In November 1922, a young English archaeologist Howard Carter excavated the tomb of Tutankhamun. Success accompanied him - he found the burial of the pharaoh. True, in the first chamber of the tomb there was neither a mummy nor a sarcophagus. But from below to the very top, it was filled with wonderful works of art: statues, figures of unknown animals, gold jewelry. Carter made a careful description of the finds, and the passage was closed.
The excavation continued. One day a clay tablet was found with a strange inscription: "Death will spread its wings over those who disturbed the peace of Pharaoh." None of the scientists paid much attention to this warning inscription. But so that the Egyptian laboratory assistants and loaders did not spread the rumor among the local residents about the mysterious warning, the tablet was removed from the collection.
On February 17, 1923, Carter and Lord Carnarvon, who sponsored the venture, opened the second room of the tomb in the presence of 21 people. In it was the mummy of the pharaoh. At the entrance to the tomb there was a protective statue, on the back of which was inscribed: "It is me who drives away the robbers of the tombs with the flame of the desert, I am the protector of Tutankhamun's grave." For the first time, scientists only examined the room and closed the huge doors. Preparations began for the removal of the body.
To rest a little, Carnarvon left for Cairo, where he stayed at the Continental Hotel. Here the lord's temperature suddenly jumped. And 12 days later, on the night of April 5, 1923, at the age of 57, he died. The cause of death was a severe fever caused by a virus of unknown origin.
Perhaps this sudden death would not have been paid much attention if, soon after the death of Carnarvon, the American Arthur Mace, who broke the wall in front of the entrance to the tomb, suddenly began severe exhaustion. He fell into a coma and died in the same hotel as the lord …
Sensational journalists saw in these deaths a special mystical sign and immediately started talking about the "curse of the pharaoh." And death really continued to mow down people who were somehow involved in the discovery of the pharaoh's tomb.
In connection with the death of Carnarvon, his longtime friend George J. Goode arrived from America to Egypt. Upon arrival in the Valley of the Kings, Hood, together with Carter, examined the tomb of Tutankhamun. And the next morning his temperature rose sharply, and in the evening he died. The doctors diagnosed him with bubonic plague.
The radiologist Archibald Douglas Reid, who cut the bandages on it to study the mummy, at some point felt bouts of inexplicable weakness and, having arrived in England, died.
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Unexpectedly, an "unknown type of fever" ended the life of Egyptologist Arthur Weigall. Having lost control of himself, Lord Carnarvon's half-brother, Aubrey Herbert, committed suicide. In 1929, Lady Almina, the wife of Lord Carnarvon, died. What was the real cause of her death is unknown. Although it was reported in the press that she died from "the bite of an unknown insect."
In February 1930, Lord Westbury threw himself out of the window of his eighth-floor apartment. A year earlier, in November, the lord's son had died, although in the evening he went to bed in a normal state. Presumptive diagnosis: heart attack. By the way, Westbury Jr. also participated in the excavation of the tomb …
People died one by one. And within just a few years, 22 people left the mortal world, who were directly or indirectly related to the excavations in the tomb of the pharaoh or prepared scientific works about this discovery. Moreover, thirteen of them were directly involved in the opening of the tomb …
After 1930, of all the members of the expedition, only Howard Carter survived. And, oddly enough, the archaeologist spent more time in it than anyone else. Carter died in 1939 at the age of 66. It is this fact that is considered a serious argument against the version of the "curse of the pharaoh." Although, on the other hand, it is possible that this exception only confirms the rule.
German journalist Helmut Hefling also believes that the "curse of the pharaoh" is a sensation invented by journalists. In defense of his version, he makes two arguments. Firstly, the existence of a tablet with an ominous inscription has not been proven. Secondly, the age of the deceased scientists who dealt with the tomb and the mummy was far from young and averaged 74.4 years.
And nevertheless, scientists did not begin to attribute the entire series of deaths to the natural course of events. And to explain the death of people involved in the opening of Tutankhamun's grave, several hypotheses were put forward. Moreover, they did not discount the version of the "curse of the pharaoh."
Several historical facts testify in its favor. So, for example, it turned out that Tutankhamun was the only one of the pharaohs who had a diadem on his head, which in Egypt was given special importance, believing that it possesses magical powers.
In addition, when the cruel and vengeful Horemheb began to rule Egypt instead of Tutankhamun, he destroyed all the statues and tombs of almost all of his predecessors. But - an amazing fact - for some reason he did not touch Tutankhamun's grave!
In connection with this fact, Egyptologists suggested that, before sealing the tomb, the priests left in it some kind of protective agent, which turned out to be not only effective, but also timeless.
But a professor at Cairo University Ezeddin Taha in 1963 gave a completely different explanation for the "curse of the pharaohs." He conducted a lengthy study of the health status of archaeologists and museum staff working in the Egyptian pyramids. And in the body of all these people, he found microbes that cause inflammation of the respiratory system. The professor found similar microorganisms in mummies.
One of these bacteria - asparagilus niger - is quite resistant to various environmental factors and therefore can retain its pathogenic properties for three to four millennia.
According to the professor, most likely, it was these microorganisms that became the factor that killed the scientists who entered the tomb of the pharaoh. True, it is still unknown how the killer microbe ended up in the pharaoh's tomb: did he accidentally get there or was he placed there on purpose?
However, the scientist did not at all claim that the infection was the only cause of death for such a significant number of people. Ezeddin Taha planned to continue working in this direction, but did not have time, since he soon died in a car accident. Doctors called the cause of death a heart attack.
However, who knows: what if it overtook its next victim "the curse of the pharaoh"?
Bernatsky Anatoly