An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural

Introduction | "R" Reading | Curse of the Pharaoh | End-of-the-World Prophecies

Index | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Appendix II

Curse of the Pharaoh Personnel

See also Tut, curse of King.

Name	Died	Age	Years after opening	Function	Comments
Adamson, Sergeant Richard	1980+	—	57+	Guarded burial chamber day and night for seven years.	Closest person to Tutankhamen's remains.
Bénédite, Georges	1926	69	3	Louvre representative.	Died of heat stroke.
Breasted, Prof. J. H.	1935	70	12	Archaeologist, University of Chicago.
Bruyère, Bernard	1965+	80+	42+	Archaeologist.
Burton, Harry	1939+	—	16+	Official expedition photographer.	Intimately involved in all operations.
Callender, A. R.	1939	—	16	Assistant to Carter.	Present at all tomb operations.
Capart, Jean	1947	70	24	Belgian archaeologist.
Carnavon, Lord	1923	57	4 months	Expedition patron.	One of three persons present at opening of actual burial chamber, but died before mummy was uncovered.
Carter, Howard	1939	66	16	Chief of operations.	Most totally involved of all persons, and one of three present at opening of actual burial chamber.
Derry, Dr. Douglas	1939	80+	16	Cairo University anatomist.	Dissected and examined mummy.
Engelbach, Reginald	1946	58	23	Cairo Museum representative.
Gardiner, Sir Alan	1965+	80+	42+	Philologist.	Handled all written material.
Hall, Lindsley F.	1939+	—	16+	Project draftsman.	Present at all tomb operations.
Hauser, Walter	1939+	—	16+	Project draftsman.	Present at all tomb operations.
Herbert, Lady Evelyn	1980	78	57	Carnavon's daughter.	One of three present at opening of actual burial chamber.
Kuentz, Charles	1939+	—	16+
Lacau, Pierre	1965	92	42	Egyptologist, Louvre Museum.	Intimately involved in all operations.
Lefèbvre, Gustave	1957	78	34	Cairo Museum.
Lucas, Alfred	1950+	79	27+	Egyptian Government chemist.	Did analysis of mummy tissues, dust and foodstuffs.
Lythgoe, A. M.	1934	66	11	Metropolitan Museum NYC.
Mace, Arthur C.	1928	—	5	Metropolitan Museum NYC.	Very ill when signed on, left project early by prior agreement.
Winlock, Herbert E.	1950	66	27	Metropolitan Museum NYC.

Note: Where '—' appears, data are not presently available. Where a date such as 1939+ is shown, it indicates that the person is known to have been alive as of that date, and possibly longer.

From the table above, we see that the average life span of those involved, where we can determine that information, was seventy-three-plus years. This beats the life span expectation in actuarial tables for persons of that period and social class, by just one year. The average duration of life for these persons after the opening of the tomb, when the "curse" was supposed to become effective, was twenty-three-plus years. Particularly notable is the fact that Adamson, Carter, Burton, Derry and Lucas——those who actually opened the burial chamber and removed and handled the remains——lived an average of more than twenty-six years after their very intimate involvement with the mummy.

Also note that those who have analyzed the matter have chosen to ignore the hundreds of Egyptian laborers who were involved in the tomb operation, as if these persons were unimportant. One common laborer from the area died 70 years after he helped open the tomb, but his death was not reported as significant in the overall picture.

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