The Man Who Defied the Pharaoh's Curse!

On November 4, 1922, the British Egyptologist Howard Carter updated the tomb of a forgotten pharaoh, in Cameroon. It is the most extraordinary archaeological discovery of this early 20th century. The treasure it contains is priceless. But very quickly, the press is aware of a mysterious curse that would strike those who desecrated the grave. We report cascading deaths as surprising as the others. Rumor has it that Tutankhamun has decided to take revenge. It is this fascinating story, which mixes treasure hunting, science and superstition, that I am telling you about today. Monumental Small Stories of Great Monuments Howard Carter We are 650 km south of Cairo, on the western bank of an island. Here is a vast necropolis, the site of Biban al-Malouk, better known as the Valley of Kings. Tombs, dug to the top of limestone cliffs, house the remains of the pharaohs of the New Empire, a period ranging from 1500 to 1000 BC. Under a sun of lead, the workers dig the wall, in search of new hidden entrances. At the head of the digs, the British Egyptologist Howard Carter guards the site. For five years, this gentleman, recognizable by his elegant mustache, roamed the sector. But in vain. His patron, the very rich Lord Carnarvon, begins to lose patience. But on the morning of November 4, a worker lets out a cry. On the iron of his pick, a stone step flourishes. Carter runs, his heart beating. After hours of hard work, the two men clear a 12-step staircase, which leads to the top of a door whose vaults are intact. On November 6, Carter sends a telegram to Lord Carnarvon. Finally, a wonderful discovery in the Valley of Kings. For Howard Carter, it is the culmination of long years of research. He began to search the region 20 years earlier, in 1902, for the account of a rich American, a certain Davis. He thus participates in the discovery of two tombs, unfortunately empty. They were looted, like so many others. For lack of results, his patron ends up letting him go. Carter then settles in the region where he offers his expertise to antiquity merchants. Until the day when Lord Carnarvon, an English aristocrat, a great traveler and amateur of antiquity, hears about him. We are in 1907. He contacts him. The current passes between the two men. And together, they begin to search in the Valley of Kings. Then, in the delta of an island. But again, without success. In 1915, the concession of the American Davis expires. He estimates that there is nothing left to draw from it. He gives it to Lord Carnarvon. Howard is in charge of passing the region to the end. The search campaigns resume. Carter and his team stir tons of sand and stones, but still nothing. Lord Carnarvon wonders if he will not give up. But Carter manages to convince him to continue. The Egyptologist is convinced that the Valley of Kings hides a treasure. Especially since a small perimeter has not yet been explored. We never know. So go for the expedition of last chance, that of autumn 1922, which leads, on November 4, to the discovery of the famous door and the staircase. Alerted by Carter, Lord Carnarvon arrives on site 19 days later, on November 23, 1922. And yes, at that time, it takes some time to go from London to Luxor. The searches resume on the 24th. On the 25th, the door is unsealed, giving access to a corridor 7.60 meters long, dug in the rock. It is filled with gravel. Someone has already passed through there. And if this tomb had also been plundered? Carter is worried. An event occurred in the morning, which leaves nothing to be expected. His domestic canary was devoured by a cobra. However, he knows that this animal is precisely the emblem of the Egyptian dynasties. Should there be a warning? On November 26, a second door is pierced, giving access to the antechamber. At this stage, Lord Carter lights a candle to make sure that no toxic gas emanates from it. Phew! Everything is fine. He slides inside. Canavon asks him if he sees anything. Carter replies. He will write in his diary, As my eyes got used to the darkness, shapes were slowly being drawn, strange animals, statues, and everywhere the scent of gold. And in fact, there are encrusted coffers, funerary beds, a chariot, vases, a treasure of incredible beauty that has remained under the watchful eye for nearly 3,000 years. The spectacle is captivating. A third door is finally opened. It leads to two new rooms, which Carter will call the funerary chamber and the treasure chamber. In the first, the intact sarcophagus of the deceased king In the second, the pieces of a huge treasure Nearly 5,400 objects are recovered in the tomb of the young pharaoh. This goes from writing materials to weapons, through furniture, statues, jewels, precious stones, objects of everyday life, and no less than six chariots. There is also a throne, an encrusted gold, and 130 walking sticks. The cane is an attribute of the pharaohs, but their particularly high number suggests that the pharaoh had great difficulty walking. The most emblematic pieces of this treasure are, of course, the three sarcophagi in the shape of mummies that house the remains of Tutankhamun as well as his famous funerary mask covered with a gold plate. The whole press is talking about it. But the enthusiasm aroused by this incredible discovery will very quickly be eclipsed by a series of tragic and unexplained events. Six weeks after the discovery, Lord Carnarvon caught a violent fever and, against all odds, he died. On the same day, his dog also died. In England, this coincidence intrigues journalists. So they make up a crazy hypothesis. What if Tutankhamun had cast a spell on those who disrupted his eternal rest? The idea is first mentioned by the Daily Mail on April 6, 1923. Immediately, the media machine takes over, especially as a new series of deaths occurs. In 1923, the Canadian archaeologist Lafleur succumbs, friend of Carter, but also George A. Gould, a financial maniac who visited the tomb or the half-brother of Carnarvon. The following year, Douglas Derry, the British radiologist who examined Tutankhamun's mummy, died, while Professor Evelyn White, one of the first to enter the tomb, dies. This macabre report feeds all conversations, in the streets, in the salons. We even consult self-proclaimed experts like Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, to give their opinion on the matter. The father of the famous detective defends the thesis of the supernatural. As for Agatha Christie, she is inspired by this episode to publish in the fall of 1923 the first story featuring Hercule Poirot, The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb. Hergé, Tintin's father, also gets involved, caught like everyone else by this story. He publishes the Pharaoh's Cigars in the form of a leaflet from 1932. And he surfs again on the subject of the curse a few years later, publishing the Seven Crystal Balls. Tutankhamun's tomb quickly becomes a tourist destination coveted by society in search of strong sensations. On the site, a crowd of curious people rushes in. Frémy plays to scare himself. It must also be said that the list of deaths is getting longer and longer, feeding the rumor a little more. Arthur Mace, who pierced the wall of the tomb, dies for no apparent reason. Richard Bethel, Carnarvon's personal secretary, is found dead in his hotel room. An Egyptian prince passing by the site is killed by his wife. Between 1923 and 1930, the suspected death of 15 to 30 people would have had a direct or indirect link with the discovery of Tutankhamun's mummy. So, is it really necessary to take all this seriously? Some scientists plead for a poisoning. The almond oil used to embalm the mummy would have turned into cyanide. For others, the torches of the tomb would have been impregnated with arsenic. The hypothesis of a virus present in the tomb is also advanced. Or even mushrooms that would have caused the inflammation of the victim's respiratory tract. But no formal evidence exists. And then, the press does not say everything. Among the so-called victims of the curse, some, like the nurse who treated Lord Carnarvon, never set foot in the tomb. The pharaoh therefore had no reason to punish them. Moreover, most of these deaths are really suspicious in terms of the age of the deceased. Again, nothing abnormal. At the time, life expectancy was between 55 and 60 years. And that's roughly the average age of the victims. This is what dampens the idea of a curse. On their side, more scrupulous journalists carry out their little investigation and soon discover that Lord Carnarvon had a fragile health. According to the doctors who examined him, he would have succumbed to a mosquito bite that infected him after he cut himself by shaving. It would have caused lightning-fast septicemia. As for Howard Carter, the man who spent the most time in the tomb, he died at the age of 64 on March 2, 1939, 17 years after his fantastic discovery. In fact, the daughter of Lord Carnarvon, who visited the tomb many times with her father, says her reverence in 1980, at the age of 79. In fact, it seems that this case was set up to sell newspapers. In any case, this story had a merit. It contributed to popularizing Egyptology even in pop culture. Mummies have become heroes of cinema, comic strips and video games. It also made of Toutankhamon, a young sovereign who died at the age of 18 or 19, the most famous of the pharaohs, with the great Ramses II.