The Curse of the Mummy has been a popular myth for over a hundred years, perpetuated by folklore and pop culture. Hollywood movies depicting treasure hunters facing the wrath of a mummy’s curse has been a significant factor in perpetuating this myth. However, Hollywood didn’t invent the concept. The curse gained worldwide fame after the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. When the archaeologist Howard Carter opened the tomb and unveiled Tut’s glittering treasures, he also unleashed a global passion for ancient Egypt. Sensational accounts of the subsequent death of expedition sponsor Lord Carnarvon fueled the myth, despite the fact that only six of the 26 people present when the tomb was opened died within a decade, and Carter, the prime target of the curse, lived until 1939, almost 20 years after the tomb’s opening.
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According to the late Egyptologist Dominic Montserrat, the concept of the Mummy’s Curse predated the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by a hundred years. Montserrat believed that a lively stage show in which real Egyptian mummies were unwrapped inspired first one writer, and subsequently several others, to pen tales of mummy revenge. However, Egyptologist Salima Ikram at the American University in Cairo and a National Geographic Society grantee, believes the curse concept did exist in ancient Egypt as part of a primitive security system. Some early non-pyramid tombs had inscriptions that threatened desecrators with divine retribution by the council of the gods or death by crocodiles, lions, scorpions, or snakes.  100vw, 700px” data-lazy-src=”https://y2d2z4n6.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MTkzNDQ0MjA5NTE1MDQ2ODE5.webp” /><img decoding=)
Recent years have seen some experts suggest that the curse may be biological in nature. Could sealed tombs house pathogens that can be dangerous or even deadly to those who open them after thousands of years, especially those with weakened immune systems? Lab studies have shown some ancient mummies carried mold and bacteria, but scientists seem to agree that they are not dangerous. F. DeWolfe Miller, professor of epidemiology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, believes that given the local conditions, Lord Carnarvon was probably safer inside Tut’s tomb than outside. Miller said he knows of no archaeologist or tourist who has experienced any afflictions caused by tomb toxins.
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In conclusion, the Curse of the Mummy, while lacking any evidence of being true, has not lost its ability to fascinate audiences. The myth has persisted for over a hundred years, fueled by Hollywood movies, ancient inscriptions, and lab studies that suggest the presence of mold and bacteria in mummy tombs. Despite the lack of evidence, the Mummy’s Curse seems destined never to die.
Source: archeologynews.com
