The tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in November 1922.
THE tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun was discovered almost intact by British archaeologist Howard Carter in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in November 1922.
The gold coffins and fabulous treasures within stunned the world. There were so many priceless items in the small tomb it took almost ten years to catalogue, remove and preserve them all.
The curse of Tutankhamun first made headlines worldwide when Howard Carter’s patron Lord Carnarvon died weeks after the tomb was opened.
Carnarvon, who funded Carter’s expeditions, was killed by an infected mosquito bite. But a story spread that he was the victim of a curse inscribed on the Pharaoh’s tomb that claimed anyone who disturbed it would be “visited by wings of death”. No such inscription could ever be found.
It was also reported that the lights went out in Cairo at the moment of Carnarvon’s death in the city — while back in England his dog gave a terrible howl and died. Further stories said Carter’s pet canary was eaten by a cobra — one of the symbols of the Pharoah.
In following years more people linked to the tomb reportedly came to untimely ends, as recently as the 1990s. Carter remained unharmed despite working in the tomb for ten years.
Up until the find Tutankhamun was a little-known figure, with only a few references to him appearing in Egyptian documents.
Even today, the detail about much of his short life is far from certain, although there is evidence of an extensive building programme along with military expeditions against Nubia and Palestine.
Tutankhamun became Pharaoh in 1336 BC on the death of his father Akhenaten.
He was only nine years old, although married to his elder step-sister Ankhesenamun.
His probable mother Kiya and his step-mother Nefertiti are both believed to have been dead by this date.
Egypt was therefore effectively ruled by the two most powerful men in the kingdom, a senior government official called Ay and an army leader called Horemheb.
Tutankhamun died in the ninth year of his reign, probably aged just 17.
Modern autopsies and X-rays show that he may have been killed by a fierce blow to the head, giving rise to the theory that he was murdered.
Certainly Horemheb and Ay were the main beneficiaries of his death.
First, the ageing Ay became Pharaoh, taking Ankhesenamun as his queen to legitimise his rule.
Shortly afterwards her name disappears from the records.
Ay ruled for only four years.
After his death Horemheb grabbed power.
He tried to wipe out any record of Tutankhamun and Ay by substituting his name for theirs on monuments.
Carter and the curse
The curse of Tutankhamun first made headlines worldwide when Howard Carter’s patron Lord Carnarvon died weeks after the tomb was opened.
Carnarvon, who funded Carter’s expeditions, was killed by an infected mosquito bite. But a story spread that he was the victim of a curse inscribed on the Pharaoh’s tomb that claimed anyone who disturbed it would be “visited by wings of death”. No such inscription could ever be found.
It was also reported that the lights went out in Cairo at the moment of Carnarvon’s death in the city — while back in England his dog gave a terrible howl and died. Further stories said Carter’s pet canary was eaten by a cobra — one of the symbols of the Pharoah.
In following years more people linked to the tomb reportedly came to untimely ends, as recently as the 1990s. Carter remained unharmed despite working in the tomb for ten years.
