KING TUT COFFIN W/KING TUT

Each piece is hand painted and made of cold cast resin. Size: 7" L

The Mummy's Curse by John Warren When, in November of 1922, Howard Carter discovered the Tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank at Luxor, the world was really very different then it is today. It was not a time of instant, live television coverage by investigative reporters. Rather, the world of media still belonged to newspapers, and information traveled much more slowly, and less reliably. It was a more superstitious time, and the media was fully adjusted to take advantage of the attribute to sell their publications. It was a time when reporters often simply made up facts in order to sensationalize their stories, and in print, people believed them. The treasures that Howard Carter discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb were factually sensational, and so the media went into a frenzy covering the event, and the world paid attention. In late March of 1923, a novelist named Mari Corelli (Mary Mackay) published a warning that there would be dire consequences for anyone who had entered the sealed tomb. Perhaps this revelation was inspired by the fact that on the day Howard Carter opened the tomb, his pet canary was swallowed by a cobra. Cobras, as the goddess Wadjet, were the protectors of the Pharaoh. Lord Carnarvon financed Howard Carter's explorations. He had been in poor health for over 20 years following a motoring accident. When he died of pneumonia in Cairo on April 5th, 1923, only a few weeks after Mari Corelli's warnings, newspapers and other media throughout the world simply went crazy. As often as not, they made up the facts as they went along. Even Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and himself a believer in the occult and at this time a very popular writer, announced that Lord Carnarvon's death could have been the result of a "Pharaoh's curse". It was said that at the moment of Lord Carnarvon's death, the lights went out in Cairo (an event that is still not uncommon today), and that back in England his dog, susie, howled and died in the same instant. These reported events are difficult to prove or disprove. However, other facts were simply invented by the press. One newspaper printed a curse reportedly found in the tomb: "They who enter this sacred tomb shall swift be visited by wings of death." There was no such curse, but there was one inscription found on an Anubis shrine that stated: "It is I who hinder the sand from choking the secret chamber. I am for the protection of the deceased". This was correctly reported to the public, but one reporter added his won words to the inscription: "and I will kill all those who cross this threshold into the sacred precincts of the Royal King who lives forever." In addition, newspapers appear to have arbitrarily killed off many of the people surrounding the tomb's discovery. According to one list, 26 people associated with the find died within a decade of its discovery. In reality, only six people died during this first decade, while many others lived to an old age. For example, the curse should have laid squarely on the shoulders of Howard Carter himself, but he lived another 17 years, dying just prior to his 65th birthday. Yet he had spent about a decade working in the tomb. Others likewise lived long and fruitful lives. The following table provides the names and information of others involved in the discovery: Name Died Age Function Comment Adamson, Richard 1980+ 81+ Guard who slept in tomb Benedite, Georges 1926 69 Louvre representative Died of heat stroke Bethell, Richard 1929 Carter's personal secretary Died in London Breasted, James H. 1935 70 Univ. of Chicago archaeologist Bruyere, Bernard 1965+ 80+ Burton, Harry 1939+ Photographer Highly involved in project Callender, A. R. 1939 Assistant to Carter Present at all tomb procedures Capart, Jean 1947 70 Belgian Archaeologist Derry, Douglas 1969 87 Cairo University anatomist Analyzed Tut's mummy Engelbach, Reginald 1946 58 Cairo Museum Gardiner, Sir Alan 1963 84 Philologist Handled all written material in tomb Hall, Lindsley F. 1939+ Draftsman Present at all tomb procedures Hauser, Walter 1939+ Draftsman Present at all tomb procedures Herbert, Lady Evelyn 1980 78 Daughter of Lord Carnarvon Entered tomb when opened Kuentz, Charles 1939+ Lacau, Pierre 1965 92 Egyptologist Intimately involved - all operations Lefebvre, Gustave 1957 78 Cairo Museum Lucas, Alfred 1950+ 79 Chemist for Egypt Government Lythgoe, A. M. 1934 66 Metropolitan Museum (NYC) Mace, Arthur C. 1928 Metropolitan Museum (NYC) Winlock, Herbert E. 1950 66 Metropolitan Museum (NYC) Sheikh Hussein 1997 87