Writers' choice: an analysis of creative decision-making

King Tut's Curse

The Mummy's Curse and King Tutankhamen

When Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, nobody expected that the historical significance of the find would be plagued by the rumor of a curse. King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in Egypt on November 4, 1922 (Handwerk, n.d.). On February 17, 1923, after months of excavation, Carter, and approximately 20 other people, gathered at the entrance of the tomb's antechamber and prepared to unseal King Tutankhamen's burial chamber (Dowdy, 2013). Shortly after entering King Tutankhamen's burial chamber, many of the people present began to fall victim to strange and unusual circumstances that led to unexpected death. While much of these circumstances have been attributed to a "mummy's curse," there have been theories attributing these deaths to biological factors.

The concept of a mummy's curse can be traced back to before King Tutankhamen's death by at least 100 years and it possible that curses inscribed in burial chambers in ancient Egypt were meant to deter people from desecrating and robbing these sacred chambers (Handwerk, n.d.). According to Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University at Cairo, these curses have been found inscribed on mastaba walls -- early non-pyramid tombs -- in Giza and Saqqara (Handwerk, n.d.). These curses warned of divine retribution by a council of gods, and/or death by crocodiles, lions, scorpions, or snakes (Handwerk, n.d.).

It was only a matter of months before those present at the tomb's unsealing began to die under mysterious and unexpected circumstances that were attributed to the mummy's curse. The first person to die was George Herbert, Lord Carnarvon, the project's chief financier. During the spring of 1923, Lord Carnarvon was bitten on the cheek by a mosquito. Shaving aggravated this bite and it soon became infected. The infection quickly developed into blood poisoning, which soon claimed his life (The Curse of the Mummy, n.d.; Conradt, 2009). George Jay Gould, who had visited the tomb also fell sick and died a few months later. Audrey Herbert, Lord Carnarvon's brother, also developed blood poisoning after a surgery intended to restore his eyesight and died five months after his brother (Conradt, 2009). Hugh-Evelyn White and Lord Westbury -- Richard Bethell's father -- committed suicide; American Egyptologist Aaron Ember, who was present when the tomb was unsealed, died in a house fire; Richard Bethell, Howard Carter's secretary, died in 1929; and Archibald Douglas Reid, who x-rayed King Tutankhamen's mummy, died within four days of taking the x-ray, among others, died under mysterious circumstances that have been attributed to this curse. The deaths of A.C. Mace -- Carter's partner, and Lady Elizabeth Carnarvon have also been linked to the mummy's curse (Dowdy, 2013).

In addition to these rumors, it has been reported that Lord Carnarvon's dog howled and died at two in the morning on the same day that Lord Carnarvon died (Handwerk, n.d.). Additionally, it has been reported that the lights when out in Cairo at the same time that Lord Carnarvon died, which adds to the mystery of his death. However, this phenomena is easily explained by the fact that Cairo routinely experienced this type of blackouts at the time (Handwerk, n.d.; Krystek, 2012). It is also alleged that when King Tutankhamen's mummy was unwrapped in 1925, he had a wound on his cheek that was similar to the one Lord Carnarvon sustained from the mosquito (Krystek, 2012). Additionally, it is also rumored that Carter's pet canary was killed by a cobra because the bird pointed Carter in the tomb's direction and helped him to find it (Handwerk, n.d.).

However, despite these mysterious circumstances, it has been believed that biological factors, such as age and mold, can be used to explain why some of the people that were in close contact with King Tutankhamen's mummy and those who entered the tomb became ill soon thereafter. According to Herbert E. Winlock, director of the Metropolitan Museum in New Work City, of the 22 people present at the tomb's opening, six were dead by 1934; of the 22 people present at the sarcophagus's opening, two had died within 10 years; and of the 10 people present at the time the mummy was unwrapped, all survived until at least 1934 (Krystek, 2012). The dates of potential exposure to unknown substances are February 17, 1923 -- when the third door was opened, February 3, 1926 -- the date the sarcophagus was opened, December 10, 1926 -- the date the coffin was opened, and November 11, 1926 -- the date the mummy was examined (Dowdy, 2013).

It has been proposed that one of the reasons that many of the people who entered King Tutankhamen's tomb fell ill was because they were exposed to dangerous molds. Ancient meat, vegetable and fruit funerary offerings, as well as preserved human bodies -- basically all organic materials -- have been known to house molds such as Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, both of which have been known to cause allergic reactions that may lead to congestion and/or bleeding of the lungs (Dowdy, 2013). Additionally, bat guano found in tombs is also known to grow fungus, which can lead to the influenza-like respiratory disease histoplasmosis (Handwerk, 2005). Additionally, Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus have been known to grow on tomb walls (Handwerk, n.d.). Sarcophagi are also known to house formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia gas, which can cause burning of the eyes and nose, pneumonia-like symptoms, and in the most severe cases, death (Handwerk, 2005). In 1999, German microbiologist Gotthard Kramer of the University of Leipzig analyzed 40 mummies and found potentially harmful mold spores on each (Krystek, 2012).