The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 captivated the world – but it also gave rise to one of archaeology’s most enduring legends.
A string of illnesses, accidents and untimely deaths among people linked to the excavation fuelled claims that the young pharaoh’s resting place was protected by a deadly curse.
Now, as archaeologists consider drilling into suspected hidden chambers that could contain the long-lost tomb of Nefertiti, the eerie stories surrounding the so-called ‘curse of the pharaoh’ have resurfaced.
The first person fell ‘victim’ to the curse just five months after the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Lord Carnarvon, chief financial backer for the project, died on April 5, 1923, from blood poisoning and pneumonia after a mosquito bite on his face became infected.
However, some have claimed inhaling spores from the pharaoh’s crypt contributed to his death.
The rumours were fuelled by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes series, who, in a piece published in the Glasgow Herald, said: ‘An evil elemental may have caused Lord Carnarvon’s fatal illness.
‘One does not know what elementals existed in those days, nor what their form might be. The Egyptians knew a great deal more about those things than we do.’
A string of illnesses, accidents and untimely deaths among people linked to the excavation fuelled claims that the young pharaoh’s resting place was protected by a deadly curse. Pictured: Howard Carter examining Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus
New scans have revealed tantalising evidence of a previously unknown network of corridors and chambers (pictured in purple and yellow) just metres from the young pharaoh’s burial chamber (in grey). KV 9 refers to the nearby tomb of the pharaohs Ramesses V and Ramesses VI
Another ‘cursed’ individual who visited King Tut’s tomb was George Jay Gould, a wealthy American financier.
He visited the crypt in 1923 as Lord Carnarvon’s guest but fell sick almost immediately afterwards. He never recovered and died of pneumonia a few months later.
Arthur Mace, meanwhile, was an archaeologist who helped clear and catalogue the tomb’s treasures.
He suffered declining health after working in the tomb and died aged 53 from complications linked to pneumonia.
One of the most mysterious deaths was that of Hugh Evelyn-White, an archaeologist who entered the burial chamber, who took his own life in 1924.
According to reports, he left a note saying: ‘I have succumbed to a curse.’
Bizarrely, some of the curse ‘victims’ never even stepped foot in the tomb.
Lord Carnarvon’s half-brother Aubrey Herbert also died in 1923 – shortly after the tomb was opened – after developing blood poisoning following dental surgery.
This added to speculation surrounding the family, with some suggesting he suffered from the curse merely by being related to Lord Carnarvon.
It is believed that inhaling spores from Tutankhamun’s tomb may have contributed to the death of Lord Carnarvon, the chief financial backer for the project. Pictured: Experts in the burial chamber during the excavation of the mummy
Members of the team that discovered the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. From left, Arthur Mace (died 1928), Richard Bethell (died 1929), Arthur Callender (died 1937), Lady Evelyn Herbert (died 1980), Howard Carter (died 1939), Lord Carnarvon, (died 1923), Alfred Lucas (died 1945) and official photographer Harry Burton (died 1940)
Another to allegedly fall foul of the mummy’s curse was Aaron Ember, who died in 1926.
Although not directly involved in the excavation, the Egyptologist was friends with members of the team. He died in a house fire while attempting to save a manuscript on ancient Egyptian beliefs.
Although Howard Carter – the man who was credited with discovering the tomb – appeared unaffected by any mysterious wrongdoing, the same can’t be said for his friends.
Publishing entrepreneur Sir Bruce Ingram reportedly received a mummified hand as a gift from Mr Carter, which he used as a paperweight.
Soon after, his house allegedly burned down and was subsequently damaged by flooding during rebuilding.
Another figure frequently cited in curse stories is radiologist Sir Archibald Douglas Reid.
Popular lore and sensationalised news reports from the 1920s claimed that Sir Archibald X-rayed King Tut’s remains just before the mummy was handed over to museum authorities.
Storytellers claim he fell ill the next day and died three days later in Switzerland following abdominal surgery.
Lord Carnarvon (left) died months after the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Howard Carter (right) is the man who first discovered the crypt
Renowned Egyptologist James Henry Breasted was also part of Howard Carter’s team during the exploration of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
According to legend, shortly after the discovery he returned home to find his pet canary had been killed by a cobra that was still sitting inside the bird’s cage.
As the cobra was a powerful symbol of ancient Egyptian royalty and appeared on pharaohs’ headdresses as a sign of protection, the incident was widely interpreted as an ominous warning.
However, perhaps the strongest argument against the curse is the fate of Howard Carter himself.
The archaeologist who discovered the tomb, oversaw its excavation and spent more time inside it than anyone else lived for another 17 years, dying from cancer in 1939 at the age of 64.
Far from meeting a mysterious end, Mr Carter’s relatively long life has led many historians to dismiss the so-called curse of the pharaoh as little more than a myth fuelled by coincidence.
KING TUTANKHAMUN: THE PHARAOH WHO RULED EGYPT MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS AGO
The face of Tutankhamun, an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, who ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC. Right, his famous gold funeral mask
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty who ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC.
He was the son of Akhenaten and took to the throne at the age of nine or ten.
When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten.
He died at around the age of 18 and his cause of death is unknown.
In 1907, George Herbert, Lord Carnarvon, asked English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings.
On November 4, 1922, Carter’s group found steps that led to Tutankhamun’s tomb.
He spent several months cataloguing the antechamber before opening the burial chamber and discovering the sarcophagus in February 1923.
When the tomb was discovered in 1922 by Carter, under the patronage of Lord Carnarvon, the media frenzy that followed was unprecedented.
Carter and his team took ten years to clear the tomb of its treasure because of the multitude of objects found inside.
For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt’s glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty from 1569 to 1315 BC.
Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass (third from left) supervises the removal of the lid of the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in 2007
