The Curse of the Pharaohs has always been an interesting topic! “All who get near to, death shall perish.” Perhaps the fabled “Curse of the Pharaohs,” which obsessed many times over, is the basis for their belief in the episodes of death and devastation that impact all of their open or near-pharaonic graves.
The legend of the “Curse of the Pharaohs” is centered around the tomb of Tutankhamun. A chilling phrase was reportedly discovered carved on the tomb’s walls. It warned that death would “slay with two wings anyone who tries to allay the security and peace of the Pharaoh.” After the tomb’s opening in 1922, several deaths among the workers and archaeologists gave rise to the myth.
On the very day the tomb was opened, a powerful sandstorm is said to have erupted. Furthermore, a falcon, considered a sacred symbol of the pharaohs, was spotted soaring over the site. These events, combined with the subsequent deaths of fourteen scholars and scientists, made this tomb the primary focus of the curse.
As the story goes, death followed each person who had contact with the tomb. Remarkably, the tomb itself remained untouched by looters, surviving for thirty-three centuries.
Many believe a mysterious curse plagued those who disturbed the tomb of Tutankhamun. The tragic deaths began with Lord Carnarvon, the excavation team’s financial backer. He was present when they unveiled the tomb on February 29, 1922. A mosquito bit him, and he died from the illness on April 5, 1923, just over four months later.
The deaths continued to mount. The curse’s first victim was George Jay Gould I, who died from a fever on May 16, 1923, shortly after visiting a tomb on the French Riviera. Less than two months later, Egyptian Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy’s wife assassinated him on July 10.
More deaths followed in rapid succession. On September 26, 1923, Honorable Colonel Aubrey Herbert, a Member of Parliament and Lord Carnarvon’s half-brother, died from blood poisoning. A dental procedure, which he had hoped would restore his sight, caused the poisoning. Then, on November 13, blackmailer Baron Kurt von Veltheim shot and killed South African billionaire Wolf Joel, who had also visited the tomb.
The following year brought more tragedy. On January 15, 1924, Sir Archibald Douglas-Reid, the physician who x-rayed Tutankhamun’s mummy, died from an unknown illness. Later that year, on November 19, an assailant killed Sir Lee Stack, the Governor-General of Sudan, while he was driving in Cairo.
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The list of tragedies kept growing. Arthur Cruttenden Mace, a member of Howard Carter’s excavation team, died from arsenic poisoning in 1928. On May 25, 1929, reports claimed that another of Carnarvon’s half-brothers, Honorable Mervyn Herbert, died from “malaria pneumonia.” Just a few months later, on November 15, they found Carter’s secretary, Honorable Commander Richard Bethell, smothered in his bed. His father, Richard Lecharle Pilkington Bathall, the 3rd Baron of Westbury, tragically died on February 20, 1930, after allegedly jumping from his seventh-floor apartment.
Interestingly, Howard Carter, who first entered the tomb on February 16, 1923, lived for over a decade longer, until his death on March 2, 1939. Still, some people claim the curse also caused his death.
Thank u Hani for the enlightening tour of Giza and Saqqara. Thank u also for the great recommendation – Felfela – which we enjoyed a lot. returning the commission u got at the papyrus shop was something we didn’t expect and truly appreciate. shookran!
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