The most important ceremony associated with the preparation of the dead was the opening of the eyes, mouth, ears, and nose of the deceased. This rite guaranteed life to the body and made it possible for the ba to re-enter its former dwelling.
The Book of the Dead also contained certain holy incantations that were designed to free the ka from the tomb and allow it to be incarnated again. The spirit might experience an existence as a hawk, a heron, or even a plant form, such as a lotus or a lily, moving along through various expressions of the life force until, after about 3,000 years, it could once again achieve rebirth as a human.
When an ancient Egyptian died, he or she expected to appear before Osiris, who would be waiting to pass judgment on him or her. The deceased would be led in by the jackal-headed god Anubis, followed by the goddess Isis, the divine enchantress, representing life, and the goddess of the underworld Nephthys, representing death. There were 42 divine judges to assess the life of the one who stood before them, and the deceased would be allowed to deny 42 misdeeds. Once the deceased had presented his or her case, Osiris indicated a large pair of balances before them with the heart of the deceased and the feather of truth, one in each of the pans. The god Thoth read and recorded the decision. Standing in the shadows was a monstrous creature prepared to devour the deceased, should the feather of truth outweigh his or her heart. In those instances when the heart outweighed the feather—and few devout Egyptians could really believe that their beloved Osiris would condemn them—the deceased was permitted to proceed to the Fields of Aalu, the real world, where the gods lived. Because humans were the offspring of the gods, the ancient Egyptians had no doubt about their immortality.
With a legacy of hundreds of years of discovering mummies in their tombs and risking the curse placed upon the burial site, an extensive lore regarding grave robbers having activated spells that brought about their deaths had been built up throughout many generations. Several alleged supernatural occurrences associated with the discovery of the tomb of the pharaoh Tut-Ankh-Amon in 1922 launched the story of an ancient curse that could and would kill those who disturbed a royal mummy’s resting place. The English archeological expedition led by Howard Carter came on the famous tomb by accident on November 4, 1922. What they had discovered was the ancient pyramid of a not-so-famous king of ancient Egypt named Tut-Ankh-Amon, who died at the age of about 18 from a blow to the head more than 3,300 years ago.
Although Tutankhamon had done nothing to distinguish himself in his brief life, the religious practices of Ancient Egypt made the pharaoh at once king and god. Believing in immortality of the body and the soul, these ancient kings had to prepare for death almost from birth to assure the existence of the ka (soul) throughout eternity. Though the embalming art was lost with the death of the ancient Egyptian culture, the tombs themselves show the craftsmanship of the Egyptian artisans. The ka of the dead king was provided with much gold and silver and many fine gems, so it could spend eternity in luxury. Thus the rich tombs of the ancient pharaohs became the targets of grave robbers, who relieved the dead kings of their riches.
Great precautions were taken to ensure that the tombs would not be pilfered. Slaves, who bent their backs building the royal sepulchers, were put to death. Priests, who held the funeral services, were sworn to secrecy; and the artisans, who had worked so diligently decorating the tombs, had their eyes put out as reward. The final protection placed on many tombs was a curse.
Several alleged supernatural occurrences were associated with the discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Tut-Ankh-Amon in 1922 (art by Ricardo Pustanio).
Some have argued that the tomb of King Tut did not have a curse placed on it at all, but Professor J.C. Mardrus, a French Egyptologist, not only declared that there was a curse, but maintained that he translated it from a tablet found at the entrance of the tomb. The “Stela of Malediction” read: “Let the hand raised against my form be withered! Let them be destroyed who attack my name, my foundations, my effigies, the images like unto me.”
If there were an ancient curse condemning all those who defiled King Tut’s tomb, what is the evidence of its effectiveness?
Howard Carter’s canary was said to have been eaten by a cobra a few days after the opening of the tomb, a sign which the native Egyptian workers interpreted as the ancient power symbol of the pharaohs avenging itself on the golden bird of the Englishman.
Lord Carnarvon, the sponsor of the expedition, was bitten on the face by an insect shortly after the opening of the tomb and was dead within three weeks of pneumonia, which had complicated an infection.
An Egyptian present at the opening of the tomb, Sheik Abdul Haman, was dead within a few days after he had left the excavation site. Jay Gould, a tourist and friend of Lord Carnarvon, who had visited the tomb, died shortly after the Egyptian.
Woolf Joel, who kept a yacht on the river Nile and had become a friend of some of the men of the British expedition, died six months after visiting the tomb.
Sir Archibald Douglas Reid did not visit the tomb, but he died in February 1924 as he was about to X-ray the mummy.
Six years after the tomb was opened, Lady Carnarvon died of an insect bite in the same manner as her husband.
When the rumor of the curse began to spread, it was immediately communicated around the world. People in England, who had kept Egyptian artifacts in their families for centuries, readily turned them over to the British Museum. The ship on which the body of Lord Carnarvon was to be transported back to England with his wife had an almost complete cancellation of its passenger list.
The tally of King Tut’s curse did not end with the deaths of the several people mentioned above. The grim record continued.
Professor Cisanova, of the College of France, and Georges Benedite of the Louvre in Paris, both died in Egypt and were associated with the excavations.
Albert M. Lythgoe, present at the opening of the tomb, died of a stroke on January 25, 1934, at the age of 66.
Sir William Garstin, also present at the opening, died in 1926.
An American, A. Lucas from the Museum of Natural History, died in 1929 at the age of 77. He was to have begun his retirement after assisting Carter in the field.
A tourist, Arthur E.P. Weigal, died of an unknown fever in 1934 at age 53.
The Hon. Mervyn Herbert, half-brother of Lord Carnarvon, who was present at the opening, died at age 48.
Richard Bethel, who assisted in opening the tomb, was 48 when he died in 1931. He had been in perfect health but died in his sleep during the month of November.
It is impossible to follow all of the tourists and journalists who visited the tomb, so an accurate tally of all those who violated of King Tut’s privacy and paid for the intrusion with their lives cannot be considered final. Most accounts, however, place the score for the curse at 22 deaths.
Are these deaths the result of a series of strange coincidences? It must be observed that a number of those who died were somewhat advanced in age and would have passed on whether they had visited a pharaoh’s tomb or a rose garden. The death of infection caused by insect bites is not terribly common, but it has been known to happen and may be completely unpleasant but natural, rather than supernatural. A number of contemporary researchers have also suggested that long dormant bacteria from the tomb could have taken up new residence in the lungs and other organs of those who opened or visited the ancient burial site.
There is little reason to doubt that the ancient pharaohs placed curses on their