Deciphering the mystery of the "curse" of Pharaoh Tutankhamun

A scientist has claimed to have cracked the mystery of the "Pharaoh's Curse", which is believed to have killed more than 20 people who opened the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun in 1922.

An ancient Egyptian text threatens anyone who approaches the mummified remains of the royal mummy with death “from a disease that no doctor can diagnose,” but scientist Ross Fellows indicated that there was a biological reason behind the deaths.

A study by Fellows found that the secret lay in radiation poisoning caused by natural elements containing uranium and toxic waste, which were deliberately placed inside the sealed vault.

Exposure to these toxic substances may lead to some types of cancer, such as the one that claimed the life of archaeologist Howard Carter (the first person to enter Tutankhamun's tomb in more than 100 years).

The theory proves that the tomb was indeed “ cursed ,” albeit in a deliberate biological way, rather than in a supernatural way suggested by some ancient Egyptologists, according to Fellowes.

Carter died in 1939 of a heart attack after a long battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma, which affects the immune system. The study said that radiation poisoning was the cause of his cancer.

Other people who participated in the excavations died from suffocation, stroke, diabetes, heart failure, pneumonia, poisoning, malaria, and exposure to X-rays.

The study, published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, showed that high levels of radiation were also documented in the ruins of Old Kingdom tombs, at two sites in Giza, and in several underground tombs in Saqqara.

“Intense radioactivity has been associated with stone vaults, especially from the inside,” Fellows explained.

Professor Robert Temple noted that the vaults were made of basalt, and determined that they "were a constant source of radiation, in contrast to the general natural levels (of radon) of the surrounding rocks."

Thousands of pots under the Step Pyramid (Djoser's Pyramid) in the 1960s contained about 200 tons of unknown substances, indicating that toxins were buried with mummified remains.

“The reported strong radiation (such as radon) in tomb remains is generally attributed to the natural background of the original bedrock,” Fellows said. “However, the levels are unusually high and localized, which is not consistent with the characteristics of the underlying limestone but indicates Other unnatural sources.

It is worth noting that the tomb of Tutankhamun is considered one of the most luxurious tombs discovered in history, as it is full of precious treasures.

The boy king was an Egyptian pharaoh from the Eighteenth Dynasty, and he ruled between 1332 and 1323 BC, when he assumed the throne when he was nine or ten years old.

When Tut became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenaten. He died mysteriously at the age of 18.

More recently, scientists have suggested that King Tut may have died of a genetic disease.