The morning of 5 April 1923. Lord Carnavon dies in a hospital in Cairo, exactly six weeks after the tomb of Tutankhamun was opened. At the same time, the electricity in the entire city fails. Meanwhile, at the family seat 3,000 miles away, Highclere Castle in England. Susie, the lord's favourite dog, suddenly drops dead after a short wild bark, just two hours after his owner's demise. Is it all just coincidence? Or has the curse of the pharaoh struck here?
Five months earlier in the Valley of the Kings. Day after day, Howard Carter and his helpers penetrate deeper into the stony desert ground. It is the last chance for the archaeologist to find the legendary tomb of Tutankhamun. His donor Lord Carnavon wanted to cut off his funding for further excavation attempts the year before for lack of results, but Carter could not admit defeat just yet. He had already spent too many years of his life searching, and the thought that it would all be in vain was unbearable. The lord was finally persuaded to finance another season and in October 1922 work began again. The prospects are not the best at first. More than sixty pharaonic tombs have already been uncovered in the Valley of the Kings, and experts say there is nothing more to be found there. But Carter has received a tip from the local population, with whom he gets on well. The ruler's final resting place is believed to be near the tomb of Ramses VI. And indeed, on 5 November, the workers uncover a stone staircase leading to the entrance of a burial chamber. Carter telegraphs to Carnavon:
At last have made wonderful discovery in Valley - a magnificent tomb with seals intact - recovered same for your arrival - congratulations.
The explorer and the pharaoh
Howard Carter was seventeen years old when he set foot on Egyptian soil for the first time. Trained as an archaeological draughtsman, he is hired to make drawings from the tombs of Beni Hassan for the Egyptologists Percy E. Newbury and Flinders Petrie. The young man is fascinated by the cultural treasures of antiquity. He learns hieroglyphic writing and the basics of archaeology in order to be able to do his own research in the future. During the 1890s, he takes part in numerous excavations and learns about the as yet undiscovered tomb of Tutankhamun. The life of the pharaoh, who lived in the 14th century BC, is a mystery to researchers. He ascended the throne at the age of only nine, and a decade later the ruler was already dead. What he died of and where and what is to be found in his final resting place - no one knows.
Howard Carter comes from a humble background. He realised early on that, both as a draughtsman and as a budding archaeologist, he was dependent on the support of wealthy patrons. With diligence and perseverance, he worked his way into the post of Chief Inspector of Monuments for Upper Egypt and Nubia in the Egyptian Antiquities Service (EAS) in 1899, which now enabled him to organise further excavations himself.
The years that followed were marked by success, many pharaonic tombs were discovered under his direction, Carter made many important contacts and was also popular within the local population, whom he treated with respect and without imperialistic behaviour, unlike many of his contemporaries. When a group of Egyptians is attacked and racially insulted by drunken French tourists, he sides with the locals. However, since the tourists are influential guests, this attitude does not remain without consequences. He refuses the French consulate's request to make an official apology, so he is advised to resign. For a while Carter is forced to eke out a living as an antiques dealer, interpreter and tourist guide, but soon a man enters his life who will fundamentally change it: George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnavon.
In search of the lost tomb
The aristocrat and financier Lord Carnavon spends the winter months in the warm climate of Egypt after a serious car accident that has caused him a chronic lung condition. The lord, who is interested in many things, is infected by the spirit of adventure and discovery that prevails there. He also wants to be involved in an important find. But since he lacks the necessary archaeological expertise, he needs a professional excavation supervisor. As luck would have it, Howard Carter is recommended to him, who still has a very good reputation despite the incident that cost him his post. From 1907 until the outbreak of the First World War, the two of them carry out excavations in Thebes and are also able to uncover some of the pharaohs' tombs, but Tutankhamun's is not among them. After the end of the war, the search continues, this time in the Valley of the Kings, which is now considered the most likely location. But it takes until November 1922 before the longed-for find is finally made.
On 23 November, Howard Carter and Lord Carnavorn set about opening the entrance. Their initial joy is somewhat dampened as they discover that the original seals are no longer intact. Had grave robbers beaten them to it? Was there anything left at all in the pharaoh's final resting place? The door leads to a corridor, then another door and another corridor, then finally Carter is the first to enter the antechamber and, after being asked by Carnavon what he sees, speaks the famous words: Wonderful things.
The explorers are surrounded by ancient treasures such as life-size painted guardian figures, gilded chests, pieces of furniture, vases and bottles of scented oils. The objects in the room are wildly jumbled and stacked on top of each other, as if everything had been hastily searched and only what was easy to transport had been taken. Thus, after 3,500 years, there are still so many objects that it takes three months to remove everything from the antechamber, catalogue it and secure it before they can proceed further into the actual burial chamber. There the researchers find four shrines, one inside the other, gilded and elaborately painted. In the innermost shrine are three sarcophagi, and in the last lies the mummy of the pharaoh, adorned with the golden death mask that was to become famous throughout the world.
The curse and the consequences
After the public learns of the discovery of the tomb, a veritable Egypt cult breaks out, one speaks of egyptomania or tutmania. Newspapers pounce on everything there is to report about the excavation site. There is not always a strict distinction between fact and fiction, and soon rumours are circulating about a curse that is supposed to lie on Tutankhamun's tomb. The reason for this is the fragile state of health of Lord Carnavon. A mosquito bite on the Earl's cheek becomes infected after shaving. Soon afterwards he suffers from fever, fatigue and swollen glands. Carnavon has to go to hospital in Cairo; blood poisoning has grown out of the inflamed mosquito bite. For weeks the doctors fight for the lord, but in vain. For the press it is clear: the pharaoh's curse has claimed its first victim. In the following years, the fascination with the opening of the tomb does not diminish, new alleged victims of the curse are reported again and again, and the enthusiasm for Egypt could also be felt in advertising, fashion, films and music.
It takes until the 1930s to clear, secure and catalogue all the objects from Tutankhamun's tomb. Carter spends the following years writing a multi-volume transcript of the work, but he never completes it. He dies in seclusion in London in 1939 at the age of 64.
Whether there really was a curse, we will probably never know. What is certain, however, is that researchers have not yet unravelled all the mysteries surrounding the pharaoh's life and the discovery of his tomb. The fascination for ancient Egypt - it is still unbroken after 100 years.
Yours,
Marleen Tigersee
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