THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS: CURSE OF THE PHAROHS

The King began to dig his grave the day he was crowned. The digging continued throughout his reign. His grave – rather, tomb – had to be completed within 70 days of his death: that was the time required to mummify his body and put it in the casket in his tomb.

The ‘tomb’ was a sloping-down corridor cut into the limestone hills in two valleys (‘wadis’) on the west bank of Nile, opposite Luxor. This was the tradition in ancient Egypt for 500 years (16 to 11 BC). Mummies of the Kings, and powerful nobles were placed in the tombs. Till date, 63 tombs have been discovered in the valley.

Hence the name of the valley: the Valley of the Kings.

If the King’s reign was long - depicted by the king shown with a straight beard - then his tomb was long and grand - “fully finished” -  with a wide entrance, long sloping corridor, large antechamber decorated with brightly painted animals, serpents and demons from the Book of the Dead, a pillared hall and short hallway before the burial chamber.

If the King’s reign was short - depicted by the king shown with an up-turned beard - then the tomb was short and “Unfinished” because 70 days was too short a time to finish it.

For example, tomb of Ramses II, one of Egypt’s longest-reigning (67 years) pharaohs is one of the biggest; tomb of Ramses III (reign: 31 years) is one of the longest, 125 m; tomb of Amenhotep II (reign: 26 years), is one of the deepest, more than 90 steps down; but tomb of Ramses VII ((reign: 07 years) is one of the shortest, only 44.3m long.

The King was buried with many of his valuables. Almost all the tombs have been ransacked and valuables removed. However from the Tomb of Tutankhamun – King Tut - 5,398 items were found, even though it had been robbed twice. The items included a solid gold coffin, face mask, thrones and other items. The discoverer of the tomb in 1922, Howard Carter, took 10 years to catalog the items. King Tut’s tomb is the most famous of the tombs because exhibits and artifacts from it have traveled the world. Tutankhamun's death mask, made of gold in the image of the deceased, now in Cairo Museum, remains the most popular symbol of this tomb.

King Tut’s tomb is also associated with the myth of the Curse of the Pharaohs. The fina-

ncial backer of the excavation team who was present at the tomb's opening, Lord Carnarvon, died mysteriously 4 months and 7 days after the opening of the tomb. Ten other, associated with the tomb’s discovery, also died mysteriously.

Carter presented to his friend, Sir Bruce Ingram, a paperweight composed of a mummified hand with its wrist adorned with a scarab bracelet marked with, "Cursed be he who moves my body. To him shall come fire, water and pestilence."  Soon after receiving the gift, Ingram's house burned down, followed by a flood when it was rebuilt.

Curse of the Pharaohs has captured the popular imagination though it has been proved that it has no scientific basis.

A memorable visit; a memorable peep into a minuscule part of ancient Egypt’s history.