Tutankhamen (35 page)
Authors: Joyce Tyldesley
Initially the curse was confined to those who had actually entered the tomb at, or shortly after, the time of the discovery, but very soon pretty much any Tutankhamen-related incident could be attributed to his curse. The flight crew that brought Tutankhamen's 1972 exhibition to London appear to have been particularly vulnerable: two were killed (one dying in 1976, one in 1978); one broke the leg that had accidentally kicked the crate holding the death mask; one had his house burn down; one got divorced. Meanwhile, eminent pre-Tutankhamen Egyptologists were added to the list of curse victims: these include Champollion (1790 â 1832), who was apparently killed because he decoded the hieroglyphic script, Heinrich Brugsch (1827 â 94), who was not killed but given schizophrenic tendencies, and Flinders Petrie (1853 â 1942), who died because of his lifelong interest in the Great Pyramid.
Carter found it necessary to repeat, time and time again, that Tutankhamen's tomb contained no biological booby traps, no poisons and no curse. His position was quite clear:
It is not my intention to repeat the ridiculous stories which have been invented about the dangers lurking in ambush, as it were, in the Tomb, to destroy the intruder. Similar tales have been a common feature of fiction for many years, they are mostly variants of the ordinary ghost story, and may be accepted as a legitimate form of literary amusement. But there is another and a serious side to this question which calls for protest. It has been stated in various quarters that there are actual physical dangers hidden in Tut-ankh-Amen's tomb â mysterious forces, called into being by some malefic power, to take vengeance on whomsoever should dare pass its portals. There was
probably no place in the world freer from risks than the Tomb. Scientific research had proved it to be sterile. Whatever foreign germs there may be within it today have been introduced from without, yet mischievous people have attributed many deaths, illnesses and disasters to alleged mysterious and noxious influences in the Tomb. Unpardonable and mendacious statements of this nature have been published and repeated in various quarters with a sort of malicious satisfaction. It is indeed difficult to speak of this form of âghostly' calumny with calm. If it be not actually libellous it points in that spiteful direction, and all sane people should dismiss such inventions with contempt. So far as the living are concerned curses of this nature have no part in the Egyptian Ritual.
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probably no place in the world freer from risks than the Tomb. Scientific research had proved it to be sterile. Whatever foreign germs there may be within it today have been introduced from without, yet mischievous people have attributed many deaths, illnesses and disasters to alleged mysterious and noxious influences in the Tomb. Unpardonable and mendacious statements of this nature have been published and repeated in various quarters with a sort of malicious satisfaction. It is indeed difficult to speak of this form of âghostly' calumny with calm. If it be not actually libellous it points in that spiteful direction, and all sane people should dismiss such inventions with contempt. So far as the living are concerned curses of this nature have no part in the Egyptian Ritual.
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He was, of course, wasting his time. Speculation simply grew, with many choosing to believe that Carter himself was collaborating with âthe authorities' to hide the evidence. In 1934 Herbert Winlock, frustrated by the public's willingness to accept superstition as fact, started to collate information about those he deemed most vulnerable to the curse.
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His work may be summarised as follows:
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His work may be summarised as follows:
⢠Of the twenty-six people present at the opening of the tomb, six died within a decade.
⢠Of the twenty-two people present at the sarcophagus opening, two died within a decade.
⢠Of the ten people present at Tutankhamen's autopsy, none died within a decade.
Of those who had first crept into the Burial Chamber, only Lord Carnarvon â a man already in ill health â had died prematurely. Lady Evelyn, who accompanied her father into the burial chamber, would not die until 1980. She was not the only one to enjoy a long life. Alan Gardiner, a member of the original team, died in 1963 at the age of
eighty-four; Douglas Derry, the man who did most physical damage to Tutankhamen, died aged eighty-seven in 1969. Carter died in 1939, aged sixty-four; he outlived Carnarvon by sixteen years. Others have conducted similar research and, unsurprisingly, reached similar conclusions. For example, in 2002 Australian scientist Mark R. Nelson concluded that âThere was no significant association between exposure to the mummy's curse and survival and thus no evidence to support the existence of a mummy's curse.'
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These statistics have made â and continue to make â not a jot of difference.
eighty-four; Douglas Derry, the man who did most physical damage to Tutankhamen, died aged eighty-seven in 1969. Carter died in 1939, aged sixty-four; he outlived Carnarvon by sixteen years. Others have conducted similar research and, unsurprisingly, reached similar conclusions. For example, in 2002 Australian scientist Mark R. Nelson concluded that âThere was no significant association between exposure to the mummy's curse and survival and thus no evidence to support the existence of a mummy's curse.'
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These statistics have made â and continue to make â not a jot of difference.
Initially the curse was regarded as an entirely magical or mystical phenomenon. The deaths were caused by undetectable elementals or forces invoked 3,000 years ago by the necropolis priests. This idea was enthusiastically promoted by Conan Doyle, who was, in spite of his medical training, a firm believer in paranormal phenomena including ghosts, fairies and elementals.
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In April 1923 he was engaged on a mission to promote Christian spiritualism in the United States, and this gave him regular access to the American press:
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In April 1923 he was engaged on a mission to promote Christian spiritualism in the United States, and this gave him regular access to the American press:
An evil elemental may have caused Lord Carnarvon's fatal illness. One does not know what elementals existed in those days, nor what their form might be. The Egyptians knew a great deal more about these things than we do.
Asked why no one else been slain by the curse, he famously replied:
It is nonsense to say that because âelementals' do not harm everybody, therefore they do not exist. One might as well say that because bulldogs do not bite everybody, therefore bulldogs do not exist.
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Today there are many who continue to accept that the Egyptians were capable of harnessing ancient energies: for example, in their employment of pyramid-power, which, some believe, can be used to sharpen razor blades, desiccate fish and restore calm to those suffering from the stresses of modern life. Rider Haggard, however, begged to differ, and his views were published in the
Daily Mail
on 7 April 1923:
Daily Mail
on 7 April 1923:
All this nonsense about Lord Carnarvon having been brought to his end by magic is dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it goes to swell the rising tide of superstition which at present seems to be overflowing the world.
More recently, remote death by âelementals' has been abandoned in favour of more âscientific' curse explanations. The tomb obviously contained something that killed. This may have been a deliberate trap, set by the ancient priests, but it may equally well have been an unfortunate combination of circumstances that made Tutankhamen into the accidental murderer of Carnarvon and, maybe, Mace. The best known, and best argued, of the theories are as follows:
Â
Infected Bite:
The suggestion that Carnarvon might have been infected by a bite from a mosquito which had itself been contaminated by drinking Tutankhamen's embalming fluids was first put forward by the
Daily Mail
. It gained in popularity when the mummy autopsy revealed the scar on Tutankhamen's face; this was widely accepted as a mosquito bite linking Tutankhamen to Carnarvon. The theory of death by poison via a mosquito can be quickly squashed as, before the Aswan High Dam raised Egypt's water table in the 1960s, there were no mosquitoes in the dry Valley of the Kings.
The suggestion that Carnarvon might have been infected by a bite from a mosquito which had itself been contaminated by drinking Tutankhamen's embalming fluids was first put forward by the
Daily Mail
. It gained in popularity when the mummy autopsy revealed the scar on Tutankhamen's face; this was widely accepted as a mosquito bite linking Tutankhamen to Carnarvon. The theory of death by poison via a mosquito can be quickly squashed as, before the Aswan High Dam raised Egypt's water table in the 1960s, there were no mosquitoes in the dry Valley of the Kings.
Â
Poison or Infection:
Conan Doyle was the first to suggest that
poisonous spores may have been included in the tomb to punish those who might threaten the king's mummy. Leaving aside the practicalities of the necropolis priests being able to perform this complex operation without killing themselves, this is an extremely unlikely scenario. Ancient Egyptian medicine, although advanced for its time, did not understand the causes of illnesses and, with bacteria and germs unknown, sicknesses were attributed to malevolent spirits. In any case, the tomb had to remain accessible to the officials who might need to restore it following a robbery or a damaging flood.
Conan Doyle was the first to suggest that
poisonous spores may have been included in the tomb to punish those who might threaten the king's mummy. Leaving aside the practicalities of the necropolis priests being able to perform this complex operation without killing themselves, this is an extremely unlikely scenario. Ancient Egyptian medicine, although advanced for its time, did not understand the causes of illnesses and, with bacteria and germs unknown, sicknesses were attributed to malevolent spirits. In any case, the tomb had to remain accessible to the officials who might need to restore it following a robbery or a damaging flood.
There was no obvious sign of any poison within Tutankhamen's tomb. Could Carnarvon have met an invisible, accidental killer: a virus, bacterium or fungus? Anthrax perhaps, as anthrax is known to linger for many years, or fungi related to aspergillosis, a lethal disease linked with modern climatic conditions in ancient tombs and caves. Lucas, as a down-to-earth chemist, was vehemently opposed to this idea:
So far as can be ascertained, no life of any kind, even of the lowest form, existed in the tomb when it was first found. Thus the morning after the sealed doorway of the Burial Chamber was opened, sterile swabs were taken into the extreme corner of the chamber near the back of the shrines, some six yards beyond where anyone had trod for more than 3,000 years, and were wiped on the walls, on the bottom of the outer shrine and under some reeds on the floor. These swabs, which were kindly supplied by Dr A. C. Thaysen of the Bacteriological Laboratory of the Royal Naval Cordite Factory, near Wareham, were examined at that laboratory by Mr H.J. Bunker, and out of five swabs from which cultures were taken, four were sterile and the fifth contained a few organisms that were undoubtedly air-infections unavoidably introduced during the opening of the doorway and the subsequent inspection of the chamber, and not belonging to the tomb, and it may be accepted that no bacterial life whatever was present. The danger, therefore, to those working in the tomb from disease
germs, against which they have been so frequently warned, is non-existent.
25
germs, against which they have been so frequently warned, is non-existent.
25
He emphasises that, while there was some evidence for fungus growing on the walls, and a small selection of beetles and spiders, all had clearly been dead for many hundreds of years. Even the woodworm that had started to eat through the furniture were, after 3,000 years, dead.
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Bat Droppings:
Could Carnarvon have been poisoned by inhaling the ancient and toxic bat dung that was heaped on the tomb floor? No, because no bats had been able to penetrate the sealed tomb. The suggestion made by Geoffrey Dean, Director Emeritus of the Medico-Social Research Board of Ireland, that bats might have colonised the tomb after its opening, during the period before a proper door was fitted when the tomb was protected by a metal grille, is more credible. There are accounts of bats flying into the tomb at night, and Carter ordering their removal each morning.
26
Histoplasma flourishes in bat dung, and can be inhaled to cause histoplasmosis: fever, enlarged glands and pneumonia.
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Carter, who had worked in tombs for all his adult life, may well have developed an immunity to the disease; Mace and Carnarvon may not.
Could Carnarvon have been poisoned by inhaling the ancient and toxic bat dung that was heaped on the tomb floor? No, because no bats had been able to penetrate the sealed tomb. The suggestion made by Geoffrey Dean, Director Emeritus of the Medico-Social Research Board of Ireland, that bats might have colonised the tomb after its opening, during the period before a proper door was fitted when the tomb was protected by a metal grille, is more credible. There are accounts of bats flying into the tomb at night, and Carter ordering their removal each morning.
26
Histoplasma flourishes in bat dung, and can be inhaled to cause histoplasmosis: fever, enlarged glands and pneumonia.
27
Carter, who had worked in tombs for all his adult life, may well have developed an immunity to the disease; Mace and Carnarvon may not.
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Radiation:
The idea that Carnarvon might have been killed by radiation within the tombs has become increasingly popular as our own fears about radiation and nuclear activity have grown: âIt is definitely possible that the ancient Egyptians used atomic radiation to protect their holy places. The floors of the tombs could have been covered with uranium. Or the graves could have been finished with radioactive rock. Rock containing both gold and uranium was mined in Egypt. Such radiation could kill a man today.'
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There is no evidence to support this theory.
The idea that Carnarvon might have been killed by radiation within the tombs has become increasingly popular as our own fears about radiation and nuclear activity have grown: âIt is definitely possible that the ancient Egyptians used atomic radiation to protect their holy places. The floors of the tombs could have been covered with uranium. Or the graves could have been finished with radioactive rock. Rock containing both gold and uranium was mined in Egypt. Such radiation could kill a man today.'
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There is no evidence to support this theory.
If it is impossible to study Tutankhamen without referring to Howard Carter, it is equally impossible to study the development of Tutankhamen's curse without referring to his sometime colleague Arthur Weigall.
29
Carter and Weigall had much in common: both fell into Egyptology almost by accident (Carter as an artist; Weigall as a student of family history); both served as Antiquities Inspector in the Valley of the Kings; neither was rich; both had strong principles which could make them unpopular with their contemporaries. It perhaps goes without saying that they were not the best of friends. Unlike Carter, however, Weigall was a fluent and highly successful author. His popular writings, at a time when he had been excluded from all official information about the excavation of the tomb, did much to encourage the worldwide belief that Carnarvon had been killed by an ancient curse. It was therefore inevitable that when Weigall himself died, on 2 January 1934 at just fifty-three years of age, the
Daily Mail
had no hesitation in pointing the finger of blame: âDeath of Mr A. Weigall, Tut-ankh-Amen Curse Recalled'.
29
Carter and Weigall had much in common: both fell into Egyptology almost by accident (Carter as an artist; Weigall as a student of family history); both served as Antiquities Inspector in the Valley of the Kings; neither was rich; both had strong principles which could make them unpopular with their contemporaries. It perhaps goes without saying that they were not the best of friends. Unlike Carter, however, Weigall was a fluent and highly successful author. His popular writings, at a time when he had been excluded from all official information about the excavation of the tomb, did much to encourage the worldwide belief that Carnarvon had been killed by an ancient curse. It was therefore inevitable that when Weigall himself died, on 2 January 1934 at just fifty-three years of age, the
Daily Mail
had no hesitation in pointing the finger of blame: âDeath of Mr A. Weigall, Tut-ankh-Amen Curse Recalled'.
Weigall had never been a member of the Tutankhamen excavation team and so it seems somewhat unfair that Tutankhamen might have considered him a suitable candidate for death by curse. But Weigall had been Antiquities Inspector for southern Egypt in the early 1900s, he had been the
Mail's
own Tutankhamen correspondent, and he had lectured and written about Tutankhamen in Britain, Europe and America. Indeed, in America he had occasionally (much to Carter's irritation) been advertised as the discoverer of the tomb: perhaps Tutankhamen, too, had become confused? He was also widely credited with predicting Carnarvon's death: seeing him enter the tomb in good humour at the opening of the Burial Chamber, Weigall apparently observed, âif he goes down in that spirit, I give him six weeks to live'.
30
His own writings, in contrast, deny the existence of any curse within the tomb:
Mail's
own Tutankhamen correspondent, and he had lectured and written about Tutankhamen in Britain, Europe and America. Indeed, in America he had occasionally (much to Carter's irritation) been advertised as the discoverer of the tomb: perhaps Tutankhamen, too, had become confused? He was also widely credited with predicting Carnarvon's death: seeing him enter the tomb in good humour at the opening of the Burial Chamber, Weigall apparently observed, âif he goes down in that spirit, I give him six weeks to live'.
30
His own writings, in contrast, deny the existence of any curse within the tomb:
Millions of people throughout the world have asked themselves whether the death of the excavator of this tomb was due to some malevolent influence which came from it, and the story has spread that there was a specific curse written upon the wall of the royal sepulchre. This, however, is not the case.
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