The curse of the mummy
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Howard Carter is one of the most famous explorers the world has ever known. He was
brave and loved to visit and explore new places. During his life, he discovered many
amazing things.
Howard Carter did not go to school, but learnt to draw from his father, who was an
artist. He was bright and curious about the world outside his home town. In 1891, at
the age of 17, he set sail for Alexandria, Egypt. By the 1920s, he had become an
explorer, searching for the tombs of the Egyptian kings. He found several important
ones. Inside the tombs, he discovered a great fortune in jewels and gold, along with
the preserved bodies of dead kings. These preserved bodies are known as mummies.
In 1922, Howard Carter made his most amazing discovery of all, in the Valley of the
Kings, in Egypt. He had received money from Lord Carnarvon, a British man who
was very interested in Egypt. Carter’s team was working at a place near the city of
Luxor. There , they came across the tomb of King Tutankhamun. It was the most
important tomb that had ever been found. ‘The tomb contained more treasure than any
of us had ever seen before, as well as the mummy of the king,’ said Carter. ‘After we
looked into the tomb, we closed it and hid its entrance. We wanted to study the tomb
later when we had more time. Afterwards, all of its contents would go into a
museum.’
However , not long after the discovery, people in Carter’s team began to fall ill and
die. Upon their entering the tomb, Carter’s lucky pet bird, which he had left in Cairo,
was swallowed by a snake. Then , a few months after Carter had opened the tomb,
London Carnarvon, who was also present when the tomb was opened, fell ill with a fever and died in Egypt. At the moment of Carnarvon’s death, the lights went out in
Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Back in England, his dog died at approximately the same
time.
George Gould, a friend of Carnarvon’s, went to Egypt after hearing of his strange
death. He too visited the tomb, only to catch a high fever the next day. Twelve hours
later, he was dead. Carter’s secretary, Richard Bethell, died of heart trouble four
months after the tomb was opened. Arthur Mace, another member of the team, also
died shortly after the discovery.
Within seven years, 21 people who had something to do with the opening of the tomb
died. Howard Carter, however, lived on until the age of 65. Some people say the
deaths were just coincidence. Others believe that they were in connection with a
mummy’s curse, as a punishment for those who enter the resting place of the dead.
However, still others believe there is a scientific explanation. Inside the tombs, there
are many viruses. When a tomb is opened, fresh air disturbs the viruses. If breathed in,
they can result in illness or even death. Today, when scientists examine mummies,
they wear special clothing for protection.
What is certain, though, is that ‘the curse of the mummy’ remains a riddle to this day.
