Do you think it’s unwise to move mummies (especially those of Pharaohs)? If so, you’ll want to stay the hell away from Cairo on Saturday as officials in Cairo are moving a convoy of corpses. NBC News is reporting:
the convoy transported 18 kings and four queens, mostly from the New Kingdom ancient era, in shock-absorber vehicles and specially designed capsules filled with nitrogen to ensure they are protected.
The national treasures traveled about 3 miles from the Egyptian Museum, opened in 1902 in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square, to their new home in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat — the site of Egypt’s capital under the Umayyad dynasty after the Arab conquest.
As anyone familiar with religion from watching Ancient Mysteries, The UneXplained, , or classic Universal horror films knows, you don’t mess around with mummies. That could explain what The Daily Star is reporting on concerns amongst some:
Fireworks, honorary gunfire and fanfares will light the skies – but locals on social media have suggested moving the remains will in fact unleash a curse, writes The Telegraph.
They argue that there is a link between the planned parade today and recent disasters – including the blockage of the Suez Canal, a deadly train crash and the collapse of a building in the city.
There have been a number of books, TV specials, and even documentaries made about bad things happening to people who open up Egyptian tombs (not to mention various horror films and TV shows). Despite this being a popular topic, not everyone buys into the idea of a mummy’s curse. A National Geographic article on the so-called Curse of King Tutankhamun states:
Tut’s glittering treasures made great headlines—especially following the opening of the burial chamber on February 16, 1923—and so did sensationalistic accounts of the subsequent death of expedition sponsor Lord Carnarvon.
In reality, Carnarvon died of blood poisoning, and only six of the 26 people present when the tomb was opened died within a decade. Carter, surely any curse’s prime target, lived until 1939, almost 20 years after the tomb’s opening.
Despite skepticism by some, there are an odd number of crazy things happening during the mummies’ move. I’ll let a statistician figure out whether this is coincidence or curse, but I won’t be going anywhere near Cairo for the foreseeable future. What do you think? Is there any validity to the various mummies’ curses?
