Ancient Egypt: The Egypt of King Tut (Volume 3)

The Mysterious Reign of King Tutankhamen

Upon the opening of the famous tomb of King Tutankhamen, Carter and his team found a huge array of sumptuous grave goods. However, they also found a very small tomb, lacking the well-known royal depictions and wide array of different paintings and inscriptions. Even the grave goods, while luxurious, did not seem fit for a king for his journey to the afterlife.

Much evidence indicates that the tomb was not actually originally intended for the young king. The size of the tomb, the lack of details, and even the sarcophagus itself have led to the theory that this tomb was hastily re-purposed for the boy-king. There is evidence that much of his tomb, including the coffins that he was buried in, had actually been intended for someone else and quickly retooled for use in Tut's burial.

The many mysteries surrounding Tut led to many fantastic rumors, including that of a curse on the tomb of the boy-king. Circumstances and seemingly sudden deaths, fueled by media coverage, helped ignite the rumor that there was a curse on the tomb and that those who worked within it or benefited from the goods within it would suffer a grisly fate. There were just enough bizarre coincidences to fuel the rumors and convince many of the existence of a curse on the tomb of King Tut.