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Egypt's "King Tut Curse" caused by tomb toxins?


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news icon rStories of "the mummy's curse" or "King Tut's curse" excited the world after the discovery in 1922 of the ancient pharaoh's tomb in Egypt. Lord Carnarvon, a British sponsor of archaeology in Egypt, died shortly after attending the tomb's opening, inspiring speculation that supernatural forces were at work.

In recent years a scientific mummy's-curse theory was offered for Carnarvon's death.

news icon View: Full Article | Source: National Geographic

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The truth? The media invented the curse in its entirety. No inscription appeared on the tomb, nor did a particularly unusual number of deaths sorround the dig. What deaths did occur are largely explainable(its not exactly odd to die of a scorpian sting). Its also odd that the man who originaly opened the tomb and was chiefly responsible for the dig(Randolph Carter was it I honestly don't remember) lived many years after wards. You'd think he of all people would have been hit by a toxin or mysterious curse.

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im not sure about that Kevin, the curse is to only hit the one who OPENS IT! so what im thinking is, did they do an autopsy on this scientist, if so what did they find? what did they say he died from, wouldnt it be that easy to figure it out?? write back guys im soo curious!

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Howard Carter was the Egyptologist who found and opened the tomb (and directed the dig). I've always been under the impression that Carnarvon died after a mosquito bite became infected. And, yes, the media invented the whole thing. A lot of the people whose deaths are cited as part of the curse had nothing to do with the tomb or those who explored it. I seem to remember that they included two or three people whose only connection was that they had the last name of "Carter", which is really very common.

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Curse or no, the "tomb toxins" theory makes a lot of sense to me. Of course, a curse would be a lot more exciting. tongue.gif

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Howard Carter thank you. If memory serves he died in a car accident in London quite a few years after the event(and he was one of the original openers mind you so toxins or curse it should have hit him). Certainly has nothing to do with toxins. Also the other deaths actually linked to the opening are explainable. Death by infected misquito bite is an odd thing by todays standards but in an era when medical standards were much lower its not that odd. The toxin story is an example of trying to rationally explain some thing with out actually researching it. ITs common to the paranormal.

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The tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen was opened by Howard Carter on 26 November 1922. Not pillaged since ancient times, the tomb yielded treasures that remain the most spectacular ever discovered in the Valley of the Kings.

One product resulting from the contemporary frenzy of the news press was the story of King Tut's curse, which has since been retold many times. Most versions have Howard Carter finding a clay tablet in the Antechamber of the tomb. A few days after cataloguing it, the tale goes, Alan Gardiner deciphered the hieroglyphics. The tablet read:

Death will slay with his wings whoever disturbs the peace of the pharaoh.

Both Carter and Gardiner regarded the curse as nonsense, we are told, but lest the find scare away the local workers, all mention of the tablet was wiped from the record. The tablet itself disappeared, of course, never having been photographed or sketched.

Other versions of the curse story exist. One has the text on the door of the second golden shrine:

They who enter this sacred tomb shall swift be visited by wings of death.

Another has the curse inscribed on a stone, which Carter later buries:

Let the hand raised against my form be withered! Let them be destroyed who attack my name, my foundation, my effigies, the images like unto me!

Yet another has the curse written on the mud base of a candle set upon the Anubis shrine:

It is I who hinder the sand from choking the secret chamber. I am the protection for the deceased and I will kill all those who cross this threshold into the sacred precincts of the Royal King who lives forever.

The effectiveness of any curse associated with Tut's tomb can be gauged by its results within the following decade:

Of the 26 people present at the opening of the tomb, 6 had died.

Of the 22 people present at the opening of the sarcophagus, 2 had died.

Of the 10 people present at the unwrapping of Tut's mummy, none had died.

Carter died in 1939 at age 64, Harry Burton died in 1940 at age 60, and Sir Alan Gardiner died in 1963 at age 84.

Though the curse of Tut was pure modern invention, some ancient Egyptian tombs did include maledictions of various degrees.

source: catchpenny.org

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In this modern world of science anything that isn`t logiacl or scientific is always a target to be disproved and although it can be a good thing, some things you just like to believe in and like to stay unexplianed.

Although I never believed in the curse, it was still interesting and made things that extra bit exciting.

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what is a tomb toxin though exactly? can someone explain to me thank you!

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what is a tomb toxin though exactly? can someone explain to me thank you!

612002[/snapback]

Basically its this...

"Scientists have also detected ammonia gas, formaldehyde, and hydrogen sulfide inside sealed sarcophagi. In strong concentrations they could cause burning in the eyes and nose, pneumonia-like symptoms, and in very extreme cases, death.

Bats inhabit many excavated tombs, and their droppings carry a fungus that can cause the influenza-like respiratory disease histoplasmosis."

There is all kinds of nasty stuff inside those things.

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So basically the myth and wander in everything we know or heard has been replaced with scientific facts...Why do I not feel so great?

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knowledge tends to have that effect... that's why they say "ignorance is bliss"

the more you learn, the more you realize how dumb you are... and you never know what you don't know.

EDIT: that's a general "you" not a specific "you"

Edited by Celumnaz
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Whats interesting is that not only did no actual inscription appear on the tomb and that Carter lived 17 years after its opening(you'd think some one who was among the first to enter the tomb would have been hit by the toxins or the curse). In point of fact one rumor I've heard is the tomb actually bore a inscription asking the gods to bless any who used its contents to once more glorify the name of Tutenkamin. I doubt that was there either but it certainly an interesting take.

What your finding here isn't science's need to dismiss any thing occult. Instead its an example of the medias need to invent fairy tales to sell papers. As bad as things are today in the earlier part of the 20th century they'd print just about any thing they thought would sell.

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So basically the myth and wander in everything we know or heard has been replaced with scientific facts...Why do I not feel so great?

612291[/snapback]

Same reason why I don't feel so great.... sleepy.gif

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The tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen was opened by Howard Carter on 26 November 1922. Not pillaged since ancient times, the tomb yielded treasures that remain the most spectacular ever discovered in the Valley of the Kings.

One product resulting from the contemporary frenzy of the news press was the story of King Tut's curse, which has since been retold many times. Most versions have Howard Carter finding a clay tablet in the Antechamber of the tomb. A few days after cataloguing it, the tale goes, Alan Gardiner deciphered the hieroglyphics. The tablet read:

Death will slay with his wings whoever disturbs the peace of the pharaoh.

Both Carter and Gardiner regarded the curse as nonsense, we are told, but lest the find scare away the local workers, all mention of the tablet was wiped from the record. The tablet itself disappeared, of course, never having been photographed or sketched.

Other versions of the curse story exist. One has the text on the door of the second golden shrine:

They who enter this sacred tomb shall swift be visited by wings of death.

Another has the curse inscribed on a stone, which Carter later buries:

Let the hand raised against my form be withered! Let them be destroyed who attack my name, my foundation, my effigies, the images like unto me!

Yet another has the curse written on the mud base of a candle set upon the Anubis shrine:

It is I who hinder the sand from choking the secret chamber. I am the protection for the deceased and I will kill all those who cross this threshold into the sacred precincts of the Royal King who lives forever.

The effectiveness of any curse associated with Tut's tomb can be gauged by its results within the following decade:

Of the 26 people present at the opening of the tomb, 6 had died.

Of the 22 people present at the opening of the sarcophagus, 2 had died.

Of the 10 people present at the unwrapping of Tut's mummy, none had died.

Carter died in 1939 at age 64, Harry Burton died in 1940 at age 60, and Sir Alan Gardiner died in 1963 at age 84.

Though the curse of Tut was pure modern invention, some ancient Egyptian tombs did include maledictions of various degrees.

source: catchpenny.org

611716[/snapback]

Lila, good stats thank you. I don't think there is any curse just unfortuante circumstances and natural deaths, I think the fact some of these guys lived to a decent age back then is something more unusual.

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