Inside the deadly curse of King Tut’s tomb. Now, we may finally have the truth.
A chilling “curse” that saw people dying after opening King Tut’s tomb has haunted historians for decades. Now, we may finally have the truth.
The curse of King Tut’s tomb is back – with a twist.
Tutankhamun was a minor Egyptian pharaoh. The Boy King left barely a mark on history’s page and even that was expunged by his political opponents – until his fabulously wealthy tomb was discovered in 1922.
Aspergillus flavus is a common toxic fungus. It rises out of soil to spoil farm produce. It clings to indoor surfaces.
However, a recent discovery has revealed a wealth of medical potential. Both the pharaoh and the mould, however, have a serious blemish to their reputation.
And that’s because of wild speculation surrounding the deaths of those who unsealed his sepulchre.
Did a spiritual spell lay dormant for 3243 years, only to be triggered when British archaeologist Howard Carter broke the seal to see “wonderful things”?
Or was, as those seeking a more earthly explanation believed, a malicious mould lurking in the shadows – ready to wreak havoc among all those who dared disturb its rest?
Both, it turns out, have been falsely accused.
Now, just as the treasures of Tutankhamun have enlightened millions to the wonders of the ancient world, Aspergillus flavus may be on the brink of being redeemed.
Scientists probing its long-neglected properties have discovered it could ultimately help save the lives of millions of leukaemia sufferers.
A roaring 20s conspiracy theory
It was a fascinating concept: An ancient curse wreaking havoc in defence of the dead.
The story swept through a world still struggling to come to grips with the industrial-scale massacre of World War I.
“The story of a young man with a family who had died before his time resonated with many,” argues Egyptologist Claire Gilmour.
“Tutankhamun was a burst of glorious colour in a dark time, which came with the extra draw of the mysteries of the tomb and eternal life.”
Everybody involved in the discovery and excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb was an instant celebrity.
There was the mystery Boy King. The vindication of a persistent archaeologist. The playboy financier from Britain’s landed gentry.
Then, several months after the discovery, Lord Carnarvon died in Cairo at the age of 56. And the lights of that exotic city winked out.
Famous Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle leapt on the seeds of inspiration: He told US media that ‘an evil elemental’ enslaved by ancient Egyptian priests to guard King Tut’s remains could have been behind the Earl’s demise.
That triggered a swarm of speculation. And, as more associated with the tomb’s opening (no matter how remotely) died, the frenzy grew.
Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey of Egypt was shot dead in 1923 by his French wife at the swanky Savoy Hotel in London.
Sir Archibald Douglas Reid, 53, died from an unknown illness in 1924. The experimental radiologist is believed to have X-ray Tut’s mummified remains days earlier.
British colonial politician Sir Lee Stack was assassinated in Cairo in 1924. Excavator Arthur Mace died of arsenic poisoning in 1928. And Carnarvon’s secretary, Richard Bethell, was smothered to death in his bed in 1929.
Howard Carter dismissed talk of a curse as “Tommy rot”. He argued only a handful of the hundreds associated with his work had died. And that was bound to happen anyway as the decades passed.
Carter himself died in London in 1939 at the age of 64. He had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease – a cancer that attacks the immune system.
Cut from the same mould
Tombs are not healthy places.
Depending on their environment, they can host a full spectrum of bacteria – including toxic Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus. Airtight containers, including sarcophagi, could release toxic fumes such as ammonia, formaldehyde, and hydrogen sulphide.
Laboratory tests have also confirmed mummified Egyptian remains can carry mould.
Two types, in particular, have been detected: Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus.
Both are toxic. Allergic reactions include respiratory congestion and bleeding in the lungs.
“(Aspergillus flavus) is infamous for its ability to survive in harsh environments, including the sealed chambers of ancient tombs, where it can lie dormant for thousands of years,” argues biomedical scientist Professor Justin Stebbing.
Its spores are particularly damaging among people with weakened immune systems.
“This may explain the so-called “curse” of King Tutankhamun and similar incidents, such as the deaths of several scientists who entered the tomb of Casimir IV in Poland in the 1970s,” the Professor adds. “In both cases, investigations later found that A-flavus was present, and its toxins were probably responsible for the illnesses and deaths.”
American railroad executive and financier George Gould fell sick immediately after visiting the Valley of the Kings excavation. He died of pneumonia a few months later.
Was Gould a victim of a villainous mould that the medical journal The Lancet dubbed “Pharaoh’s Curse”?
Despite being tried, convicted and sentenced, Aspergillus flavus has been given a chance to redeem its reputation.
University of Pennsylvania researchers have discovered the fungus produces a unique type of molecule with the potential to fight cancer.
“Experiments revealed that asperigimycins probably disrupt the process of cell division in cancer cells,” Professor Stebbing explains. “Cancer cells divide uncontrollably, and these compounds appear to block the formation of microtubules, the scaffolding inside cells that are essential for cell division.”
These initial tests have so far proven the fungus-derived treatment is at least as effective as existing leukaemia-treating drugs.
“Fungi gave us penicillin,” the study’s lead author, Sherry Gao, said in a press statement. “These results show that many more medicines derived from natural products remain to be found.”
Guilty, until proven innocent
“The oft-quoted curse “Death will come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the king” does not actually appear anywhere in (Tut’s) tomb,” University of Bristol archaeologist Gilmour points out. “There are real ancient Egyptian curses, but this was not one. Tutankhamun’s curse stemmed from a media battle for readership.”
Among the harshest curses found inside Tut’s tomb was “may he walk over his enemies”… stamped into the soles of his slippers.
“Research since has thoroughly debunked the idea that those present at the opening met an untimely end,” Gilmour adds. “Only a handful of people who were there at the opening died within the next decade and Howard Carter, who would have been a primary target for a curse, died in 1939.”
And Carter was partly to blame for the myth that grew to overwhelm his work.
Amid the chaos and excitement of the discovery, he reportedly encouraged the idea of a curse as a means of scaring away aspiring pillagers and over-enthusiastic tourists.
Then there’s Lord Carnarvon. He only became a sponsor of archaeology after a high-speed car accident in 1901 compressed his lungs. The critically ill 5th Earl was advised to seek warmer weather. But that didn’t protect him from blood poisoning after a cut became infected among Cairo’s less than sanitary conditions (and frequent power failures).
Princess Marguerite Alibert was exonerated for the murder of her husband on the basis of domestic abuse.
Sir Reid had been working with poorly understood radiological material. Sir Stack was killed in a political dispute. And the deaths of Mace and Bethell had mundane – if perhaps murderous – explanations.
The early 2000s attribution of blame on Aspergillus flavus also generated a media frenzy.
But is “Pharaoh’s Curse” an unwarranted reputation?
“Upper Egypt in the 1920s was hardly what you’d call sanitary,” Dr DeWolfe Miller, Professor of epidemiology, told National Geographic in 2005. “The idea that an underground tomb, after 3000 years, would have some kind of bizarre microorganism in it that’s going to kill somebody six weeks later and make it look exactly like (blood poisoning) is very hard to believe.”
Professor Miller concluded: “I take the position that Howard Carter took before me.
“Given the sanitary conditions of the time in general, and those within Egypt in particular, Lord Carnarvon would likely have been safer in the tomb than outside.”
And Aspergillus flavus – found almost everywhere grain is stored – may not be the villain it is made out to be
“The discovery of asperigimycins is a reminder that even the most unlikely sources – such as a toxic tomb fungus – can hold the key to revolutionary new treatments,” Professor Stebbing concludes. “As researchers continue to explore the hidden world of fungi, who knows what other medical breakthroughs may lie just beneath the surface?”
