The opening of Tutankhamun's tomb Howard Carter's team opened Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) in 1922, launching the modern era of Egyptology. The photo shows Tutankhamun's gold mask.
1 Sources 6 Connections Howard Carter The archaeologist who opened the tomb. He dismissed curse stories as "tommy-rot", and died of lymphoma in 1939, aged 64.
1 Sources 3 Connections Lord Carnarvon The excavation's financial backer. He cut a mosquito bite while shaving, it became infected, and he died on 5 April 1923, a little over four months after the opening.
1 Sources 4 Connections The Lancet's review The Lancet concluded it unlikely that Carnarvon's death had anything to do with the tomb. He was one of many who entered it, and he was prone to frequent, severe lung infections.
1 Sources 1 Connections Marie Corelli Two weeks before Carnarvon died, a letter of hers in a New York magazine quoted an obscure book warning of "dire punishment" for entering a sealed tomb. A media frenzy followed, with false reports that a curse had been found in the tomb.
1 Sources 1 Connections Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The creator of Sherlock Holmes and a spiritualist. He suggested that "elementals" created by Tutankhamun's priests to guard the tomb had caused Carnarvon's death, fuelling the media interest.
1 Sources 1 Connections The cobra in the birdcage Soon after the opening, a cobra, symbol of the Egyptian monarchy, was found in Carter's birdcage with his canary dead, fuelling rumours of a curse. The New York Times reported it on 22 December 1922.
1 Sources 1 Connections The 58 witnesses Of the 58 people present when the tomb and sarcophagus were opened, only eight died within a dozen years. Carnarvon's daughter lived another 57 years, dying in 1980.
1 Sources 1 Connections Tomb curses Despite popular belief, no curse was found inscribed in Tutankhamun's tomb. Tomb curses are extremely rare and occur mostly in private tombs of the Old Kingdom.
1 Sources 1 Connections Mummy-curse fiction The reviving mummy was already developed in an 1827 novel, and stories of mummies taking revenge on their desecrators followed in the 1860s. The curse tale grew up in European culture before Tutankhamun.
1 Sources 1 Connections opened financed the dig at backed warned against blamed elementals for reviewed the death of happened at the home of followed those present at was not found in predates Control map, One finger scrolls the page. Two fingers move or zoom the map.
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Item The opening of Tutankhamun's tomb Howard Carter's team opened Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) in 1922, launching the modern era of Egyptology. The photo shows Tutankhamun's gold mask. User contribution ↑ opened In 1922. Sources 1 Person Howard Carter The archaeologist who opened the tomb. He dismissed curse stories as "tommy-rot", and died of lymphoma in 1939, aged 64. User contribution ↑ financed the dig at He was there at the opening. Sources 1 Person Lord Carnarvon The excavation's financial backer. He cut a mosquito bite while shaving, it became infected, and he died on 5 April 1923, a little over four months after the opening. User contribution Person Howard Carter The archaeologist who opened the tomb. He dismissed curse stories as "tommy-rot", and died of lymphoma in 1939, aged 64. User contribution ↓ opened In 1922. Sources 1 Item The opening of Tutankhamun's tomb Howard Carter's team opened Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) in 1922, launching the modern era of Egyptology. The photo shows Tutankhamun's gold mask. User contribution ↑ backed He funded Carter's work. Sources 1 Person Lord Carnarvon The excavation's financial backer. He cut a mosquito bite while shaving, it became infected, and he died on 5 April 1923, a little over four months after the opening. User contribution Person Lord Carnarvon The excavation's financial backer. He cut a mosquito bite while shaving, it became infected, and he died on 5 April 1923, a little over four months after the opening. User contribution ↓ financed the dig at He was there at the opening. Sources 1 Item The opening of Tutankhamun's tomb Howard Carter's team opened Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) in 1922, launching the modern era of Egyptology. The photo shows Tutankhamun's gold mask. User contribution ↓ backed He funded Carter's work. Sources 1 Person Howard Carter The archaeologist who opened the tomb. He dismissed curse stories as "tommy-rot", and died of lymphoma in 1939, aged 64. User contribution Item The opening of Tutankhamun's tomb Howard Carter's team opened Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) in 1922, launching the modern era of Egyptology. The photo shows Tutankhamun's gold mask. User contribution ↑ opened In 1922. Sources 1 Person Howard Carter The archaeologist who opened the tomb. He dismissed curse stories as "tommy-rot", and died of lymphoma in 1939, aged 64. User contribution ↑ warned against Quoting an obscure book. Sources 1 Person Marie Corelli Two weeks before Carnarvon died, a letter of hers in a New York magazine quoted an obscure book warning of "dire punishment" for entering a sealed tomb. A media frenzy followed, with false reports that a curse had been found in the tomb. User contribution More shared clues (8) AI research is a draft. Read the sources and check the context.
