Yes, Beautiful Things!

“For the moment - an eternity it must

have seemed to the others standing by - I

was struck dumb with amazement, and when

Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the

suspense any longer, inquired anxiously,

‘Can you see anything?’ it was all I could do

to get out the words, ‘Yes, wonderful things’

” (Carter, Howard p.96). The pronunciation

of these three words by Howard Carter

while looking through a tiny breach made on

the sealed door led to the significant changes

in the life of human population. 1922-

1923… The whole world was amazed by the

discovery of the Egyptian pharaoh -

Tutankhamen’s (1332-1323 BC) tomb while

at the same time was astounded by the

subsequent death of the expedition’s sponsor

Lord Carnarvon (“Curse of the pharaohs” et

al).

Tomb of Tutankhamen

The rumors only increased after the sudden,

early deaths of several others connected to

the excavation of the tomb. So, people

started to believe in the real existence of the

“curse of pharaoh”, referring it to be “an

alleged curse causing bad luck, illness or

death to any person who disturbs the

mummy of an Ancient Egyptian person,

especially pharaoh “(“Curse of the pharaohs”

et al).

Actually, people did not just make

up this phenomenon themselves. Indeed,

some tombs from Old Kingdom Era of

Ancient Egypt have engraved warnings on

themselves. For instance, “the tomb of

Khentika Ikhekhi (9–10th dynasty) contains

an inscription: ‘As for all men who shall

enter this my tomb... impure... there will be

judgment... an end shall be made for him... I

shall seize his neck like a bird... I shall cast

the fear of myself into him’ ”(“Curse of the

pharaohs” et al.). In addition, Salima Ikram,

an Egyptologist at the American University

in Cairo and a National Geographic Society

grantee, supports the idea of existence of

curses in ancient Egypt as part of a primitive

security system by noting that some walls in

Giza and Saqqara (places that feature

numerous famous pyramids) were actually

inscribed with "curses" meant to terrify

those who would desecrate or rob the royal

resting place” (Handwerk, Brian et al.).

Pyramids in Giza

Pyramids in Saqqara

So, then does this mean that the

curse of pharaoh has that supernatural power

of bringing fatal consequences? Well, let’s

have a deeper look on the event that spread

horror in the hearts of the people: the

discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb.

“Taking up archaeology as a hobby and

turning up nothing but a mummified cat in

his first season in Egypt, George Edward

Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the fifth Earl

of Carnarvon, decided to hire someone

knowledgeable in this field for the

succeeding seasons” (Rosenberg, Jennifer et

al.). For this, he employed Howard Carter,

young English Egyptologist and

Archeologist and financially supported all of

his excavations (Rosenberg, Jennifer et al.).

Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter

However, after working for five years in

the Valley of the Kings (near Luxor, Egypt)

and finding almost nothing, Carter, was

progressing on his final season (Rosenberg,

Jennifer et al.). On November 4, 1922,

while clearing away some ancient huts, one

of Carter's workmen found a hidden step

near the base of the tomb of Ramses VI

(Rosenberg, Jennifer et al.). Workers

cleared the whole staircase with its 16 steps

to find the doorway, which contained

several seals with Tutankhamen’s name on

its bottom (Rosenberg, Jennifer et al.). The

discovery of the antechamber, annex, burial

chamber and treasury (parts of the tomb)

followed; the tomb was opened (November,

1922) (“KV62” et al.).

However, a while after the opening of

the burial chamber, Lord Carnarvon passed

away: he accidentally slashed a severe

mosquito bite (that he had before) with a

razor while shaving, so his bite got infected

(“George Herbert” et al.). As a result, from

blood poisoning he ended up with

pneumonia (“George Herbert” et al.). His

sudden death after six weeks of opening

Tutankhamen’s tomb left people wondering:

whether it was just a coincidence or the

effect of the supernatural forces of the curse

of pharaohs. Till 1932, by the time 3 covers

of the sarcophagus were taken, the remains

of Tutankhamen were examined and all

objects, treasures found throughout the

intact tomb were removed,

several other deaths of discovery

participants (in total there were 58 people

involved) (“Curse of the pharaohs” et al.).

occurred (“KV62” et al.):

“George Jay Gould I, a visitor to the

tomb, died on 16 May 1923 after he

developed a fever following his visit.

Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey of

Egypt died 10 July 1923: shot dead

by his wife.

Colonel The Hon. Aubrey Herbert,

MP, Carnarvon's half-brother,

became nearly blind and died on 26

September 1923 from blood

poisoning related to a dental

procedure intended to restore his

eyesight.

Woolf Joel, a South African

millionaire and visitor to the tomb,

died on 13 November 1923: shot

dead in Johannesburg by a

blackmailer, Baron Kurt von

Veltheim.

Sir Archibald Douglas-Reid, a

radiologist who x-rayed

Tutankhamen’s mummy, died on 15

January 1924 from a mysterious

illness.

Sir Lee Stack, Governor-General of

Sudan, died on 19 November 1924:

assassinated while driving through

Cairo.

A. C. Mace, a member of Carter's

excavation team, died in 1928 from

arsenic poisoning.

The Hon. Mervyn Herbert,

Carnarvon's half-brother and the

aforementioned Aubrey Herbert's

full brother, died on 26 May 1929,

reportedly from "malarial

pneumonia".

Captain The Hon. Richard Bethell,

Carter's personal secretary, died on

15 November 1929: found smothered

in his bed.

Richard Luttrell Pilkington Bethell,

3rd Baron Westbury, father of the

above, died on 20 February 1930; he

supposedly threw himself off his

seventh floor apartment” (“Curse of

the pharaohs” et al.).

Well, indeed, it looks strange…

Surely, it was easy to simply refer it to the

curse of pharaohs by realizing that all of

them had something in common:

involvement with the tomb of Tutankhamen.

However, would not people just die of

anything if their destined time to die arrives?

For example, why A.C.Mace’s death

caused by arsenic poisoning should look

strange when “every year over 137 million

people in more than 70 countries are

affected by arsenic poisoning from drinking

water”(“Arsenic poisoning” et al.). Indeed,

“inorganic arsenic is extremely toxic, as

large homicidal doses can cause cholera like

symptoms (acute poisoning) and death.

Humans may encounter arsenic in water

from wells drilled into arsenic-rich ground

strata or in water contaminated by industrial

or agrochemical waste.They may come in

contact with arsenic incontaminated dusts,

fumes, or by eating mist food contaminated

with arsenical pesticides or grown with

arsenic-contaminated water or in arsenic-

rich soil.” (Saha, J. C. , Dikshit, A. K.,

Bandyopadhyay, M.A. et al.).

Arsenic poisoning in different countries

How about the death of Richard

Luttrell Pilkington Bethell? It can also be

considered just one more suicide among one

million cases that happen annually (one

suicidal death every 40 seconds) (“Suicide

prevention (SUPRE)”et al.).

Most significantly, why would the

head of the excavation, Howard Carter

remain alive and pass away only after 16

years since the opening of the tomb?

According to “the curse of pharaohs”,

shouldn’t he be the first person to kick the

bucket being the main intruder? How about

others involved in the process? Why they

lived long lives without being affected by

the curse? The tomb was opened in 1925,

but these people:

“Adamson Richard, guard who slept

in tomb, died in 1980;

Burton, Harry, photographer who

was highly involved in project, died

in 1939;

Callender, A.R., assistant to Carter

who was present at all tomb

procedures, died in 1939;

Derry, Douglas, Cairo University

anatomist who analyzed

Tutankhamen’s mummy, died in

1969;

Gardiner, Sir Alan, philologist who

handled all written material in tomb,

died in 1963;

Hall, Lindsley F, draftsman who was

present at all tomb procedures, died

in 1939;

Hauser, Walter, draftsman who was

present at all tomb procedures, died

in 1939;

Herbert, Lady Evelyn, daughter of

Lord Carnarvon who entered tomb

when opened, died in 1980;

Lacau, Pierre, Egyptologist who was

intimately involved in all operations,

died in 1965” (Dunn, Jimmy et al.).

Lady Evelyn Herbert with her father,

Howard Carter and a crew member.

Seeing this, people started to hesitate,

they were no longer sure that the “curse of

pharaohs” was indeed pursuing the lives of

intruders, so they began looking at this

phenomenon from different angles.

Scientific explanations started to emerge.

As Ancient Egyptians believed in life

after death, they mummified the bodies of

the dead and provided them with food, meat,

fruits, vegetables, clothing, ornaments,

furniture, statues of their Gods, gold,

precious stones, in brief, with everything

they would need in their new lives during

their trip to eternity (“Is the ‘King Tut

Curse” et al.).

Mummification

So, in 1986 a French medical doctor,

Caroline Stenger-Phillip came up with his

explanation stating that “the food offerings

left in tombs, before they were sealed,

created ideal mold growing conditions and

formation of organic dust particles, which

once inhaled can lead to an allergic reaction

and then the death of archeologists”(“Is the

‘King Tut Curse” et al.).

“Recent laboratory studies have also

revealed that some ancient mummies do

indeed carry mold, including at least two

potentially dangerous species, Aspergillus

niger and Aspergillus flavus. These molds

can cause allergic reactions ranging from

congestion to bleeding in the lungs. The

toxins can be particularly harmful for people

with weakened immune systems. Mold

spores are protected by a tough, waterproof

wall made of chitin, which allows mold to

survive for thousands of years, even in

unfavorable conditions”(“Is the ‘King Tut

Curse” et al.).

In 1999 a German microbiologist, G.

Kramer, analyzed 40 mummies and

identified several potentially dangerous

mold spores (“Is the ‘King Tut Curse” et

al.). Kramer stated that when the tombs were

first opened and fresh air gusted inside,

these mold spores could have been blown up

into the air (“Is the ‘King Tut Curse” et al.).

When spores enter the body through the

nose, mouth or eye mucous membranes,

they can trigger severe and sometimes fatal

illnesses of the lungs, organs and intestines

and lead to organ failure or even death

particularly in individuals with weakened

immune systems. For this reason

archaeologists now wear protective gear

(such as masks and gloves) when

unwrapping a mummy, something explorers

from the days of Howard Carter and Lord

Carnarvon didn't do (“Is the ‘King Tut

Curse” et al.).

Dr. Hans Merk, a dermatologist at the

University of Aachen, Germany, performed

similar research and agrees with Kramer's

conclusions. Merk analyzed dust and rock

samples from tombs and found primarily

three types of mold: Aspergillus flavus,

Aspergillus terreus and Cephalosporium

(Acremonium) species. All of these species

are toxic, particularly to the elderly and the

immune deficient people (“Is the ‘King Tut

Curse” et al.).

In addition, when the mummy of

Ramses II (King of Egypt between 1304 and

1237 BC) was taken to the Musee de

l'Homme in Paris in 1976, over 370 fungal

colonies belonging to 89 different fungal

species (including Aspergillus sp.) were

found growing in and on the mummy (“Is

the ‘King Tut Curse” et al.).

As can be seen, tiny-tiny

microorganisms appear to be the cause of

turmoil around the curse of pharaoh. Indeed,

if looked from a scientific perspective, it can

be seen that molds and fungi could have

brought about most of the deaths. Could this

be what killed Lord Carnarvon? It appears

that this could have contributed to his

demise, as he was not in the best of health.

Most importantly, a newspaper report

printed following Carnarvon's death is also

believed to have been responsible for the

wording of the curse most frequently

associated with Tutankhamen – "Death shall

come on swift wings to him who disturbs the

peace of the King" – a phrase which does

not actually appear among the hieroglyphs

in the tomb, even though it was trumpeted to

do so all over the world by the mass media

of 1920-30s…(“Curse of the pharaohs” et

al.)●

Shodiyakhon Toshkhujaeva, freshman student at

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, USA

Works cited:

“Arsenic Poisoning”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Web. 10

Nov. 2013. The data provides thorough medical explanation of this type of disease

along with giving number of historical figures who died of it. I used the statistical data of

deaths resulted from arsenic poisoning from this source. As this is Wikipedia source, I

did not hesitate at all about its credibility.

Carter, Howard. The Tomb of Tutankhamen. E.P. Dutton, 1972.E-book. This source captures

step-by-step process of excavation of Tutankhamen’s tomb and includes many

photographs. I used one key part of it in the introduction part of my paper. As the book is

written by the discoverer of tomb, Howard Carter, I did not hesitate about its credibility

for a second.

“Curse of the pharaohs”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Web.10

Nov.2013. It provides the thorough explanation of the curse and everything related to it. I

used the list of deaths popularly attributed to Tutankhamen’s curse along with other

information in my paper. As this is Wikipedia source, I did not hesitate at all about its

credibility.

Dunn, Jimmy. “Egypt: The Mummy Curse of Tutankhamun”. touregypt.net. 22 June 2011.Web.

10 Nov. 2013. The article refutes the curse of pharaohs. I used the list of discovery

participants and their death years. The source seemed credible because of the content and

the presence of references which showed the work of author.

“George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia

Foundation, Inc.Web. 10 Nov. 2013. This source provides information about the life of

Lord Carnarvon. I used information about is death from here. As this is Wikipedia

source, I did not hesitate at all about its credibility.

Handwerk, Brian. “Curse of the mummy”. nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic

Society. Web.10 Nov.2013. It discusses the “Curse of pharaohs” in general. I used one

part of this article that supports the real existence of curses on the walls of some

pyramids. I trusted this source because if was in the national Geographic’s web-site.

“Howard Carter”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Web. 10 Nov.

2013. This source gives information about the life of Howard carter. I used the

information regarding his death from here. As this is Wikipedia source, I did not hesitate

at all about its credibility.

“Is the ‘King Tut Curse’ Caused by Toxins Produced by Microorganisms?”. qualtestusa.com.

Qualtest, Inc. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. The article takes the scientific approach to the

phenomenon of “the curse of Pharaohs” by providing detailed information about

microorganisms (mold and fungi) which are proven to be most probable reasons of

number of deaths. This data was very helpful for me to write my scientific part of the

paper. The data itself and the presence of a list of sources made me trust this article.

“KV62”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

This source also describes the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in depth. It was very

helpful for me in giving a succinct image of what was found in the tomb. As this is

Wikipedia source, I did not hesitate at all about its credibility.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Tomb of King Tut Found!”. About.com. Web. 10 Nov. 2013 – This source

gives detailed information about the discovery of the tomb. I used some information from

here when talking about the discovery in depth. Source seemed credible because of the

thorough content.

Saha, J. C. , Dikshit, A. K., Bandyopadhyay, M.A. Review of Arsenic poisoning and its effects

on human health. PDF file. This source discusses the arsenic poisoning, its effects in

depth. I used some information from here to support my point about the commonness of

this type of poisoning and where people may get it. As it was research paper, I did not

hesitate about its credibility at all.

“Suicide prevention (SUPRE)”. who.int. Web. 10 Nov. 2013- This source gives all sort of

information regarding suicide all over the world. This source was very useful when I was

discussing possible reasons of deaths of archeologists. This website containing very

thorough and detailed information did not make me hesitate about its credibility at all.