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| Figure 1 (Google Images) |
Idea of mummy curses started early in history in ancient
Egypt, according to Egyptologist Dominic Montserrat. Embalmers and priests spread rumors that the
disturbance of the deceased pharaoh would lead to a curse being put on the
disturber. These curses were associated
with the godly status of the pharaoh, who was believed to have been a god
reborn to rule over Egypt, but they were largely spread in order to prevent
grave robbing and looting that was common even then.
The curses were largely forgotten and not taken seriously
until Howard Carter’s team started to die shortly after the discovery of King
Tutankhamun’s tomb. Every death
associated with the team, including that of Carter’s pet canary, was
scrutinized by the media, and newspapers flew off the stands over reporting of
ancient mummy curses. Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, even entered his opinion,
supporting the mummy curse hypothesis and further estimating the death dates
for members of the team. The idea of
curses did not stop there. Very
recently, former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, Zahi Hawass, fueled
the notion of curses by claiming that over his career he had seen numerous
archaeologists fall on hard times, be it losing property or family members
mysteriously, after unearthy new and undisturbed tombs throughout Egypt.
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| Figure 2 (Google Images) |
This curse has stayed at the forefront of popular culture
due to popular media showcasing it through comics and cartoons (Figure 1), a
continued and trendy movie theme (Figure 2), and even in video games (Figure 3). All of this is a testament to our refusal to
give up on this curse. It is permanently
engrained in our popular culture, and in many ways, our world culture. So much so that when I tell people that I
work with mummies, I often times get a snide remark about being cursed
myself.
But is there any truth behind the pharaoh’s curse or a
greater curse in regards to mummies? Do
they actually exist? Are there cosmic
powers that enable mummies to curse those who approach them with horribly bad
luck? Is there any evidence of a mummy’s
curse?
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| Figure 3 (Google Images) |
As you can imagine, this is a topic that is personal to
those of us who have studied and continue to study mummies, so several scholars
looked into this matter, in part to dispel the public’s, as well as our own,
fears on the matter. Scholars have noted
that some mummies will carry certain bacteria and molds that could be harmful
to those who come in contact with them, but in general, these bacteria and mold
spores are in extremely small concentrations that they will not be overly
harmful to a healthy human being. In
fact, many of us who study mummies love that mummies carry evidence of past
diseases, parasites, bacterial infections, etc. because we can study these to
gain a better understanding of past societies and peoples, as well as trace the
evolution of certain diseases and bacteria.
So what about Carter’s team?
They all passed away shortly after Tut’s discovery. What happened to
them? Two died of a blood born
infection, another of an infection, one from malaria, all the result of poor sanitation in northern
Egypt, one never died but his house was burned to the ground (probably because
they used oil lamps), and several were murdered. One committed suicide. Carter
himself is believed to have died from the stress associated with his expected
bad luck, which occurred a decade later. Therefore his death is most likely the
result of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
All of these deaths are, however, are results of the situations and
times, not necessarily a mummy’s curse.
Furthermore, we have no evidence of curses being associated
with other mummies world wide. In fact,
in South America, mummies were brought out several times a year to join the
living for celebrations, so their discovery and display today is considered by
many to be a new way to celebrate them as occurred in the past. So in general, there is no evidence of a curse. It is just a figment of our imaginations.
To learn more about mummies, please see these posts:
References Cited
Dowdy, Sarah. “Was there really a curse on King Tutankhamen's tomb?” HowStuffWorks. http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/king-tut-tomb.htm
Handwerk, Brian. “Curse
of the Mummy”. National Geographic. http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/curse-of-the-mummy/
“Howard Carter and the Curse of Tut’s Mummy”. http://www.unmuseum.org/mummy.htm
