The Curse of the Pharaohs

When Howard Carter opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 and found it packed with gold, the world thrilled, and when his patron Lord Carnarvon died of an infected mosquito bite months later, the newspapers invented the “curse of the pharaohs,” the idea that those who disturb a royal tomb are doomed. Statistically the excavators lived perfectly ordinary lifespans, so the curse is folklore, not fact. But the tombs, their gold, and the very real ancient warnings carved to protect them are extraordinary, and the Valley of the Kings is one of the wonders of the world.