Chronicle of a declared war: The spirits of the pharaohs take revenge on the living for waking them up
The past year, more than ever, was generous in archaeological finds and discoveries. In September, a group of Egyptian archaeologists found an ancient burial in Giza, the entrance to it was "guarded" by about 400 statuettes of "Shawabti" - servants guarding the peace of the pharaohs after the transition to another world. At the beginning of winter, a new sensation happened in Egypt - during excavations in the eastern province of the country, German and Egyptian archaeologists discovered a giant statue of the daughter of Pharaoh Ramses II.
The statue of pink stone, 9.5 meters high and weighing 80 tons, is well preserved and stands on a pedestal with hieroglyphs that have not yet been fully deciphered, but, according to some statements, threaten with death alive. And on New Year's Eve, it was announced that 20 mummies were found at once, perfectly preserved in gilded sarcophagi. They were found in the "valley of mummies", or simply in a huge ancient cemetery, where, according to preliminary estimates, at least 15 thousand sarcophagi are buried.
What horrors may turn out to be for us in the new year, one can only guess, but the events of the past 80 years do not inspire much optimism. The story itself claims that the spirits of burials kill mere mortals who dared to touch them.
Prophecy
The chronicle of mysterious deaths began in the early twenties of the XX century, when plans arose to open the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh, who had been resting in it for three thousand years. The 57-year-old amateur archaeologist, Lord Carnarvon, was preparing to excavate a fabulously rich burial and, shortly before leaving London, he visited the famous mystic of the time, Earl Haymon. “Lord Carnarvon is not allowed to enter the tomb. Otherwise, he will fall ill … Death will come in Egypt,”the mystic stated categorically.
Carter (right) and expedition financier Lord Carnarvon (left) shortly before his death
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Carnarvon, however, was not frightened and, together with his partner - American Howard Carter - went to the Valley of the Kings. Soon it became clear to friends that they were on the verge of the greatest discovery of the century: workers discovered the burial of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun, previously unknown to scientists. She was not touched from the day when his mortal body was immured in a pyramid by the slaves of Ancient Egypt. The only thing that angered the researchers was the stupid workers who fled to their villages and thus postponed the hour of triumph. The situation escalated even more when the ominous inscription was translated over the entrance to the crypt. It read: "Those who disturb the sleep of the pharaohs, death will overtake." Nevertheless, on February 17, 1923, archaeologists entered the crypt.
When the tomb was opened, priceless treasures of antiquity were found. But it seems that at the same time a mysterious dark force that had been dormant there for three thousand years was disturbed.
Pharaoh's retribution?
Two months later, complaining of poor health, Carnarvon lay down. Doctors diagnosed a mosquito bite, but all known medicines for some reason were powerless to defeat the fever. The death hour of the scientist came in the hotel, and when he was dying, all over Cairo mysteriously several times extinguished and re-lit the lights. And in the family estate of the lord in the Old World that night a dog howled plaintively. Having lifted the whole area to its feet, she gave up her ghost.
In this undated photo, Howard Carter - the archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb - examines his sarcophagus.
Carter had to open the door leading to the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun without a partner. “With extraordinary excitement, I pushed back the locks … Inside, filling almost the entire space, stood a huge sarcophagus made of yellow quartzite. Particularly striking was the sculptural image of a goddess sculpted on the lid with an outstretched hand, stopping or warning someone entering …”- the scientist described his find. But soon his delight was overshadowed by an amazing series of tragic events.
Following Carnarvon (also from a fever), archaeologist Arthur Mays, who was present at the opening of the tomb, died. The next corpse was a close friend of Carnarvon, who came to Egypt for the funeral and visited the tomb for fun. After that, the radiologist Archibald Reid, who was involved in determining the age of the tomb, began to complain of excessive fatigue, was sent on the mend to England and died immediately after arriving home …
Thus, one after another, 25 people died prematurely, one way or another connected with the excavation - a frightening fact that defies explanation.
“The number of those who want to get their hands on priceless treasures is not decreasing, and it is too early to put an end to the list of victims of the Egyptian gods,” wrote the New York Times in 1930.
Other Carter companions who visited the tomb also perished within six years. Surprisingly, the curse did not touch Carter himself.
Spirits know no mercy
In the 50s of the last century, it was believed that the cause of everything was some kind of harmful radiation, followed by a version of viral infection. They say that there is no curse of the pharaohs. The main trump card of scientists was the same Howard Carter, who died of natural causes in 1939. But, as you know, the exception proves the rule.
Fears revived with renewed vigor in 1972, when Tutankhamun's golden death mask was being prepared to be sent to an exhibition in London. Dr. Gamal Mehrez was responsible for sending it from Cairo. Dr. Mehrez, a scientist and atheist, did not fear any curses. He stated: “More than anyone else in the world, I have been engaged in work related to tombs and mummies. And I'm alive …
Tutankhamun's golden death mask
All the tragedies associated with the pharaohs are just a coincidence. The collection was packed and loaded onto vehicles to be shipped to the airport, and Dr. Mehrez breathed a sigh of relief. He was already preparing to leave the museum, when suddenly he fell down dead from an attack of heart failure.
Today, the German soil scientist Gotthard Kramer from the University of Leipzig expressed the opinion that "the cause of death of archaeologists is mold, which causes a whole range of various diseases." The scientist suggests that the ancient Egyptians used them as a "biological weapon" against the robbers of tombs and pyramids. "However, his statement did not convince the adherents of another -" unscientific "version. There are only frightening facts to support it.
Titanic sank … MUMMY
The captain of the ship was a real sea wolf - anyhow, who would not be entrusted to command this miracle of technology! But on the day of the catastrophe, April 14, 1912, in all the signs and actions of Captain Smith there was an incompatible oddity. First, he suddenly ordered to change the course of the ship, then ordered to increase the speed of movement as much as possible; and when it was necessary to urgently order the launching of the boats into the water, he completely lost the ability to make decisions. How it all ended is known.
But few people know that there was one very strange and mysterious passenger on board - an Egyptian mummy. Lord Canterville was taking her from London to New York. These were the embalmed remains of the soothsayer Amenophis IV, a very popular personality during the time of Pharaoh Amenho-tep IV. The mummy was removed from the tomb, over which there was a small temple. Under her head lay the figure of Osiris with the following inscription: "Rise from the dust, and your gaze will crush all who stand in your way."
The mummy was too valuable a cargo to hold in the hold, and a wooden box with it was placed behind the captain's bridge.
There is quite a bit of evidence that many researchers who dealt with mummies suffered from a certain clouding of their minds - they raved in reality, fell into prostration, and lost their ability to function. And who knows - maybe the radial "gaze" of the eminent fortuneteller pierced Captain Smith ?! Perhaps Lord Cantherville invited Smith to look at the mummy, this influenced the behavior of the captain and subsequently led to a collision with an iceberg.
Isis' wrath
In 2000, a mysterious story took place in Giza, not far from Cairo. Several Italian archaeologists have discovered the burial place of the Egyptian pharaohs and his wife. Having deciphered the inscription on the tombstone, they learned that "the great goddess Isis will punish three times anyone who dares to desecrate this grave." Of course, they did not take the threat seriously, they ripped open the entire pyramid and removed from it not only all the things of the pharaoh, but also the mummy of the dignitary couple.
The result, as everyone already guessed, was not long in coming.
On the eve of his departure to Italy, the leader of the expedition died suddenly of a heart attack. His assistant died two days later from a snakebite. The train in which the other members of the expedition were transporting their booty derailed. No one managed to survive the catastrophe, and the mummies and treasures from the ravaged pyramid seemed to evaporate - a thorough search at the crash site did not bring any result …