King Tut's famous golden mask is an iconic symbol of ancient Egypt and its treasures
1 Excavators Die after Opening King Tut's Tomb In 1922 Howard Carter and his team made a great discovery They had been digging in the Valley of Kings in Egypt They found a tomb full of treasure It belonged to a pharaoh called King Tutankhamun It was like a dream come true But for some members of the party it would soon become a nightmare The first person died less than a year after King Tut's tomb was opened It was Lord Carnarvon He had funded Carter and his team And his death was mysterious He died of blood poisoning Legend says that the lights in Cairo went out the moment he passed The capital of Egypt plunged into a blackout A few months later a man who had visited the tomb was murdered Another person got sick and died One man took his own life People began to believe that 5
opening the tomb had released a curse Those who disturbed the king's resting place were doomed Today most people aren't so sure a curse is to blame They say the deaths were coincidences Carnarvon was already ill before the tomb was opened Carter himself had shared the idea of a curse However he lived until 1939 Historians believe he spread the story to keep robbers away Words of protection often decorate Egyptian tombs These could have inspired stories about the curse THE BOY KING King Tut ruled Egypt in the 14th century BC Historians believe he was only 9 or 10 when he became king Despite his youth he is one of the most well known rulers in history This is largely due to the discovery of his nearly intact tomb His reign was brief lasting only about 10 years He died unexpectedly at age 18 or 19 6 Carter studies the king's body shortly after his team found the tomb
6 Number of people who died within 10 years of the tomb's discovery Twenty-six people had been part of the dig Some people believed that deadly toxins were sealed in the tomb It wasn't uncommon for the electricity to go out in Cairo People say that the blackout was just another coincidence 7 Howard Carter poses for a photo in 1924 two years after his famous discovery
