King Tutankhamun: Curse Or No Curse

King Tutankhamun was born around 1357 B.C.  Though we do not know a lot about him, we do know he was once the king of Egypt.

King Tut’s real name is Tutankhaten, which means the living image of Aten, or the life of Aten.  The ancient Egyptians believed Aten to be the Sun God.  

A pharaoh named Akhenaten wanted to change the traditional religion in Egypt.  The Egyptians worshiped many Gods in their traditional religion.  But Akhenaten thought that Aten was not only the Sun God, but the only god.  Tutankhamun fixed the religion and the people once again worshipped many Gods.

    

Just before Tutankhamun became king of Egypt when he was 9 years old, he married Ankhesenamun.  Tutankhamun ruled from approximately 1332 B.C. to approximately 1323 B.C.  

King Tutankhamun was a good king.  But unfortunately lived a very short life.  He died when he was about 18.

Tut was mummified and put in his tomb.  During mummification, the priest wore a mask of Anubis, the God of the Dead.  Pyramids are tombs of Egyptian kings.  Mummification took place like this:

1. Using a hook, the brain was pulled out of the nose
2. Near the left side of the body, near the tummy, a cut was made
3. All internal organs were removed
4. The internal organs were dried
5. The lungs, liver, intestine, and stomach were placed in a canopic jar
6. The heart was placed back in the body
7. Inside the body was rinsed with wine and spices
8. The corpse was covered with salt for 70 days
9. The body was stuffed with linen or sand to give it a more human shape after 40 days
10. The body was wrapped in bandages from head to toe after 70 days
11. Finally, it was placed in the coffin

King Tut was buried in The Valley of Kings, which is on the eastern bank of the Nile River near Luxar.  His death is a modern mystery.  Was he murdered?  Did a chariot hit him?  Did he catch a deadly disease?  We may never know.

Tutankhamun’s tomb is also filled with treasures.  The tomb is made up of 4 rooms, or 4 chambers.  One of which has over 5,000 treasures!

Tut’s life is a complete mystery.  We don’t even know who he is related to.  But his death is also a curse.  Or is it?           

Rumor has it that anyone who opens a Pharaoh's tomb will die.  That curse is called The Pharaoh’s Curse.  But people say that the curse is very strong in Tutankhamun’s tomb.  Some say there is evidence the curse exists, but others disagree.

It all started on February 17, 1923, when about 20 people went into Tut’s tomb to uncover its secrets.  Howard Carter led the expedition.  The tomb was filled with treasures.  But, now comes the controversy.  Two months after uncovering the tomb, the project’s financier, George Herbert, (Lord Carnarvon), died because of a mosquito bite.  His dog died shortly after.  Other people related to the dig started to die suspicious deaths. Such as Howard Carter’s canary being eaten by a cobra. Also, Carter’s friend Sir Bruce Ingham died due to his house burning down twice.  Some argue that it was just bad luck that can be explained by science.  Others believe the curse is real.  

What do you think?  Would you go to The Valley of Kings and uncover Tutankhamun’s tomb?  Or would you let The Pharaoh's Curse get the best of you?  Comment your ideas about the curse.  How can it be explained?  Or is it even real?