Science Oxford Online

Filter content

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Editor's choice
• Environment
• Fun Science
• Genetics
• Health
• History
• Nature
• Physics
• Science Oxford
• Sex
• Space
• Technology
• Watch Science
• Weather
• Show All

The Curse Of The Pharaoh… A Mummy With A Message?

Posted by Science Oxford on August 24, 2010 | comments

Article by Tiffany Taylor

In Egypt there are stories of supernatural activities surrounding the tombs of ancient kings. It is said that the hieroglyphics etched into tomb walls frequently carry warnings of ‘Pharanoic hexes’ for those who may wish to steal from or disturb the resting king. So when a number of people present at the excavation of Tutankhamen’s tomb died under mysterious circumstances, was it down to black magic, bad luck or biological bugs?

On February 17th 1923, a crowd gathered in the ‘Valley of the Kings’ to witness Howard Carter’s team unseal the infamous Tutankhamen’s burial chamber. The excavation revealed treasures fit for a king, whose body still lay resting in his extravagant solid gold coffin.

However, this tale of discovery took a more gruesome turn when in April 1923 a number of those which were present at the excavation allegedly began dying under mysterious circumstances. First to meet his maker was the project’s chief financier, Lord Carnavon, though this was equated to a mosquito bite that he received while on expedition which later became infected. Still, rumours began to flourish and reports of a “mummy’s curse” hit the headlines.

Soon after, the media reported many other deaths which were claimed to be linked to the curse: Lord Carnavon’s brother; Howard Carter’s assistant; Lady Elizabeth Carnarvon; Carter’s partner; two Egyptian workmen; and the financier, George Jay Gould I.

HEX OR HOGWASH?

Along with these deaths followed a media runaway reporting curses and black magic. Such fantastical claims enraged the archaeological and scientific communities and researchers made every attempt disprove the sensationalist stories emerging from the press. Until eighty years later when an Australian scientist, Mark Nelson, published a study which showed the survival rates of forty-four Westerners connected with the excavation, twenty-five of which were present at the opening of the tomb, or examination of the mummy. He found no significant difference in the average age of death to those which had been exposed to the ‘mummy’s curse’ by physical contact with the tomb or mummy, and those which were unexposed. And so it seemed the deaths surrounding King Tut’s final farewell were a concoction of coincidence and media hype.

CASE CLOSED?

But like all good ghost stories, the tales continued to be told, and this has resulted in some interesting research which might reopen the case of ‘the mummy’s curse’.

Modern studies have shown pathogenic microbiological agents such as bacteria and fungal moulds are present in Egyptian tombs. Food was left for the deceased deity as part of the burial ritual and combined with rotting flesh this would encourage the growth of microbiological nasties. Theoretical work initiated by a French scientist, Sylvain Gandon, has hypothesised that the longer a pathogen is able to survive outside the host in a dormant state (such as a spore), the more harmful the infection is likely to be; and pathogens with such life-histories, like Anthrax, could have described Lord Carnavon’s demise. Since this paper was published in 1998, there have been a large number of theoretical and empirical studies to extend the hypothesis, but the jury is still out as to whether such competition between infective agents is common in nature – but there is certainly an argument for its existence in certain scenarios. Kenneth Feder (co-editor of the book Dangerous Places: Health, Safety, and Archaeology) agrees that there is “at least a possibility of being exposed to some nasty stuff”.

MORAL OF THE STORY

I believe the morals of this story are twofold. Firstly, it is an important science lesson not to immediately dismiss the improbable as impossible; by approaching such myths and magical tales with a logical and scientific head, what was once a bedtime story can become a route to discovery and innovation. For example, Darwin’s theory of natural selection, or Einstein’s general theory of relativity, could never have been developed had they just believed what they had been told. Secondly, this story highlights the dangers of sensationalised science. The media has a reputation for dramatising its articles in order to sell stories, and science has in no way been spared. Ignoring expert advice and favouring scaremongering has led to a drop in MMR vaccinations due to its unverified links with autism, and the media are now moving to attacking the cervical cancer vaccination with headlines like “Eight deaths linked to labour’s new sex jab for school girls” (source article). I don’t think calling it a “sex jab for schoolgirls” was really the message the scientists who developed this revolutionary drug were trying to send. That is not to say scientists are faultless in this relationship. Poor communication between public and academic factions means messages can get lost in translation, and it is often this misunderstanding which can lead to fear and suspicion of new scientific advancements in the public eye. Either way, mutual trust must be established between the media and scientific communities to ensure the public are aware of new research and discoveries being made today; otherwise science just becomes a ‘secret club’ and the consequence is surely a stifling of discovery.

And so, I will end with this thought: whether it was deadly spores, ghostly curses or natural causes which resulted in the deaths surrounding King Tut’s excavation, it has produced some interesting research; some lessons in exploration and science communication; and, a great bedtime story.

SOURCES
The Curse of the Pharaohs: Truth, Myth or Microbiology? By Tracy Morris for Firefox News, 2009

Kamo M, Boots M (2004). The curse of the pharaoh in space: free-living infectious stages and the evolution of virulence in spatially explicit populations. Journal of Theoretical Biology 231: 435-441.

Related stuff

• Heart’s and Minds: ‘Beats, Rhymes and Life’
• It’s Only a Virus, Snuffling at Nothing?
• Don’t Worry, Be Happy! Positive Emotions Protect Against Heart disease
• Oxitec: A New Approach to Controlling Vector Borne Diseases
• Interactive flu tracking service
• One Virus Particle is enough to Cause Disease
•