Cursed Stolen Pharaonic Carving Returned
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A German man returned a parcel bearing a piece of a Pharaonic carving to Egypt’s embassy in Berlin last week, with an anonymous note stating his stepfather had suffered the ‘Pharaoh’s curse’ for stealing it.
Scene is from the outer hallway leading into the Tomb of Ramses II from the Egyptian Book of the Dead which depicts the pharaoh in mummy form as Amun-Osiris conversing with Amun-Re and Anubis. Photo Ken & Nyetta
By returning the carving to its rightful home and making amends, Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities said, he hoped his stepfather’s soul could now rest in peace, reports Yahoo news.
The relic was stolen in 2004 from the Valley of Kings, near Luxor, home to the tombs of dozens of Pharaohs and Egyptian nobles when the stepfather was vacationing there.
The stepson felt the curse of the pharaohs was undeniably not a myth — and decided to return the looted Egyptian carving which he claims has fatally cursed his family.
Upon the German’s return to Europe his troubles began when he was struck with an inexplicable fatigue and fever, progressing to paralysis, cancer, and ultimately death, according to the anonymous note.
The Egyptian embassy in Berlin sent the fragment back to Egypt where it was handed over to the Supreme Council for Antiquities, where a committee of experts will determine its authenticity.
The Pharaoh’s curse
The pharaoh’s curse or mummies curse – a belief that a curse strikes down anyone who disturbs the tombs or mummies of ancient Egypt’s Pharaohs – dates back even further than the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and the ensuing death of Lord Carnarvon who financed the dig.
The Temple of Dendur, ca. 15 B.C.E.; Roman period, given to the United States by Egypt in 1965, awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967, and installed in The Sackler Wing in 1978. Photo Maulleigh
The early 1900’s was a time when reporters were known to frequently glorify facts and fabricate truths to sensationalize their reports.
When Howard Carter discovered the artifacts in King Tut’s tomb, the media became frenzied covering the story.
30th Dynasty to early Ptolemaic Period (380-200 BC) in British Museum. The hieroglyphic inscription on this funerary stela provides the name and titles of Horiraa, an important priest of Ptah at Memphis. Photo Fozyta
A novelist by the name of Mari Corelli published a warning in March of 1923 about the dire consequences for anyone who entered the sealed tomb. The day Howard Carter opened the tomb, his pet canary was swallowed by a cobra. Cobras, as the cobra goddess Wadjet, were considered the protectors of the Pharaoh.
Lord Carnarvon who financed Howard Carter’s excavation died of pneumonia in Cairo on April 5th 1923, merely 7 weeks after the tomb’s opening and Corelli’s warning. It was claimed that Lord Carnarvon’s dog Susie, back in England, howled and died in the same instant, but the reported incident is difficult to prove or disprove.
But potential toxins in the tombs and the hieroglyphic warnings against disturbing the peace of the pharaohs have kept the mystery alive.
Magical Stela, 360–343 B.C.E.; Dynasty 30, reign of Nectanebo II; late Dynastic period Egyptian. Photo Maulleigh
Related stories:
Egyptians Discover Queen Hatshepsut Mummy
Scientific Marvels of Toe-tankhamun – Ancient Mummy Prosthesis
“Cursed Stolen Pharaonic Carving”. It is not cursed. Nothing is ‘cursed’. The owner has a delusion of being cursed.
Sounds like stepdad had some problems but I don’t know about curses. I had a voodoo doll once and it helped me out in a funny sort of way.
I’m not so sold on curses either Mel. But I do believe that negative energies attract their likes, as do positives. One can attract negative energy just by believing in it and giving it the power. That’s my theory, anyway.
Do tell Tom
this story would make a great movie Deborah…..fabulous photos !!!!
You probably don’t want yet another award, but I’ve given you the “Nice” award on this blog anyway.
OMG, thanks Kuanyin! You’re too good to me