Slew of Surreal Experiences tied to KV62. Carter and Tut: Masks, Mosquitoes, and Mania!

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Slew of Surreal Experiences tied to KV62. Carter and Tut: Masks, Mosquitoes, and Mania!

There were several exciting, strange and puzzling happenings in the run-up to the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and later. While Howard Carter wasn’t sure of the words he had used to describe his reaction on gaining the first glimpse of the treasures; a mosquito brought death on its wings to the financier, Lord Carnarvon. Today, we are surprised to hear the ancient pronunciation of the boy-king’s name; and to learn that there really was no romantic involvement between key players in the KV62 saga.

The dazzling golden mask that was found on the mummy of the boy-king Tutankhamun. The headpiece is embellished with inlays of both glassy material and a range of semi-precious stones. These include obsidian and white quartz (for the eyes), lapis lazuli (for the eye surrounds and eyebrows), and turquoise, amazonite, carnelian, and other stones (as inlays of the broad collar). Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (Photo: Mark Fischer/CC BY-SA 2.0)

Carter Version 3.0

There were many events that impacted the world in 1922. Mahatma Gandhi was jailed for questioning British rule in India; Benito Mussolini was elected the first fascist dictator in Europe; and the USSR became the world’s first communist state. Amidst all these occurrences, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in November of that year sent the press into overdrive. It had been a fairly gloomy post-war period for Egypt, and indeed much of the world. This made news of the find more than welcome. But fascinating things happened even before the first flashbulb went off in the Valley of the Kings.


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