King Tut’s Curse
Strange things happened to the many of the scientists who entered King Tuts tomb in the 1920s- 24 of them even died mysteriously. Finally the mystery of the curse is unraveled.
It is the year 1922 and a wealthy Englishman stands at the entrance to an ancient tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. He calls to the man inside, “Can you see anything?” “Yes,” comes the excited reply, “Wonderful things.”
That man, Howard Carter, had just found the burial site of King Tutankhamen. Here is how he described what he saw. “As my eyes became accustomed to the light, details of the room emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues and gold – everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment – an eternity it must have seemed for the others standing by – I was struck dumb with amazement. We had never dreamed of anything like this, a roomful – a whole museum it seemed – of objects.”
The treasures brought to light by Carter and his party had been hidden for more than 3000 years. Because of the Egyptian belief in the after-life, the boy-king was entombed with a massive assortment of treasures – statues, furniture, weapons, gold and more.
The news of this tremendous archaeological discovery spread quickly and soon archaeologists from all over the world were making their way to the Valley of the Kings to inspect it for themselves. Before long, though, strange things began to happen. The archaeologists who entered King Tut’s tomb began to mysteriously get ill – and die. In fact, in the 1920’s more than 2 dozen such men mysteriously died shortly after entering the tomb. What was going on? Was it a curse?
For many years people believed that yes – a curse was in action. However, in 1986 French medical doctor Caroline Stenger-Phillip found a possible explanation for the mysterious casualties. A study of the case revealed to Dr. Stenger-Phillips that organic substances, such as fruits and vegetables, had been left in the tomb. During the centuries these items – originally intended to feed King Tutankhamen on his trip to eternity – decayed, formed mold and organic dust particles with high allergenic potency. Dr Stenger-Phillip claimed that the archaeologists fell victim to an allergic shock reaction after breathing these particles and it was this – not an ancient curse – which led to their demise.
Author’s name omitted by request
Author: Carolyn Willbanks
