs”. DNA was compared according to so-called haplogroups - characteristic sets of DNA fragments that are passed on from generation to generation, remaining almost unchanged. Tutankhamun’s relatives were “given away” by a common haplogroup called R1b1a2.
This pharaonic R1b1a2, so common among European men, is very rare among modern Egyptians. The share of its carriers among them does not exceed one percent. One of the researchers even suggested that the ancestor of the kings of Egypt and Europeans lived in the Caucasus 9,500 years ago, then his descendants began to settle throughout Europe, some ended up in Egypt and became pharaohs.
At the same time, the genetic analysis, as a result of which the pharaoh was declared a carrier of the R1b1a2 haplogroup, was carried out by dubious people outside the scientific world. And even if we assume that the young pharaoh really belonged to R1b1a2, can he be called a Caucasian?
Most likely not. This haplogroup today is most common in Western Europe, England, Spain and France. There are almost no speakers of it in the Caucasus. The haplotype does not indicate the Caucasian or European origin of Tutankhamun, but only that he and Western Europeans had a common ancestor who lived somewhere 6000–8000 years ago. How and when exactly he got from Eurasia to Egypt is anyone’s guess.
1926 - the discovery of the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (XVIII Dynasty) became one of the great archaeological achievements since the discovery of the legendary Troy. However, unlike the excavations of Troy, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings was accompanied by numerous mysterious stories that scientists, historians and journalists have been trying to unravel for almost a century.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, very little was known about Tutankhamun, because from his reign (1351–1342 BC) only a few amulets with the image of the king and an inscription on one of the ancient Egyptian steles were preserved. Judging by these relics, Tutankhamun received the throne thanks to his wife Ankhes-en-Amun, whom he married at a fairly early age (she was, if the portraits do not flatter the original, a charming woman). He died at the age of 18 and was buried in the famous necropolis called the Valley of the Kings.
For many centuries, archaeologists have repeatedly tried to find the tomb of the mysterious pharaoh. Alas, such research did not bring tangible results until the beginning of the 20th century, and only in 1926 Howard Carter had the good fortune to discover the miraculously not plundered tomb that belonged to Tutankhamun. It contained truly countless treasures. The mummy alone was decorated with 143 gold objects, and it itself was stored in three sarcophagi inserted into each other, the last of which, weighing more than 100 kilograms and 1.85 meters long, was made of pure gold. In addition, a royal throne decorated with relief images, figurines of the king and his wife, many ritual vessels, jewelry, weapons, clothing and, finally, a magnificent golden funeral mask of Tutankhamun, accurately depicting the facial features of the young pharaoh, were discovered in the tomb. In total, Carter discovered more than 5,000 priceless items.
Perhaps there was not a single major European newspaper or magazine that did not pay attention to the amazing discovery in the Valley of the Kings. But soon, enthusiastic articles began to give way to alarming messages, in which the mystical and mysterious phrase “” appeared for the first time... It excited the minds and chilled the blood of superstitious ordinary people.
And it all started with two inscriptions found by Carter during excavations. The first, discovered in the front room of the tomb, was an inconspicuous clay tablet with a brief hieroglyphic entry: “Death quickly overtakes the one who disturbs the peace of the pharaoh.” Carter hid this sign so as not to scare the workers. A second threatening inscription was found on an amulet recovered from under the mummy's bandages. It read: “I am the one who, with the call of the desert, puts to flight the desecrators of graves. I am the one who stands guard over the tomb of Tutankhamun."
Then almost incredible events began to happen. After spending several days with Carter in Luxor, Lord Carnarvon, an associate of the archaeologist and patron of the expedition, unexpectedly returned to Cairo. The rapid departure looked like panic: the lord was noticeably burdened by the proximity to the tomb. Apparently, it was no coincidence that Carter wrote: “No one wanted to break the seals. As soon as the doors opened, we felt like uninvited guests.”
At first, Lord Carnarvon felt slightly unwell, then his temperature jumped, the fever was accompanied by severe chills. Mere minutes before his death, Carnarvon began to delirium. He kept calling the name of Tutankhamun. In the last moments of his life, the dying lord said, turning to his wife: “Well, everything is finally over. I heard a call, it attracts me." This was his last sentence.
An avid traveler, athlete, physically strong man, fifty-seven-year-old Lord Carnarvon died a few days after the opening of the tomb. The doctors’ diagnosis looked completely implausible: “from a mosquito bite.”
Lord Carnarvon was the first victim of the pharaoh, and this victim was far from the last. A few months later, two more participants in the opening of Tutankhamun’s grave, Arthur Mace and George Jay-Gold, died one after another.
Archaeologist Mace Carter asked to open the tomb. It was Mace who moved the last stone that blocked the entrance to the main chamber. Soon after Lord Carnarvon's death, he began to complain of unusual fatigue. More and more often, severe attacks of weakness and apathy occurred, followed by loss of consciousness, which never returned to him. Mace died at the Continental, in the same Cairo hotel where Lord Carnarvon spent his last days.
American George Jay-Gold, a multimillionaire and passionate lover of archeology, was an old friend of Carnarvon. Upon receiving news of his friend's death, J-Gold immediately went to Luxor. Taking Carter himself as a guide, he carefully explored the last refuge of Tutankhamun. All discovered finds were in his hands. Moreover, the unexpected guest managed to do this work in just one day. By nightfall, already at the hotel, he was overcome by a sudden chill. He lost consciousness and died by the evening of the next day.
Radiologist Archibald Douglas Reid was entrusted with cutting the bandages that bound the pharaoh's mummy. He also performed fluoroscopy. The work he did received the highest marks from specialists. As soon as he set foot on his native soil, Douglas Reed could not suppress the attack of vomiting. Instant weakness, dizziness, death.
Thus, 22 people died in a matter of years. Some of them visited the crypt of Tutankhamun, others studied his mummy.
“Fear has gripped England,” one newspaper wrote after Douglas Reed died. The panic began. Week after week passed, and the names of new victims appeared on the pages of the press. Death overtook archaeologists and doctors, historians and linguists famous in those years, such as Fokart, La Flor, Winlock, Estori, Callender. Everyone died alone, but death was the same for everyone - incomprehensible and fleeting.
1929 - Lord Carnarvon's widow died. At the same time, Richard Batelle, Howard Carter's secretary, a young man in excellent health, died. As soon as the news of Batell's death reached London from Cairo, his father, Lord Westbury, jumped from the window of the 7th floor of the hotel.
Lord Carnarvon's brother and the nurse who cared for him died in Cairo. Death lurking in the house overtook everyone who dared to visit the sick in those days.
A few years later, of those people who in one way or another came into contact with the tomb, only Howard Carter remained alive. He died in 1939. But before his death, the archaeologist repeatedly complained of attacks of weakness, frequent headaches, hallucinations - this was a complete set of symptoms of the action of a poison of plant origin. It is generally accepted that he escaped the curse of the pharaoh for the reason that he practically did not leave the Valley of the Kings from the first day of the excavations. Day after day he received his dose of poison, until eventually his body developed a stable immunity.
35 years have passed since the death of Lord Carnarvon, when a hospital doctor in South Africa, Geoffrey Dean, discovered that the symptoms of a mysterious illness were very reminiscent of the “cave disease” known to doctors. It is spread by microscopic fungi. He suggested that those who first broke the seal inhaled them and then infected others.
In parallel with Geoffrey Dean, research was conducted by Cairo University medical biologist Ezzeddine Taha. For many months he observed archaeologists and museum staff in Cairo. In the body of each of them, Taha discovered a fungus that provoked fever and severe inflammation of the respiratory tract. The fungi themselves were a whole collection of pathogenic agents living in mummies, pyramids and crypts. At one of the press conferences, Taha assured those present that all these afterlife mysteries are no longer scary, because they are completely curable with antibiotics.
Of course, the scientist’s research would have taken on more concrete shape over time, if not for one circumstance. A few days after that memorable conference, Dr. Taha himself became a victim of the curse he exposed. On the way to Suez, the car he was in at that moment, for unknown reasons, turned sharply to the left and crashed into the side of a limousine rushing towards him. Death came instantly.
It should be noted that the Egyptians were great masters in extracting poisonous toxins from the bodies of animals and plants. Many of these poisons, once in an environment close to the conditions of their habitual habitat, retain all their deadly qualities for an indefinitely long time - time has no power over them.
There are poisons that act from just a light touch. It is enough to saturate a fabric with them or, for example, smear a wall, and after drying, they do not lose their qualities for thousands of years. In ancient times, it was not difficult to use them to imprint on a tomb a sign that brought death.
This is what the Italian archaeologist Belzoni, a man who fully experienced the horror of the pharaoh’s curses, wrote: “There is no place on earth more cursed than the Valley of the Kings. Too many of my colleagues were unable to work in the crypts. People lose consciousness every now and then, their lungs cannot withstand the stress, inhaling suffocating fumes.” The Egyptians usually sealed their tombs tightly. The poisonous odors infused and thickened over time, but did not evaporate. Having opened the door of the burial chamber, the robbers literally went to their graves. Truly, there is no better trap than a walled tomb.
But there was another terrible force that protected the mummy and everything that was with it in the burial chamber. Simplifying the philosophical teaching of the ancient Egyptians about the self, we can say that it came down to three essences of man - Khat, or physical essence; Ba - spiritual; Ka - the union of Hat and Ba.
The Ka is the living projection of the human being, which embodies each individuality in the smallest detail. This is an energetic body protected by a multi-colored aura. One of its purposes is to unite the spiritual and physical principles. Ka is a powerful force. Leaving the dead body, Ka becomes blind, uncontrollable and dangerous. Hence the rituals of offering food to the dead, funeral prayers, and exhortations addressed to them. The Egyptians had sorcerers who were able to unleash the monstrous Ka energy and quite purposefully use it as, so to speak, an “assassin.” And if you also provide him with a set of poisonous odors, then the pharaoh who disturbed the peace has no chance of salvation. Ka, full of hatred, torment and despair, was concentrated in an underground crypt and it was impossible for a mere mortal to escape from her uncontrollable rage.
But modern science, as you can see, is still a long way from unraveling such a magical version. Thus, a downright “sensational” message appeared in the press, claiming that Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb was nothing more than a falsification. And it’s as if all the items that were discovered in the burial were made by Egyptian craftsmen on instructions from the government. And Carter only made a “discovery” by loading Tutankhamun’s chambers with fakes. Only a small fraction of the “treasures of Tutankhamun” is kept in Cairo, and most of them were sold for fabulous money to the most famous museums in the world, bringing Egypt millions. And if we add to this the crowds of tourists attracted to the banks of the Nile by the desire to see the tomb of Tutankhamun, then Carter’s “scam” could well become an example of a super profitable investment of capital.
In parallel with this completely incredible statement (it is difficult to imagine that the production of such a number of items - 5,000 copies - went unnoticed by specialists), other versions are being put forward, this time from nuclear scientists. Thus, Professor Louis Bulgarini suggested that the ancient Egyptians may have used radioactive materials to protect sacred burial sites. He stated: “It is quite possible that the Egyptians used atomic radiation to protect their holy sites. They could cover the floors of the tombs with uranium or decorate the graves with radioactive stone.”
All such evidence, both imaginary and real, only adds mystery to the “greatest discovery of the 20th century,” which allows us to draw only one irrefutable conclusion: the tomb of Tutankhamun left us and our descendants no less mysteries (including tragic ones) than rulers who reigned during the world's greatest civilization.