Former Egyptian Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass has revealed the secret behind the mystical "curse" of the pharaohs and named the real reasons behind the deaths of people who opened tombs. He stated that the deaths of the explorers were caused by affection of microbes.
About this the scientist told "The Sun".
According to Hawass, the curse supposedly falls on anyone who disturbs ancient Egyptian remains. It is often associated with Tutankhamun after the discovery of the tomb in November 1922. Since then, several people have died under mysterious circumstances.
Hawass believes that the curse is a myth, but at the same time, there may be a scientific reason behind the deaths.
"The curse of the pharaohs became better known when Tutankhamun's tomb was found and Lord Carnarvon gave exclusive rights to the Times of London. At that time, the reporters couldn't write anything. But when Lord Carnarvon died five months after the discovery, they created many stories about the curse that weren't true. When there's a mummy in a tomb, there are germs in that mummy that you can't see. Archaeologists used to rush in, go into tombs, get infected with germs and die," the scientist said.
He added that he recently found a sealed sarcophagus weighing 25 tons about 19 meters underground.
"The lid of the sarcophagus weighed about six tons. It was left open for half an hour until the bad air came out. I stuck my head in and nothing. The curse of the pharaohs is just microbes," summarized Hawass.