HISTORY. Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Tomb.
This story began with the death of a teenager - the ruler of ancient Egypt. His name could forever go to oblivion, if not for a series of mysterious deaths, surprisingly associated with it. Tutankhamun was not at all an outstanding king, but the events that occurred 3000 years later made him the most famous.
Life and death of the pharaoh
The rule of Tutankhamun falls on the period of the New Kingdom - the heyday of the ancient Egyptian state. He became the last representative of the XVIII dynasty, but ruled the country for a short time, presumably, from 1332 to 1323. BC. Pharaoh died at the age of 19 or 18, and was buried in the Valley of the Kings.
It is believed that Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten, the famous pharaoh-reformer. The Egyptian throne went to Tutankhamun when he was nine years old. As a consequence, during his reign, the destiny of the country was controlled not so much by the ruler himself, as by former Akhenaten's associates.
Previous Pharaoh was the author of religious reform, shaking the foundations of the ancient society - the replacement of paganism monotheistic religion, the worship of the one god of the sun - Aton, and then himself Pharaoh. Tutankhamun decided to return to the old gods. Akhenaten's name was anathema, and his former capital Ahetatone was completely destroyed.
Until now, disputes about the causes of Tutankhamun's death have not abated. Data from archaeological research show that he was a thin and sickly young man. Yes, the proportions of his body are far from perfect: in particular, he had too long hands. That's why one of the most popular versions of the death of the pharaoh is an alleged serious illness. Some researchers, however, categorically disagree with such conclusions, insisting that the ruler of Egypt was completely healthy person. According to some recent research, the pharaoh died under the wheels of the wagon - on the left side of his body remained a trace of the wheel. Be that as it may, one can say with complete certainty: the pharaoh died in his early youth and was buried in all traditions.
The amazing discovery of Howard Carter
The authors of the discovery, which shook the whole scientific world, were the archeologist Howard Carter and his colleague Lord Carnarvon. The latter was not a professional archaeologist, but took on a large part of the funding for the excavations that began in 1914. In those years, modern archaeological devices did not yet exist, so scientists had to work in very difficult conditions - a long and often ineffectual. By 1922, the Lord was completely disappointed in his research, so he stopped allocating funds.
At that time, Carter conducted excavations in the Valley of the Kings and on November 4 quite by accident discovered the entrance to a new tomb. On the sealed door stood a sign of royal blood - a symbol of the burial of the Egyptian nobility. About his discovery the archaeologist immediately informed Lord Carnarvon, who at that time was in England.
Here it is necessary to stop and say that even before the autopsy of the tomb with Carter, an apparently unremarkable case occurred at first glance. The fact is that Carter was accompanied by a pet during the excavations - a small canary. And one day a cobra climbed into the dwelling of a scientist and ate a bird. The archaeologist himself did not attach any importance to this, but his servants, consisting of local residents, took it as a sign of impending disaster. Cobra is one of the symbols of the Egyptian pharaohs.
But back to Carter's door. November 24, Carnarvon and Carter decided to take a closer look at the strange find. They pushed the lamp into the hole and - oh, a miracle! - saw the magnificent tomb of Pharaoh. Alas, it immediately became clear that the archaeologists were not the first visitors to the tomb. Thieves several times visited here for treasures, but each time for some unknown reason they had to flee. It seemed obvious: inside everything was turned upside down, although the treasures of the pharaoh were in place. But to investigate the circumstances of attempts at robbery from archaeologists did not come immediately. Scientists long waited for the permission of the authorities to carry out works in the crypt.
Works in it began on February 16, 1923. Archaeologists saw that the crypt consisted of four rooms, the main one of which was a room with a mummy of the pharaoh. In the tomb, scientists found numerous gold ornaments, weapons, dishes, figurines, symbols of royal power. Then, among the contents of the tomb, there are two more bodies belonging to the stillborn daughters of the pharaoh.
Mysterious death
The news of the archaeological sensation stirred the entire scientific world. This is understandable, because it was about one of the most outstanding finds during the study of ancient Egypt! Hardly Howard Carter could then imagine that soon the tomb of Tutankhamun would glorify him even more. True, such a glory you will not wish anyone.
In the spring of the same year another "unremarkable event" happened already with Carnarvon: he was bitten by a mosquito. A few days later, the Lord cut himself in the place of a bite, and soon noticed that a small scratch for a suspiciously long time does not heal. Fears of Carnarvon were justified when he started fever. Soon he passed away. Then they said that the mosquito that had bitten the lord was "poisonous". The mystery of history was added by the fact that at the time of the death of the lord in Cairo the light was suddenly turned off. The cause of the accident could not be established, but it's not all enigmatic coincidences. Around the same time, when the heart of Carnarvon stopped, his dog died at his home in England. Of course, all this can be explained by ordinary coincidences, inflated by the yellow press. But the death of the lord and everything that was associated with it, became only the first link in the chain of sinister events.
Lord Carnarvon died on April 5, 1923, four months after visiting the tomb of Tutankhamun. And in a few days Arthur Mays, one of the archeologists who were part of the Carter expedition, died. As far as could be judged, the cause of Mace's death was arsenic poisoning. After returning to England, another specialist of those excavations, radiologist Archibald Reid, was killed. The American financier George Gould also observed the excavations of the tomb. He died six months later, picking up the fever.
On the photo: The entrance to the tomb of Tutankhamun (center) lies in front of the tourist center in the Egyptian Valley of the Pharaohs / ©Depositphotos
The bite of an insect killed Lord Carnarvon's wife, and his stepbrother soon committed suicide. Finally, in 1928, the young secretary of Howard Carter, Richard Bartel, died. Death came as a result of cardiac arrest, although Barthel did not complain about his health. All these people were studying the mummy of the pharaoh. In addition, the victims of the "curse" were Professor La Fleur, a roentgenologist and a few other scientists. In all, at different times, from 22 to 25 people, according to various sources, died, somehow connected with the burial of the Egyptian pharaoh. It seemed that the revenge of Tutankhamun would overtake everyone who dared to disturb his peace ...
Nevertheless, supporters of the esoteric approach sometimes miss one important point: the main target of the "curse of the pharaoh", archaeologist Howard Carter, died a natural death in 1939. At that time he was 65 years old.
In 1980, there was an interview with Richard Adamson, the last living researcher from the Carter expedition. Adamson also resolutely rejected the myth of the curse of the Egyptian king. Strictly speaking, almost all the dead scientists were very old at the time of their death. Members of the Carter expedition lived an average of 74 years.
On the photo: Archaeologists take out ancient artifacts during excavations in Cairo / ©Depositphotos
But often at the expense of the Egyptian ruler not only recorded dead scientists, but also ordinary tourists. Cases of unexplained deaths occur even in our time.
Origins of the legend
First, let's try to figure out where the myth of the curse came from. It sounds strange, but in itself it is just a newspaper duck. Trying to provide peace to the deceased, the ancient Egyptians, indeed, resorted to all sorts of spells and conspiracies. According to modern experts, hieroglyphs contain some caveats, but they are often perceived too literally. With the submission of journalists, the interpretation of certain warnings sometimes turns out to be distorted beyond recognition.
Inscriptions in the tombs warn the hapless traveler from the desecration of the tomb or prohibit a visit to the tomb of a person with a bad reputation. In the case of Tutankhamun, the researchers established only that there is a spell that preserves the peace of the Egyptian king and protects him from the desert sands.
On the photo: The face of the mummy of Tutankhamun / ©Depositphotos
The author of the report on the curse of Tutankhamun was one of the Daily Express journalists. The writer Maria Corelli, the author of numerous works on the theme of mysticism, contributed her contribution. After the death of Carnarvon, Maria Corelli and Arthur Conan Doyle (also a great lover of mysticism) claimed that they warned unlucky archaeologists. Even earlier, the British writer Jane Loudon Webb addressed the subject. Her mystical work "The Mummy" was published in the distant 1828. Subsequently, the authors of fiction continue to exploit allegedly terrifying warnings. This is how the ominous mystical image of the Egyptian pharaohs was formed in the mass consciousness.
On the photo: The modeled image of Tutankhamun. Reconstructed by French scientists on the basis of data reconstruction of a person made by computer scanning mummy pharaoh / ©Depositphotos
"The Curse of Pharaoh Tutankhamun" made the ancient Egyptian themes one of the most popular mystical directions in popular culture. One of the last works of art on this topic was released in 2006, a fantastic film "Tutankhamun: The Curse of the Tomb."
The Invisible Killer
Despite this, the "curse of the pharaoh" really can exist, and it is explained by quite natural factors.
At first, none of the members of the Carter expedition paid any attention to the strange raid on the walls of the tomb. Contrary to the original version of the cracked mural, the cause of the wall stains was the fungus. Thirty years after the series of mysterious deaths, physician Jeffrey Dean drew attention to the fact that the symptoms of the disease of scientists who visited the tomb, recall the so-called "cave disease." Its cause is microscopic fungi. It is clear that the damp and dark rooms, like the tomb of Tutankhamun, have become a fertile environment for their distribution. Later, the Egyptian biologist Ezzeddin Taha will confirm the validity of this conjecture by discovering the fungus in the body of many archaeologists engaged in the study of Ancient Egypt.
In our age, antibiotics reduce the danger of such microorganisms to naught. But if the human immunity is weakened, infection with the fungus can have rather serious consequences. In the 1990s, scientists took a sample of excreta from a light tourist who died after visiting the tomb of Tutankhamun. It was found that the body of the deceased was a fungus, which could cause her death.
On the photo: The sarcophagus of Tutankhamun is placed back into the underground tomb (Pharaoh Valley, November 4, 2007). The mummy of the 19-year-old pharaoh, whose life and death interested people almost a century, was placed in a special glass box with climate control, leaving only the face and legs uncovered / ©Depositphotos
Members of the Carter expedition could also become victims of harmful microorganisms, which they contracted while being near the mummy. One important fact is in favor of this version. After 3000 years, the oils that were used for mummification turned into glue. To extract the pharaoh from the coffin, Carter took the decisive step - he cut the mummy. In those years, Egyptologists rarely used special protective equipment, and on contact with the mummy, harmful microorganisms could easily enter the respiratory tract, causing severe illness.
Tutankhamun belonged to the XVIII dynasty of the pharaohs - one of the most famous in the history of ancient Egypt. The time of her reign falls on the era of the New Kingdom. The founder of the dynasty, Ahmose I, united the scattered territories of Egypt, and his descendants ruled the country in 1550-1292 BC. e. Representatives of the dynasty were several powerful rulers who changed the history of their country, as well as a number of women-pharaohs.
Modern researchers note that working with a mummy can be dangerous, since a mummified body can contain harmful bacteria. There is also the downside of the issue: bacteria introduced from outside can destroy the mummy.
On the photo: The Ark of Tutankhamun. Here were kept the vessels with its insides. Decorated with cobra and statues of goddesses: Isis, Nephthys, Nate and Selkit / ©Depositphotos
In my opinion, the version that the cause of the death of visitors to the tomb of Tutankhamun was a fungus, sounds quite plausible. But the official point of view regarding the series of mysterious deaths does not exist until now. As there is no evidence that scientists and ordinary tourists killed harmful microorganisms.
Father Tutankhamun Akhenaten was one of the most outstanding religious reformers in history. It was he who first introduced monotheism in Egypt, "abolishing" the entire pantheon of Egyptian deities and leaving only the sun god Aton. Most likely, the purpose of such innovation was to strengthen the personal power of the pharaoh. The reform could also be used to centralize the Egyptian state.
In fact, the sudden and somewhat strange can be called only the death of George Herbert Carnarvon, who was a patron of the expedition. Having cut off the mosquito's bite during shaving, the lord died of sepsis, after which everything connected with Egypt was taken extremely negatively in his family, and most of his excellent collection was sold in the US. The rest of the deaths are not as numerous as they are often written about in the press. They were connected, first of all, with the fact that after the discovery of the tomb of the young king, the members of the Carter expedition worked in the Valley of the Kings, without interruption, including in the summer months, when the temperature in the Valley sometimes exceeds the mark of 50 degrees of heat. Several members of the expedition died, all elderly people who simply physically barely tolerated the climate and sand of Egypt that fell to their lot. Howard Carter himself, it would seem, is the main culprit in the discovery of the royal tomb, died at an advanced age and from natural causes. Since the opening of the tomb, almost 17 years have passed. In addition, in the first third of the twentieth century, all the "Egyptian" was still associated with mysticism, spiritualism and other phenomena that accompanied the European "Egyptian delight". The press and the salon society could not resist seeing that in several heart attacks of older scientists something otherworldly.
On the photo: Tutankhamun and his wife / ©Depositphotos
It must be said that in the ancient Egyptian worldview there is no idea that the curse of tomb robbers should cause a sudden death. The surviving texts of texts directed against those who threaten the deceased, on the contrary, speak of the wrath of the gods in the afterlife. "As for whoever touches this pyramid with a finger, and this temple belonging to me and my Ka (double life force) - he will be condemned by nine gods, and there will be none to him, and his house will be in non-existence, he will be the one whom condemned, to those who devour themselves "- this quote, cited in the name of the king, is found in the famous" Pyramid Texts "that appeared on the walls of the royal tombs in the 25th century BC. Posthumous retribution, non-existence in the world of the gods was much more serious punishment in the eyes of the Egyptians than the banal death of the physical body - an important, but not the main component of the essence of man. In the tomb of Tutankhamun there were no curses at all. The notorious "clay tablet with curses" allegedly found by archaeologists, a newspaper duck. Known is its author - archaeologist Arthur Weigall, who had a dislike for Carter and hearing about the "curse" in order complicated the life of an outstanding archeologist, and so besieged by the press. The media did not have enough information, because the exclusive right to reportage from the tomb was received by Lord Carnarvon's decision by the London Times.
Tutankhamun's wife was Queen Angesenamon, daughter of the same Akhenaten. From her Tutankhamun had two daughters, born dead. Most likely, Tutankhamen's brother was Smenkhkara, another Pharaoh from the same dynasty. Smenkhkar ruled immediately after the death of his father until the coming to power of the nine-year-old Tutankhamun.
