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CASE #IZWE30 · 2 entities · 1 connections
The Curse of Tutankhamun's Tomb
The man who funded the excavation died within months of the tomb's opening — and newspapers ran with a "pharaoh's curse" story so successfully that it's still repeated as fact over a century later.
When archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, and his patron Lord Carnarvon died several months later, contemporary press coverage promoted the idea of a deadly "pharaoh's curse" protecting the tomb. Statistical analysis of everyone present at the opening has found no unusual mortality pattern supporting the claim.
✕debunked
Quick facts
- →Archaeologist Howard Carter, funded by Lord Carnarvon, discovered Tutankhamun's largely intact tomb in November 1922.
- →Lord Carnarvon died in April 1923, several months after the tomb's opening, reportedly from an infected mosquito bite complicated by blood poisoning.
- →Contemporary newspapers, especially after novelist Marie Corelli publicly speculated about ancient curses, ran extensive coverage promoting the "pharaoh's curse" narrative.
- →A 2002 statistical study of 44 Westerners present at the tomb's opening or early exploration found their average lifespan was actually slightly higher than a comparable control group.
Entities on file
Tutankhamun's Tomb (location)
Egyptian pharaoh's tomb discovered by Howard Carter in 1922; a popularly claimed "curse" was statistically debunked by a 2002 mortality study.
No outgoing connections on file.
Howard Carter (person)
British archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.
→ discovered → Tutankhamun's Tomb✓documented