Tutankhamun's famous golden mask, discovered in 1922, was not originally made for him but for Queen Nefertiti, his supposed stepmother. The mask features pierced ears (typically worn by women and children in ancient Egypt), a beard (added later), and an inscription that originally read 'Queen Nefertiti' before being altered to 'King Tutankhamun.' The mask was likely prepared for Nefertiti's burial but was taken from her tomb when it was discovered empty, and placed in Tut's tomb instead. This discovery challenges the long-held belief that the mask was specifically crafted for the young pharaoh.
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We all know some iconic symbols. The Statue of Liberty screams USA. The Eiffel Tower represents Paris. And this mask? Undoubtedly, it's Tutankhamun's, right?
Sometimes it feels like historians have squeezed every last drop out of the King Tut story. But guess what? The most obvious details often slip right under our noses. Like the fact that this famous mask didn't actually belong to him. Nor was it ever meant for him.
Stick with me for the details. Can we get a close-up of that mask? Thanks.
See those holes? Yep, they're for [music] earrings. And no, it's not that they had anything against jewelry, but back in ancient Egypt, earrings were typically worn by high-status women [music] or kids.
Now, if you know your history, you might say, "But Tut was a boy [music] king, wasn't he?"
You're spot-on. He began his reign at just 9 years old. Sadly, that didn't last long as he passed away at a very young age.
So when he was 9, he might have worn earrings, but he [music] probably took them off when he hit that no earrings age.
Sounds reasonable, right? Actually, not quite. That would have been pretty strange since nobody [music] expected him to pass away young, certainly not at 9.
So no one was preparing a kid's mask for a burial.
It's this untimely demise that suggests that the mask used was simply the best option available when Tut passed away.
There are more clues pointing to the idea that the mask was found in a hurry.
Let's think about this. Even though Tut was mummified and his body could wait a bit, his loved ones wanted him to reach the afterlife ASAP.
Some experts even believe the paint in the tomb was still wet when it was sealed.
But look at his mask. It's a masterpiece. There's no way it was made in a rush. It's way more elaborate than other simpler cartonnage pieces. The renowned mask Tut stands 21 [music] inches tall, adorned with precious stones, and features a golden beard that weighs 5.5 lb, making the entire mask 22.5 lb.
Okay, I'm a bit confused here. So it seems like it was probably a kid's [music] mask, but it had a beard. I've never seen a 9-year-old with a goatee, and I'm guessing you haven't either.
Just think about it. A grown man's face compared [music] to a kid's face.
Fun fact for you. Our faces pretty much stop growing at the age of 16. So by 19, >> [music] >> Tut would have definitely had the face of an adult man.
Can you imagine trying to fit a relatively small kid's mask on a grown man? That would have been super embarrassing, >> [music] >> and no one would have let that happen.
Right, let's dismiss the kids theory.
Now, the [music] second option, if you remember, is that the mask could have originally belonged to a woman. This is where the beard theory comes into play.
Some researchers believe the beard might have been added later on.
Here's another twist. What if the mask was actually made for Nefertiti herself, who ended up maskless?
In this case, [music] there are two discoveries. Ahem. Two birds with one stone. For now, it sounds [music] like a conspiracy theory, I know. But let's give it a shot and delve deeper into the details.
So, Tut passed away in around 1323 [music] BCE, probably due to malaria. He had other health issues, too, [music] like when he broke his leg, and records suggest he wasn't in the best shape.
As for Nefertiti, we have no solid data about her demise. Plus, nobody knows exactly when or where she was buried.
The supposed year when [music] she passed away is around 1330 BCE, but she could have lived longer, and the mask was intended and prepared for her. Or maybe they just took her mask right from the burial chamber.
After all, they were family. Well, sort of. She was said to be his stepmom, having been married to Akhenaten, who was likely Tut's father. But this is not 100% accurate. Some scientists [music] doubt it. Ah, these ancient Egyptian families. It's hard to keep track of who's who.
I know, you're not yet convinced that Tut wore a lady's mask. Let me share one more theory with you.
Meet Howard Carter, [music] the enthusiastic archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb.
It was located in the Valley of Kings outside [music] Luxor, and to everyone's surprise, was nearly intact.
When he entered, he noticed something odd. This didn't feel like a pharaoh's burial chamber. It was classy and all, but it had a vibe that suggested it was made for a woman.
Typically, >> [music] >> Egyptian pharaohs had larger tombs that suited them better. And even more strangely, it was oriented to the right of the entrance.
This didn't add up. That orientation was typical for female chambers, which Egyptian queens used.
Another red flag was that the chamber appeared to have been built in stages, and all the artifacts, around 2,000 of them, seemed hastily [music] placed there.
Even more curious, they looked like they were meant for other royals.
Carter discovered this burial [music] site in 1922, but it remained a mystery as to why it was so bizarre.
Almost a century later, Nicholas Reeves thought he may have solved the puzzle.
He claimed that King Tut might not have been the original resident of the tomb.
Instead, he suggested that the undisturbed resting place of the legendary Queen Nefertiti could be hidden behind the walls of the boy king's burial chamber.
>> [music] >> Nicholas studied high-resolution photos for months, meticulously examining every [music] pixel.
One day, he focused on detailed scans that revealed the texture of the tomb's walls beneath layers of paint. He spotted what he believed to be outlines of two doorways that had been blocked and plastered over to hide them from view.
The more he looked, the more it seemed real.
Could it be a tomb within a tomb?
Nicholas theorized there was a hidden storeroom behind the western wall of King Tut's tomb, and his chamber might just be the outermost section of a larger corridor-style network of rooms.
It all sounds fancy, but sorry to break it to you. Reeves' theory was debunked.
To find out if he was onto something, experts had to [music] use ground-penetrating radar to see the unseen.
Reeves' idea was that if there were gaps, [music] it could indicate the presence of additional rooms.
And at first, [music] in 2015, one expert even thought he had found a hidden room. But the glory didn't last for long. A year later, after double-checking, it turned out there were no hidden doorways.
By the way, Nefertiti isn't the only legendary woman from Egypt whose burial site remains a captivating mystery.
There's a cool legend about Cleopatra that you might enjoy.
It's said that she once declared, "No man will ever find my tomb."
Kind of fitting, right? After all, the person who's come closest to uncovering her final resting place is a woman.
Fast-forward a few millennia after she passed away, and while no man has located it, archaeologist Kathleen Martinez believes she might have cracked the code. She's been on the quest for Cleopatra VII's tomb for nearly 20 years, and recently discovered a bust that she thinks represents the famous queen.
However, not everyone is on board with her claim. Some experts argue that the bust doesn't resemble Cleopatra at all.
Alongside this intriguing marble statue, Martinez's team also unearthed 337 coins, some of which, less controversially, [music] feature Cleopatra's likeness.
But the real part is that it's still not officially [music] confirmed.
There's no doubt about the existence of the small bust. It's carved from white [music] marble, fits in one hand, and shows a woman wearing a royal crown, according to a translated statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
The big question, though, is who it actually depicts.
While Martinez insists this statue is a representation of Queen Cleopatra VII, many other archaeologists argue that the facial [music] features don't match, suggesting it likely belongs to a princess [music] instead.
Sorry, I can't resist the temptation of breaking the magic for a moment. Some folks believe that the whole idea of no man will find my tomb is misunderstood.
Even if she did say it, what she probably meant [music] was no living soul, and it wasn't about gender at all.
It can as well be just a beautiful legend. Toodaloo.
So look here. Scientists discovered ancient [music] artifacts near King Tut's tomb. Turns out, his VIP final resting place [music] looks more like a public graveyard with about a dozen wooden coffins that's been there for around 3,600 [music] years.
Okay, I might have exaggerated a tad.
The 11 [music] tombs weren't exactly right next to King Tut, but they were close, near the same city of Luxor.
New findings in Egyptian tombs can help us piece together what life was like in ancient Egypt. And guess what? Ancient Egyptians seem to have been remarkably like us, modern humans.
Say, the women have always loved jewelry, and archaeologists retrieved a beautifully made necklace with 30 [music] amethyst beads and two agate beads, plus a hippo head amulet.
Bet it was all the rage back then.
Researchers also discovered two copper mirrors. [music] One had a handle shaped like a lotus, and the other was decorated with Hathor, the ancient Egyptian deity of the sky, women, fertility, and love.
These recent excavations near [music] Tutankhamun's burial site led to another jaw-dropping revelation. For the first time in thousands of years, fragments of Queen Hatshepsut's valley temple were [music] uncovered.
This fearless woman was thought to be the second female pharaoh who ruled with both courage and wisdom, leaving a legacy as solid as the stones themselves. Her temple, [music] hidden for ages, opens a window into a time filled with power, intrigue, and spiritual devotion.
Archaeologists found over 1,000 beautifully decorated stone blocks on the outskirts [music] of Hatshepsut's funerary temple. There were a very few women who managed to take the throne in ancient Egypt.
Another tomb was found nearby, and it belonged to the overseer of Queen Tetisheri's palace, whose name was Djehutymes.
Queen Hatshepsut seems to have even more tombs, I mean, aces up [music] her sleeve. These tombs were carved into the rock instead of being built as pyramids, showing a unique ancient perspective [music] on how to protect the soul in the afterlife.
Experts managed to retrieve some cool ancient pieces from the site.
Toys made of clay, mummy masks, wing scarabs, and some amulets. Sadly, there surely used to be way more artifacts, but over the last centuries, >> [music] >> there have been people other than archaeologists to stumble upon this site. It's likely that [music] looters got to these tombs before them and may have taken some valuable items. But they did leave behind some cool stuff for the researchers, like pottery used for offerings of bread and meat, along with archers' bows that connect the tombs' [music] owners to the Egyptian military.
Meanwhile, soul protection is way more important than you might think, especially if you're roaming around Luxor looking for [music] ancient secrets. You aren't scared of King Tut's curse, are you? Uh-huh. Let me tell you what happened to those who weren't scared, but promise me to take it with a dash of salt, okay?
For years, Egyptologists, especially those who believed in paranormal activity, were convinced that there was an unsettling curse surrounding Tutankhamun's archaeological discoveries.
This belief stemmed from the mysterious and untimely demise of several excavators who discovered the tomb in 1922 with no logical explanation for why they passed away. It was just easier to chalk it up to something supernatural and avoid the whole mess.
But it turns out it wasn't a curse at all. It was likely the radiation that caused those excavators to perish.
Now, you might wonder where the radiation came from. After all, while radioactivity was discovered in the 19th century, [music] ancient Egyptians, despite their impressive pyramids, didn't have any radium lying around to make Tut's tomb glow like crazy.
So, [music] what could be the real story? It might have been toxic waste behind it all.
Toxic levels of radiation from uranium and hazardous waste have been lurking inside the tomb since it was sealed over 3,000 years ago.
The burial chamber of Tutankhamun's tomb reportedly [music] has such high radiation levels that anyone who steps inside could easily end up with a fatal dose of radiation sickness or an incurable [music] condition.
By the way, you can have a somewhat similar level of radioactivity if you don't get rid of those moldy dinner leftovers you left to perish in your fridge a month ago.
But this radioactivity isn't exclusive to Tutankhamun's tomb.
Ancient Egyptian artifacts discovery is rewarding, yet dangerous, due to unusually high radiation levels in Old Kingdom tombs all over Egypt.
Geiger counters have detected radiation at two sites near the Giza pyramids, and radon, a radioactive gas, has been found in several underground tombs in Saqqara.
Interestingly, experts believe that the builders of these ancient tombs >> [music] >> were aware of the toxins, as some eerie warnings were carved into the walls of many tombs.
One inscription ominously declared, "They that break this tomb shall meet their end by a malady that no doctor can diagnose."
Other ominous phrases like "forbidden due to evil spirits" only added to the fear that supernatural curses haunted these ancient sites.
Ominous signs have stunned archaeologists since forever, but the fear grew even stronger a century ago with the mysterious passing of Lord Carnarvon, who funded King Tut's excavation in 1922 and reportedly explored the treasure-filled rooms along with several others who entered the tomb.
Arthur Weigall, another British Egyptologist who was present at the tomb's opening and is credited with starting the curse myth, passed away young when he was just in his 50s in 1934.
Chances are the condition that made him pass was connected to radiation.
In total, six out of the 26 [music] people who were there when the tomb was opened met their end within a decade from various causes.
Not only x-ray exposure, those reasons include asphyxia, stroke, heart failure, [music] pneumonia, and even poisoning.
Well, isn't this getting a little grim?
There was one guy who opened the tomb and somehow managed to avoid the [music] infamous curse, Howard Carter, or so it seemed.
Some folks pointed to his survival as proof that the curse wasn't real.
After digging up the tomb, Carter published several books on the topic and shifted gears from archaeology to dealing [music] in antiquities for various museums.
Despite dodging demise or injury, rumors swirled about how the curse may have impacted him in other ways.
One of the big stories linked him to Lord Carnarvon's daughter, Evelyn. Some said he was madly in love with her, but she married someone else, so he chose to stay single.
Others claimed they had an affair while she was in Egypt, which ended when her father passed away and she left the country for good. However, there wasn't much evidence to support [music] these stories.
Evelyn was just six when they met, and they remained friends until his last breath. She was even one of the few attendees at his funeral, but denied any romantic [music] involvement, saying they weren't that close.
A year after the revolutionary discovery near King Tut's tomb, Evelyn married politician Sir Brograve Beauchamp and had a daughter.
That same year, Beauchamp toured the tomb with his parents guided by Carter himself.
Carter never married, and aside from those posthumous rumors about Evelyn, had no other romantic connections.
While the curse adds an intriguing twist to his life [music] story, his tendency to keep relationships at arm's length was evident long before the tomb was opened.
>> [music] >> It seemed Carter just wasn't a people person.
In 1939, after battling a serious illness, he ultimately succumbed to fate.
He was 64, which was a pretty common life expectancy in the UK back then. So, no one really thought it was off and linked it [music] to an ancient curse.
When he passed, it turned out he had several artifacts from Tutankhamun's [music] tomb in his London apartment, which were eventually sent back to Egypt, marking what some viewed as the curse's end.
Who knows? Maybe if he hadn't had all those ancient souvenirs at his place, he would have lived way longer.
But all the other demises might seem off. The curse theory was likely fueled by some strange events during the excavation. Carnarvon got a mosquito bite that became severely infected, and around the time they opened the tomb, Cairo experienced a bizarre power outage and a freak sandstorm.
Back in England, the Earl's dog, Susie, managed to escape from Carnarvon's house and began barking frantically at seemingly nothing. At least that's [music] what the staff and family saw.
Strangely enough, at the very moment her owner's heart stopped, Susie started howling and fell down without showing any [music] signs of life.
Maybe radiation didn't play a crucial role after all, and those were indeed ancient artifacts [music] from King Tut's tomb that made them all perish.
Spooky, huh?
For more than 3,000 years, the gold mask of pharaoh Tutankhamun stayed hidden in the Valley of the Kings.
This artifact, which stands about 21 inches tall, shows how skilled and artistic the ancient Egyptians were. But nobody expected that x-rays would reveal [music] its biggest secret.
King Tut was the last ruler of his family during the 18th Dynasty.
>> [music] >> He took the throne at just 9 years old, but ruled for only 10 years before he passed away unexpectedly. If we're being honest, back in ancient Egypt, he was mostly forgotten by the rulers who came after him. His tomb wasn't a big deal for them, so much so that even the grave robbers forgot about [music] it. It might sound a bit sad, but the truth is that it was actually great news for us.
>> [music] >> Since his tomb was practically forgotten, it ended up being perfectly preserved. While the other tombs in the Valley of the Kings were looted, his remained sealed and untouched. So, when it was discovered back in 1922, it had over 5,000 precious objects [music] inside. That made Tutankhamun basically an instant celebrity and one of the best-known pharaohs nowadays.
Among the treasures was the most stunning piece, his golden mask. This mask is said to be an exact image of the king's face, or [music] at least it was supposed to be, but we'll get to that later.
The purpose of this accurate representation of his face was to make sure that his soul would recognize him in the afterlife and return to his mummified body. In ancient Egyptian beliefs, >> [music] >> this would allow him to continue living in the afterlife. The details of the mask clearly looked incredibly difficult to create, but people didn't realize how complex it truly was until many years later.
The first x-rays of the mask were taken in 1967.
Back then, the main reason for these scans was practical, conservation. The mask was heading to Paris [music] for an exhibition and it was the first time it had ever left Paris. This would help them keep track of any changes during the exhibit. Plus, the images could give clues about how the mask was made, but back then, they probably didn't fully realize just how complex its construction was. I mean, Egyptian goldsmiths didn't use modern soldering techniques. So, how did they make this mask?
New x-rays taken in 2007 gave us some answers. It turned out the Egyptians didn't use pure gold, which is 24 karats. The mask was actually made of 23 karat [music] gold, meaning it was mixed with another material. So, specialists discovered that the gold sheets [music] contain a small amount of copper, a reddish-brown metal. This was likely done to make the material more flexible and easier to shape. They would then shape the gold sheets by heating and hammering them over and over again. But, there was one more secret inside the mask that wasn't discovered until 2015.
The year before, the staff at Cairo's Egyptian Museum were working on the mask display when the long beard of the mask accidentally [music] got knocked off.
Another theory is that the beard had become loose over time and just fell off.
Either way, the fact that King Tut's beard came off caused a lot of stress.
After all, we're talking about one of Cairo's biggest tourist attractions. So, the experts had to fix the problem quickly. The restoration process started with a detailed recording of the mask condition. To do this, they had to take a full three-dimensional scan of the artifact and, by accident, >> [music] >> they found something very interesting in the mask. Inside the royal beard, there is a gold tube, an intriguing structure that the Egyptians likely used to attach the beard to the rest of the mask. And that proved once again that the process of making this mask was even more complex than experts thought.
But, the mysteries don't stop [music] there. Remember how we mentioned that the mask was thought to perfectly represent King Tutankhamun's face? Well, that might not be entirely true. Some popular theories suggest the mask was never meant for him and was actually made for someone else.
A study published in 2015 [music] suggested the mask was originally made for a female pharaoh, his supposed stepmother, the famous and beautiful Egyptian queen Nefertiti.
The biggest clue comes from an inscription on the mask. At first glance, >> [music] >> it seemed to belong to Tutankhamun, but after close examination, researchers noted [music] that something else was actually written underneath King Tut's name.
The real name stamp [music] seems to have been altered and originally it had something written on it that translates to Queen [music] Nefertiti.
There is another feature of King Tut's golden mask that was overlooked for years, which adds even more mystery. As we mentioned earlier, experts believe he wasn't respected much by the pharaohs who came after him. And one of the clues that made archaeologists think this is the pierced ears on [music] the mask.
Some researchers believe that King Tutankhamun wouldn't have worn earrings after he was a kid. So, according to their theory, by the time he passed away at 18, he shouldn't have been represented with pierced ears. This could also support the idea that the mask originally belonged to Nefertiti or maybe to someone who wasn't even connected to King Tut.
But, the mask isn't the only source of mystery. In fact, his whole tomb is full of puzzles. Recently, historians found a sign that the place where King Tut was supposed to be buried was changed at the last minute.
For years, experts wondered why a pharaoh who ruled for nine years ended up in such a simple tomb. When compared to the grandeur of other pharaohs' tombs, his tomb seemed, well, a bit plain. The idea that a king like Tutankhamun would have such an unremarkable resting place just doesn't match up with the power and importance he must have had in ancient Egypt. So, what happened?
Well, apparently, this might have something to do with his successor, Pharaoh Ay. After King Tutankhamun passed away, researchers believe that Ay made sure to erase him from Egypt's history. So, one theory suggests that he was probably behind the quick decision to place King Tut's body in a smaller, less impressive tomb.
When experts looked at Ay's own tomb, they found something interesting. There is a large wall covered in painted baboons. This is the same type of artwork found in Tutankhamun's tomb. It seemed like the same person might have chosen the artwork for both tombs.
Now, the design and decoration of the two tombs are almost identical, suggesting there was a shared hand behind both. But, there is one key difference. Ay's tomb is fit for a king.
It's much bigger and more impressive, even though the style and artwork are similar to what you see in Tutankhamun's [music] tomb.
So, the theory suggests that Ay decided what went into both tombs. Since Tut passed away unexpectedly at a young age, his grand tomb wasn't finished in time.
Normally, pharaohs start building their tombs while they're still alive to make sure everything is perfect. But, Tut passed away when he was just 18, so there wasn't enough time. Ay may have taken advantage [music] of the situation, ordering a smaller tomb for Tut and keeping a larger one for himself. Experts believe [music] this theory explains why Tutankhamun's tomb is so simple and how Ay managed to wipe his memory from history [music] so easily. But, in the end, the story of King Tut's mask and tomb [music] is full of mystery and intrigue. Each new discovery sheds more light on what really happened all those years ago.
But, one thing is for sure, the secrets of ancient Egypt still have much to reveal and King Tutankhamun will continue to fascinate people for years to come.
Unlike many other ancient Egyptian burial grounds, King Tutankhamun's tomb stayed hidden and free of unwanted thieves for 3,000 years. One reason was that the tomb was smaller than average and tucked away in a place called the Valley of the Kings. This area was already being extensively explored by the time they stumbled upon Tut's spot.
The entrance was all covered in debris from building a nearby tomb, which must have also helped keep it a secret. There were also zero writings or signs on the outside of the tomb. Time passing also played a part in keeping it in amazing shape until the 1920s, when a man named Howard Carter finally made it in.
But, was Carter that big of a hero? Some recent findings say he might have been sneakier than initially thought. People used to think Carter wasn't just a glorified treasure hunter. He was a true archaeologist. Before Tut, he'd been on a relentless quest for Egyptian artifacts. He discovered his interest in these unusual objects when he was a child and soon started drawing the sculptures and inscriptions that were found in ancient tombs. After stumbling upon the remains of King Tut, Carter spent a decade recording and processing all sorts of objects [music] like golden thrones, chariots, and statues from Tut's tomb, shipping them down the Nile to Egypt's Museum in Cairo. Well, at least that was the official story. More [music] recent discoveries claim that not all of the objects made it to Egyptian officials. A secret letter seems to uncover Carter's little "10 for them, one for me" policy.
The letter in question was sent to Sir Alan Gardiner, a philologist and friend of Carter's, dated from 1922.
In these writings, Carter mentioned having found the tomb and was asking his buddy for some advice. In another letter from 1934, Gardiner seems to be thanking Carter for an amulet, which was sent to him as a thank you gift. Carter was adamant that it didn't come from Tut's tomb, but evidently, it did.
Even the British director of the Egyptian Museum was onto Carter's sneaky endeavors, but couldn't prove it. He compared Gardiner's amulet to others from Tut's tomb and, lo and behold, they were a perfect match. Gardiner was so disappointed to have been put in such a sticky situation that he vented to Carter in another letter. Deciding to be a good friend, Gardiner didn't throw the famous archaeologist under the bus.
Instead, he advised Carter to take those stolen goods back to Cairo. Just like he'd advise you to like this video and subscribe to the Bright Side channel for more amazing videos on the most unique topics in history.
It's not the only shady piece of information on Carter's post-discovery behavior. In 1947, a man named Alfred Lucas, [music] who used to work with a controversial archaeologist, gave some information in an obscure journal in Cairo. He claimed that Carter sneakily cracked open the burial chamber door himself. Then he sealed it back up like nothing had happened before the official uncovering. Now, why would he do that?
Well, the same theory suggests that Carter and his crew might have entered the tomb early so they could get their hands on some ancient goodies.
Obviously, these people couldn't risk having such objects sold while they [music] were still alive, but made sure they were auctioned off after they passed. Carter, though, never confessed to anything. He made no official denial, either. But the Egyptian government couldn't risk any more mysterious disappearances, so they prohibited him from entering the tomb for a while.
Some have connected this apparent stealing to the curse of King Tut.
If you've never heard of it, know that it became quite the scary tale >> [music] >> soon after King Tutankhamun's resting place was uncovered. It claimed that anyone messing with the tomb of the boy pharaoh would face some serious bad luck. It's not all dramatic like a mummy going on an aggressive spree, but word got out that the people involved in disturbing King Tut's lair met some mysterious untimely ends.
The main untimely passing related to this supposed curse is that of George Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon. He was this British aristocrat who helped fund the search for the tomb. He passed away just a year after the tomb was opened. Now, people love to call it mysterious, but it turns out that Herbert was already in pretty bad shape health-wise when he got to Cairo, and he ended up getting taken down by a regular disease.
Now, let's talk numbers. There were a lot of people linked to this tomb opening, security guards, archaeologists, and supporting staff.
And sure, a few of them did pass not long after the tomb started receiving visitors. As much as we'd like this curse to be true for the sake of, you know, good storytelling, statistically, if you have a bunch of people connected to opening a tomb, you'd expect some passings just by random chance.
The average lifespan for those supposedly targeted by the ancient curse was more [music] than 20 years after the spell was supposed to kick in.
Herbert's daughter even lived until the 1980s. That's half a century later. And Howard Carter himself lived [music] until 1935, a solid 16 years after the big reveal.
Some have suggested that the whole curse was nothing more than a careful PR strategy. You see, when Tut's tomb was found, Howard Carter wanted to make a priority out of keeping nosy reporters away. So he might have come up with a curse hanging over anyone entering the boy king's resting place.
But what was stolen from King Tut's tomb anyway? Well, some jewelry to begin with. It might have been snatched by Howard Carter himself, according to a French specialist. He did some intensive research by looking at old pictures taken from inside the tomb back in the 1920s. He compared those images to various objects from museums and auction houses. He soon started to piece together the whereabouts of some of Tut's jewelry.
First up, there's this collar that used to be on Tut's chest. [music] It was all broken into pieces, and some parts went via Carter to the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Missouri. Meanwhile, other bits ended up on a necklace owned by some unnamed people who tried to sell it in 2015, [music] but failed.
Even the Nelson-Atkins Museum agrees, as they've confirmed the information on their website.
>> [music] >> Then there's a headdress piece. Some beads from it that once belonged to Tut apparently got stolen by Carter, too.
They were also strung into a necklace and are now being held at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Another fancy collar made out of glazed ceramic magic spent some time at the Met, far away in New York. Thankfully, it was sent back to Egypt a bit over a decade ago. This seems to have been, as you'd expect by now, also stolen by Carter.
Missing artifacts aside, King Tut still gave a ton of amazing objects that helped us learn more about this incredible ancient culture. Starting with the famous burial mask, it's this massive 21-in gold art piece with semi-precious stones and glass paste. It weighs 22 lb and showcases the boy pharaoh with a long beard and a headdress with a cobra and vulture. On the back, there's this spell from an important ancient Egyptian spiritual book that's supposed to make sure it works just as well in the afterlife.
Tut was also apparently a board game enthusiast. They found four board games in his tomb, [music] some made of ivory.
Archaeologists also found a pair of gold sandals, though you'd imagine they were more for show than for comfort. In fact, the pharaoh probably never wore them in his lifetime. Now, speaking of fashion items, it turns out Tut was quite the fancy ruler. They even found a mannequin in his tomb [music] that was used to pick out, adjust, and store his outfits and jewelry. The boy king seemed to have also enjoyed some music, based on the two [music] trumpets historians found in his tomb. Though they were played back in 1935 in a BBC broadcast, the instruments are today considered too fragile to be maneuvered.
"No man shall ever find my tomb." That's what, according to rumors, Cleopatra once said. Rumor has it it really wasn't about the gender. She wanted no living soul to disturb her, and I think she meant that no human would ever discover the location of her grave. But surprisingly, it was indeed a woman who was closer than anyone before to finally discovering the queen's resting place.
Meet Kathleen Martinez Berry, a criminal lawyer turned archaeologist. She got so intrigued with Cleopatra's story that she packed her bags [music] and went to Egypt with no official support and even no permission from the authorities. All she had was pure determination to find the queen's tomb.
Now, you could say Kathleen had always been ahead of the game. She skipped grades in school, mastered piano, chess, swimming, and martial arts, and grew up listening [music] to top intellectuals debating in her home. And she even got her law degree at just 19, and archaeology was her side passion. She had never actually been to Egypt, never dug up a single [music] artifact. But her fascination with Cleopatra went all the way back to an argument with her father in 1990.
That day, she walked into his library looking for a copy of Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare. Her dad, Fausto Martinez, a professor and legal expert, casually called Cleopatra a seductress. Kathleen wasn't having it.
She fired back, arguing that history had been totally unfair to Cleopatra. The Romans, she said, wanted to destroy her reputation, and for centuries, people had just believed their version of the story. The debate went on for hours, and in the end, her father admitted maybe he had judged Cleopatra [music] too harshly.
That conversation changed everything for Kathleen. From that day on, she read every ancient text she could find, especially Plutarch's account of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. The more she learned, the more convinced she became that Cleopatra wasn't just some queen who fell for the wrong guy. She was a genius [music] playing a dangerous political game to keep Egypt independent.
>> [music] >> And the more she read, the more she started thinking, "What if everyone had been looking for Cleopatra's tomb in the wrong place?"
That thought stuck [music] with her.
When she was caring for her second child, she earned a master's in archaeology. Hmm, multitasking.
That reignited an obsession that would take over her life, uncovering the truth about Cleopatra.
>> [music] >> Even though most experts believe that Cleopatra's tomb, along with the final resting place of 13 other Ptolemaic rulers, lies somewhere beneath modern-day Alexandria, Dr. Martinez has a different idea. She believes Cleopatra was buried at Taposiris Magna, an ancient temple dedicated to Osiris, the Egyptian deity of the afterlife. But she still needed an ancient foundation plate. These plates, about the size of a smartphone, were placed beneath important temple structures and often contained inscriptions explaining when and why the temple was built. If she could find a plate that confirmed the temple was dedicated to Isis, Cleopatra's patron deity, she'd have solid proof that this was the right place to look.
Nothing could deter Martinez. She excavated the entire temple site, digging deeper than anyone before her.
Her team found coins with Cleopatra's name and face stamped on them. It meant Cleopatra had a direct connection to this site.
Then, they uncovered something even more interesting, a tunnel used to bring water to people leading straight from the temple into the Mediterranean Sea.
So, if parts of the temple had already sunken into the water, could Cleopatra's [music] tomb be down there, too?
Martinez needed proof to convince Egyptian authorities to let her search underwater. And against all odds, she found the missing foundation plate. On it, the pharaoh offered a large area of Nubia to deity Isis. That was it, the confirmation she needed. The temple was indeed dedicated to Isis, proving her theory wasn't just speculation. If one temple was on land, Martinez suspected the second temple, possibly Cleopatra's tomb, had collapsed into the sea.
She needed help from experts in underwater archaeology, so she reached out to Robert Ballard, the guy who discovered the Titanic. With support from the Egyptian authorities, she and her team began exploring the waters off the coast of Alexandria.
And what they found was mind-blowing.
Underwater, they discovered massive stone structures, some standing 6 to 10 ft tall, right where the coastline would have been thousands of years ago.
They also found basalt blocks, the same material used in the statues from the first temple. That meant one thing, those weren't just random rocks. They were the remains of a lost city, buried beneath the sea for centuries.
Now, we can only wait and see whether Martinez and her team will be able to unravel one of the greatest mysteries of the past left by the outstanding woman that was Cleopatra.
Here's some backstory.
After her father, Ptolemy VII, passed away, Egypt's throne went to both Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra, or so it seemed. Cleopatra, just 18 at the time, allegedly married her 10-year-old brother. Yeah, ancient royalty had some different customs, though there's no solid proof of that. But sibling love didn't last long. Young Ptolemy decided he wanted all the power for himself and tried to push Cleopatra out. Forced to flee the country, she didn't just sit around feeling sorry for herself. She raised an army, ready to march back and take what was hers. That's how, at 21, she was already in the Sinai Desert leading an army and planning her return to the throne.
Now, by that time, Cleopatra had already been locked in a powerful political, and not only political, alliance with Julius Caesar. In June, 47 BC, she gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar, better known as Caesarion, who, many believe, was Caesar's child. But that didn't stop her from playing by Egyptian royal rules.
And her husband number two, her other brother, Ptolemy XIV. Yep, despite her ongoing affair with Caesar, Cleopatra married yet another sibling, because, in her world, keeping the throne in the family was the name of the game.
Now, marriage aside, Cleopatra's bond with Caesar stayed strong. She even traveled to Rome with Ptolemy XIV for a state visit. But instead of playing the role of a dutiful queen, she stayed in Caesar's private villa by the Tiber River. But after Julius Caesar lost his life in 44 BCE, on the Ides of March, Cleopatra's political standing became shaky. To make matters worse, her brother-husband, Ptolemy XIV, passed away soon after, and some suspect Cleopatra had a hand in it, leaving her as the sole ruler of Egypt. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Mark Antony was rising to power as Caesar's presumed successor.
Wanting to size up the Queen of Egypt, he summoned Cleopatra, and she did not disappoint. Sailing into town on the lavish barge, dressed as a deity, Cleopatra made quite an entrance. Antony was instantly mesmerized. So much so that he left his third wife back in Rome and followed Cleopatra to Alexandria, where their relationship turned into a full-blown royal affair.
The two had three children together.
Together, they waged war against Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, in a battle for control of the Roman Empire.
The last time the queen was seen, she was in her mausoleum, dressed in full royal splendor, diadem on her head, lying on what Plutarch called a golden couch. When Antony and Cleopatra [music] lost at Actium, Octavian's forces marched into Alexandria.
Cleopatra apparently knew the end was near, so she locked herself inside her mausoleum, surrounded by gold, silver, pearls, >> [music] >> and priceless art. Those were the treasures she threatened to burn rather than let the Romans [music] take them.
Antony, meanwhile, wasn't going to let the Romans capture him alive. He wounded himself with his own sword, but before he passed away, he was carried to Cleopatra's side. She held him as he took his last breath in her arms.
A little over a week later, Cleopatra made her own choice.
Rather than face humiliation as Octavian's prisoner, she ended her life.
Legend says it was the bite of a deadly asp, though history isn't quite clear [music] on that. At the time, Cleopatra was only 39. Sounds like a rather full life to me.
The ancient city of Taposiris Magna is hidden on the northern coast of Egypt.
These days it has very little of its [music] former glory, but what lies beneath it may hold the secret to uncovering a famous mystery. That of Cleopatra, the most memorable Egyptian queen in history.
The recently discovered tunnel is also known as a geometric miracle for its time.
Excavations have uncovered [music] a 43-ft-long structure below the ground, which is partially submerged in water.
Its shape and construction technique are similar to that of the Eupalinos Tunnel, another amazing ancient discovery. This one is located in Greece and was built by excavating simultaneously from two points, aiming to have them meet in the middle. The use of math [music] and geometry to make this construction was astonishingly precise for those days, more so since [music] it was built near a mountain.
Archaeologists that have been working on the Taposiris Magna site since 2004 believe this tunnel may lead to the lost tomb of Cleopatra. The clues they found so far seem to back up this theory. For starters, the city and its temple [music] were built by one of Cleopatra's ancestors, Ptolemy II. All the architecture seems to indicate it was dedicated to the [music] ancient spirit Osiris and his queen Isis. Throughout her reign, Cleopatra did [music] try to associate herself with Isis, so it may be no surprise she chose this location as her final resting place.
Scientists have yet to pinpoint Cleopatra's tomb, but research continues with the help of modern technology. To study this location [music] better, archaeologists have even used a special device called ground-penetrating [music] radar. This tool allows us to analyze what lies beneath the ground without being intrusive. [music] Since this tunnel is so old, research needs to be done very delicately. Seeing pictures [music] of what's underground before you start digging is incredibly useful and has been done here since 2011.
Finally discovering [music] Cleopatra's tomb may help us piece together her story, especially what might have happened during the last portion of her life, which is still surrounded by mystery. We still don't know the exact cause of her passing.
Some believe she may have let herself be bitten by a poisonous Egyptian cobra.
Others have suggested [music] that she was well accustomed to toxic substances, even hiding some in her hairbrush in case she ever needed it. But that's not to say she chose to use it [music] on herself.
We do have a lot of other interesting information on Cleopatra [music] that's equally as impressive. Like the fact that she had a stylist. Most of the images you've [music] seen depicting this famous queen show her wearing black eyeliner.
This look was put together by Iras, a woman known [music] to have been her personal beautician. She traced the long line from her eyes to her temples, a makeup technique still [music] used today to enhance the eyes.
Iras was an important figure throughout Cleopatra's life, known also as her confidant and close friend.
There are even theories that suggest Iras was there by [music] her side when she passed away.
Despite her [music] well-thought-out looks, Cleopatra wasn't as pretty as she's described. Or at least, that's what recent [music] research has pointed out. Sure, if we look at movies and modern imagery, she's depicted as this incredibly beautiful woman [music] with symmetrical and delicate features.
However, if we look at coins showcasing her image from back in the day, her looks are rather average. Her image on the coins [music] might have been adjusted, too, to make the queen look stronger in the eyes of her people.
So there is [music] no trusted source available to confirm her image, but her description in most pieces of [music] ancient literature speaks of her other qualities, like her voice and personality, not of her beauty.
Cleopatra [music] might have been the most famous Egyptian queen to this day, but she wasn't the first choice. She did have an older [music] sister, Berenice, that was initially supposed to take the throne. Berenice passed away before [music] she could do that, so Cleopatra took on the role and began investing in her education. She traveled throughout the [music] country quite frequently, so she could become accustomed to her people and their needs. She was only 18 when the responsibilities were passed down to her and immediately gained popularity because of her intelligence [music] and education.
Her taste in literature was quite good, too.
She was known [music] to be a fan of Homer, the famed Greek philosopher and poet. Cleopatra loved [music] to write as much as she loved to read. There are even claims that she wrote a book on medicine and cosmetics, but we have no evidence [music] to this day that such work ever existed.
Part of being [music] a great leader back then meant you had to speak multiple languages.
Cleopatra clearly understood [music] that, and that's why she's rumored to have known many languages to varying degrees.
Some archaeologists suggested she spoke [music] Greek, Egyptian, and Ethiopian, as well as many Arabic dialects. She might have even spoken Latin, but there's little evidence to support this claim.
She might not have had angelic looks, but Cleopatra [music] was really careful with the way she looked, even with her diet. She was known to have enjoyed simple meals, including a variety of fish.
Since she lived close to [music] the Mediterranean Sea, it's really no surprise.
As a treat, she liked to eat stuffed pigeons, which she also served to her guests.
Other dishes on the menu included vegetables and [music] fava bean soup.
Fruits and nuts weren't missing from her diet, either, and she was also [music] a big fan of honey.
Recently, a team of experts has even tried to recreate her famous perfume.
[music] Think of it like the ancient equivalent of Chanel No. 5.
Cleopatra was known to be a fan of luxurious scents, which she believed could even influence how people treated her [music] when they met.
The basis of this scent is myrrh, a resin gathered [music] from a local tree.
Other ingredients added to the mixture were also found back in the day, like cardamom, olive oil, and cinnamon.
The results may [music] not be quite as delicate as the perfumes we know and use today.
Its consistency was way thicker, and the scent [music] lasted way longer.
When she was at the height of her power, [music] Cleopatra might have been the richest person in the world. Back in the day, she ruled over a territory that stretched across [music] the Mediterranean, from modern-day Libya in the west, through Egypt to Syria in the east. This is the [music] largest territory ever ruled over by a woman.
In today's currency, her worth might have been somewhere around $95 billion.
The calendars [music] we use today may have been introduced by Cleopatra herself.
She presented the idea [music] of leap years and leap days to Caesar, the Roman emperor she was known to have been [music] close with.
Taking her advice, Caesar made these adjustments part of the official Roman calendar.
The ancient Egyptians already [music] knew the year was longer than precisely 365 days. They discovered this by studying the brightest [music] star in the sky, called Sirius, and concluded that a year is actually 365 and [music] 1/4 days long.
It was Elizabeth Taylor that famously introduced Cleopatra to pop culture when she played her in the 1963 film bearing the same name.
Up until that point, it was the most [music] expensive film ever made. It was originally supposed to cost somewhere around $2 million, but ended up costing a mind-boggling $44 million.
That's mostly because of script and production issues.
To make this iconic movie, producers created [music] 79 sets from scratch, as well as over 26,000 costumes for the cast.
Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra costumes [music] alone cost somewhere around $200,000.
Thankfully for the producers, the movie made headlines [music] and was well received by critics, making it a box office success.
A lot of people associate Cleopatra with another famous Egyptian ruler, King Tutankhamun, nicknamed King Tut.
Surprisingly, >> [music] >> apart from both of them being Egyptian pharaohs, they have nothing else in common.
For starters, King Tut lived around 1,300 years before [music] Cleopatra did, and there is also no connection regarding their ancestry.
Cleopatra had Macedonian Greek roots, while King Tut was a native Egyptian.
Not many civilizations are as mysterious as ancient Egypt, a powerful empire that lasted over 3,000 years. It gave us pyramids that still stand and myths that still inspire.
>> [music] >> It's one of the most explored places on Earth, yet somehow we still find exciting stuff.
In Abydos, archaeologists just uncovered a 3,600-year-old royal tomb. It's huge. It has golden hieroglyphs of deities covering the entrance, but the pharaoh's name, it's not there. It's missing.
Who was this ruler, and what new chapter could this open in Egypt's story?
If there's one place in Egypt where the line between life and demise feels thinner, it's Abydos.
To the ancient Egyptians, this was sacred ground. They believed it was the burial place of Osiris, the god who literally passed away, had his remains separated, and came back to life to rule the underworld.
Because of that, Abydos became Egypt's spiritual gathering place.
Pharaohs built amazing temples here, like the Temple of Seti, famous for its kings list, a wall that has the names of 76 pharaohs carved in it. Pilgrims came from across Egypt, leaving offerings and participating in Osiris festivals, where his demise and rebirth were ritually reenacted. It wasn't just symbolic worship, it was Egypt's version of Comic-Con. But instead of cos playing superheroes, people reenacted gods coming back to life. Obviously, pharaohs competed to be buried as close to Osiris as possible. Abydos became part cemetery, part holy city, part [music] afterlife insurance policy.
Fast forward thousands of [music] years, and we still uncover remarkable stuff around Abydos.
That's the case with the recently discovered tomb. In early 2025, a joint team of researchers from the US and Egypt decided to dig beneath a rocky rise ominously called Anubis Mountain.
You remember Anubis, the jackal-headed deity who guarded cemeteries.
The uncovered royal burial was hidden 23 ft below the surface.
>> [music] >> Sadly, even though it eluded archaeologists for so long, robbers had already taken away with treasures [music] ages ago.
They could definitely tell this was a tomb of someone super important.
Similar to how you can walk around a mansion with no furniture, but still deduce that someone rich must have lived there.
The chamber had mud-brick vaults [music] rising over 16 ft. That's taller than a female giraffe standing upright.
For something built [music] 36 centuries ago, it still felt enormous.
However, when you remember that [music] Egyptians were masters of architecture, nothing seems surprising.
So, no treasures, no golden mask, and sadly, no name.
The cartouche that should have spelled the king's identity was unreadable.
Egyptian tombs usually bragged about who was inside.
In ancient Egypt, a cartouche was basically a big oval name tag for kings wrapped in hieroglyphs.
Think of them as VIP passes that worked in both [music] this life and the next.
Without it, your soul couldn't check into the afterlife hotel.
That's because to the Egyptians, your name, your ren, wasn't just so your teacher could distinguish you from kids with the same haircut.
>> [music] >> It was a core part of who you were.
As long as your ren survived, so did you.
To have your name forgotten was considered a fate worse than passing away. A soul cannot journey without a name.
That's why you'd see cartouches all over the place, on temples, obelisks, jewelry, [music] statues, and tomb walls. It wasn't there just for the marketing. It kept the pharaoh's presence front and [music] center everywhere you look.
Imagine building a massive tomb, only for 3,600 years later to walk in and go, uh, who is this guy again?
Not cool [music] at all. That's why it's fair to imagine our nameless pharaoh haunting the robbers for all eternity.
[music] So, yeah, cartouche was considered very significant. One of the most famous and mind-blowing examples comes from the tomb of Thutmose the Third.
His burial chamber and sarcophagus were literally shaped like a cartouche. In other words, the entire room was a living architectural symbol of his name.
Thankfully, in the recently discovered tomb, not everything was erased. Painted in golden hues at the entrance were two familiar guardians, deities Isis and Nephthys.
Isis was the magician who stitched Osiris back together and breathed life into him.
Nephthys, her sister, was the eternal mourner and protector of the mummy.
Together, they promised that whoever rested here would not face the afterlife alone. And it's one additional [music] proof of the importance of the mysterious pharaoh.
So, who could this be?
To answer that, we need to go down history lane. This tomb dates back to Egypt's messy chapter called the Second Intermediate Period.
Instead of one ruler in charge, the country had many rival kingdoms, each with its own little power base, like a real-life Egyptian version of Game of Thrones.
And right in the middle of that chaos was [music] Abydos.
For a while, it was home to its own line of kings, the so-called Abydos Dynasty.
Those weren't the pyramid builders everyone knows, and that's why they're so mysterious.
They left behind almost nothing. No great monuments, no sprawling cities, just fragments of names on broken blocks.
For centuries, many scholars even doubted they existed at all.
That sort of changed in 2014 when archaeologists uncovered the tomb of Senebkay, >> [music] >> one of those shadowy kings.
Now, everything we know about Senebkay points to him having quite a story to tell.
His bones revealed 18 deep wounds, the kind [music] you get in battle. He had blows to his skull, back, and hands, and likely lost his life fighting, making him one of the few pharaohs we know who sadly fell in combat.
His tomb [music] was modest with reused artifacts from earlier kings, but it delivered one priceless thing, proof.
Until [music] Senebkay, the Abydos Dynasty was just a theory. With him, it became real.
And that's why the new discovery could be a big deal.
The newly uncovered royal tomb at Abydos >> [music] >> shares the same layout and style as Senebkay's.
It has limestone chambers, mud-brick [music] vaults, and protective deities, although it's much bigger.
Which again raises the possibility that we're looking [music] at an even earlier, more powerful ruler of Abydos.
Whoever he was, he wanted to be remembered alongside the greats.
Which is ironic cuz it seems that history tried erasing him. Perhaps additional findings alongside his tomb could tell us more.
Yes, there's more, and it's actually pretty cool.
Not far from Abydos, in the village of Banawit, archaeologists uncovered a Roman-era pottery [music] workshop.
Yeah, you heard that right, a pottery factory close to a pharaoh's burial ground.
The site had huge clay kilns, storage rooms, [music] and even broken shards called ostraca. They were basically ancient sticky notes.
>> [music] >> Except instead of shopping lists, those had receipts scratched onto them in Greek and Demotic Egyptian.
Little records of everyday transactions, the kind of thing you'd never expect to find near a lost dynasty king. Honestly, the potters [music] missed a chance.
Forget boring receipts, they should have been selling Osiris's mugs and Anubis figurines to pilgrims and tourists.
But that's not all. It seems that centuries later, during the medieval period, the same ground became a cemetery.
Archaeologists found mud-brick graves with skeletal remains. This could mean that Abydos kept its aura of significance for hundreds of years after the age of pharaohs.
So, why this hill again and again?
Is this place really a getaway to the afterlife?
It is, after all, the very place where Osiris is said to rest.
That belief lingered like a shadow for thousands of years, strong enough to pull in pharaohs and later medieval families.
Different rituals, same sacred ground.
Although, to be fair, the Romans weren't here for Osiris. They came to make pots.
The story of Abydos is not over. The excavations will continue, and who knows what else could be discovered in the future.
Today, archaeologists are armed with tools that are basically X-ray glasses for the desert.
Every scan could reveal a hidden chamber, or if we're lucky, finally give our nameless pharaoh his ren back to him. In fact, I became strangely invested in finding out who he was.
So, let's hope for some news soon.
It's only a matter of time.
Do you have your own theories? Let me know.
It's night time, and you're about to walk inside Pharaoh Tutankhamun's final [music] resting place. You know, King Tut. You don't have a torch, but at least you came with a flashlight.
[music] You walk down several flights of stairs and observe how the walls are carved in hieroglyphics [music] and what looks like a spell.
"Those who take anything from this place will be [music] doomed for life." the spell says.
Even if you don't really believe it, this scares you a little bit. You find a huge stone door.
>> [music] >> Is it a trap? You manage to open it, but oh, no, it's only an empty chamber.
[music] You check your map. It seems like you're heading in the right direction. After what feels like hours, you realize you must be trapped inside a labyrinth. You [music] try to retrace your steps, but you can't find the door where you came in from anymore. That's it, you think to yourself, you've fallen for the pharaoh's trap. [music] What's worse, you didn't bring a lunch.
Okay, so we've all seen Hollywood movies where the main character is exploring ancient ruins and faces some seriously dangerous traps, right? We've been told Egyptian royalty protected their final resting places with venomous scorpions and snakes, [music] sliding doors that will trap you for life, and giant rolling boulders that will crush anyone on their paths. The thing is, were these traps truly real?
Well, I regret to be the one to break it to you, but this is all fiction. These elaborate [music] traps were too technologically advanced for ancient civilizations to pull off. That is not to say, however, that there weren't [music] any traps at all.
Ancient civilizations, like the Egyptians and the Mayans, are known for their practice of building entire monuments dedicated to the ones who had passed away. These structures would often reflect the position a person occupied in society. So, for the really important people, the VIPs of their times, massive [music] monuments were built to host their bodies long after they were gone. Some of these civilizations believed that a person's life would continue on the other side of the veil. For that [music] reason, a person would be buried together with the belongings of their current life. If they had a lot of money and power and stuff, that meant their resting places [music] would be filled with riches and gold.
Now, imagine if you lived in ancient Egypt and you knew exactly where all the pharaohs' tombs were located and had heard rumors of the amount of wealth kept in these places. Maybe you would be tempted to go check it out, right? We're talking about large rooms filled from floor to ceiling with gold and artifacts, jewels, and even money. I mean, it does sound tempting.
>> [music] >> And since there weren't any security guards protecting the entrance of these places, Egyptians needed to get creative as to how they would protect [music] these riches.
These old civilizations found some traps to be useful. A recurring one was building empty rooms inside the monument to confuse a burglar. Now, let's take a look at Amenhotep III's final resting [music] place as an example. It was built in the city of Luxor, in a spot also known as the Western Valley [music] of the Kings. Two French engineers originally discovered the monument between 1905 and 1914 [music] CE. The structure is huge and has more than 10 chambers connected by long corridors and steep stairways. [music] The king's chamber is the most hidden one, and for an outsider to try and find it, they will probably enter a lot of empty rooms beforehand.
Other pharaohs tried to protect their riches by commissioning monuments with false doors concealing [music] pits that were up to 20 ft deep. This way, an unwarranted and unwanted visitor [music] would be surprised by the deep hole on their way to the king's resting chamber. Alongside false doors, pharaohs [music] made sure to build labyrinth-style corridors and false walls. This way, robbers could take hours or days before they found the king's real chamber.
As to pits with poisonous [music] snakes on them, if there were any reptiles inside these monuments, they probably got inside on their own and would most likely not [music] stay there for long.
There is no way snakes would survive years and years [music] without food inside these pits. So, yes, another Hollywood-induced belief right there.
If these traps seem boring to you, >> [music] >> archaeologists did find an interesting deterrent in the final resting place of the Red Queen of Palenque in Mexico.
Palenque was one of the most [music] powerful Mayan cities in pre-Columbian Mexico, and the Red Queen was [music] believed to be the grandmother of the last Mayan king, undoubtedly a person of immense importance [music] to the empire.
In her honor, a huge monument was built to keep her body after her passing.
The discovery of the tomb [music] itself was already thrilling. Archaeologists found an ancient monument when digging at the site back in 1994.
The first thing they found was a room with a hidden door.
Once they opened the [music] door, they discovered a long corridor. Finally, at the end of this corridor was the queen's chamber.
The team of archaeologists was beyond excited to unearth this chamber [music] with the mummy of the queen herself still inside it. They thought her to be accompanied by her pearls, jade shells, and expensive rocks. But as the team explored [music] the remains, they saw something rather strange. The room was filled with a red-colored powder.
Researchers knew that the color red [music] was important to the Mayan people and that much of their clothing and buildings were decorated with this color.
But they didn't understand why the queen was buried with this [music] unknown red substance.
After they took a sample back with them for further analysis, they discovered [music] that the red powder was cinnabar, a very dangerous mineral. This powder, [music] when inhaled, can cause, shall we say, severe health damage to a person.
The team concluded that this could only be a trap for anyone trying to steal her [music] riches.
Okay, so dangerous powders might have worked as the most intense traps we've seen until now. But, perhaps the cheapest way to keep out unwanted visitors was to advertise spells written out all over the monument. [music] We'd probably laugh at these today, but back in the day, they were more or less effective. Spells usually said that the person who took anything from that place would meet a tragic fate. Some spells said that robbers would lose their houses in big fires or terrible floods.
Other spells said burglars would [music] have incurable and undiagnosed health issues, but they weren't really enough to stop people from taking any gold.
There are some stories [music] surrounding how these spells might have been real. One of them is from the famous British Egyptologist Howard Carter, [music] the one responsible for unearthing Pharaoh Tutankhamun's resting place in the 1920s.
After months of unsuccessful digging, Carter discovered the tomb's existence by chance. He found the entrance to a stairway right beneath [music] the soil where he had been searching all those months. With the help of a team, he cleared the piles [music] of sand blocking the stairs and discovered a doorway. The door had several royal symbols carved into it, >> [music] >> and Carter knew this could only mean a very important person had been buried there. And, he was [music] right. With a chisel, he made a hole in the top left-hand corner of the doorway and lit his vision [music] with the help of a candle. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, the reflection of several golden and jeweled items crowding the chamber before him. Lost for 3,000 years, Carter had just discovered the final [music] resting place of King Tut. But, the story didn't finish here. This discovery was accompanied by a series of unfortunate events that led people to believe it had something [music] to do with the pharaoh spell. Carter himself mysteriously passed away just a few years later. And, some of his assistants lost their houses in floods, just like one of the spells threatened. Some say [music] it's just coincidental, as there's no real proof of these things being connected. Well, what do you think? Was this [music] an effective trap after all?
Let's face it. Most ancient tombs have been looted at least once. No matter how scary the rumors could have been, most mummies were opened, too. But, one. This is the Bashiri mummy, and it puzzles everyone so much that nobody dares to see what's inside.
Meet Howard, but you must know him already if you're into Egyptian history.
He's primarily famous for discovering King Tut's tomb back in 1922. But, few people know that before this revolutionary discovery, he had probably found another mummy. [music] It happened in 1919, and it goes by several names, either the Bashiri mummy or the mummy of Pacheri >> [music] >> or the untouchable one.
Some reports say that Howard stumbled upon the Bashiri mummy in Luxor's Valley of the Kings, [music] just where he would later find Tut's tomb. Despite this find, not much is known about [music] this particular mummy. The reason why it's still unharmed in any way is not because of some superstitions, but because nobody is sure that they can undo [music] what they do if something goes wrong.
The mummy is so intricately wrapped that researchers never unfurled it for fear of irreversible damage.
The golden rule [music] of anyone who works with antiquities, if you're not sure you can't make it better or preserve it unchanged, do not touch it.
History knows [music] many examples of ancient relics ruined beyond repair. Say Ecce Homo or smiling statue restoration.
The delicate fabric that [music] covers the mummy's face has this cool design that kind of looks like a pyramid. The researchers are not 100% [music] sure, but this might be the only one of its kind with that embalming style.
But, without knowing the ancient technique, it's next to impossible not to ruin the mummy while unwrapping and wrapping it back.
Back in the day, people, both experts and looters, would unwrap mummies for all sorts of reasons, mostly to study [music] them.
Luckily, these days we have advanced tech that lets us check out what's inside a sarcophagus without having to unwrap anything.
After taking a closer look at the Bashiri mummy, researchers figured out that it belonged to a man who was around 5.5 ft tall and lived during the Ptolemaic era, which makes this mummy roughly 2,300 [music] years old.
The Egypt Museum shared that the X-ray scan also uncovered an inscription of the guy's name, but it's a bit tricky to tell if it says Pacheri or Nenet, adding to the intrigue.
The museum also pointed out that the fancy casing the mummy is in features all sorts of decorated scenes. You can see the mummy lying on a bed flanked by deities Isis and Nephthys, [music] along with the four sons of Horus. Plus, there are two images of the funerary god Anubis [music] at the feet of the casing.
By the way, Bashiri mummy is not the only one that has remained untouched.
This is Isetemkheb D, and Gaston Maspero, a French archaeologist, made the decision to leave her mummy untouched, wanting to keep her resting peacefully since she was in such amazing shape.
He did mention, though, that her tomb had been raided long [music] ago.
Thanks to some X-ray work, we learned more about the mummy. The scans revealed a few artifacts still [music] wrapped up with the wife of a high priest, including amulets around her neck, right arm, and forehead.
The X-rays also showed she had some dental issues and arthritis in her knees. While she passed away as an older woman, it's [music] tough to pinpoint her exact age.
However, various sources from her son's reign indicate that she was held in high regard in the kingdom.
Isetemkheb served as the sister-wife of Pinedjem the second. You got me right.
They were related by blood and were siblings. But, back then, it was pretty common to get married this way to preserve the purity of the bloodline.
Say that to Habsburg, [music] duh.
Their chase for purity only led to inbreeding and the notorious Habsburg's [music] jaw.
Right. I guess we should not judge ancient Egyptian rules and morals. But, what we can [music] say for sure is that both Bashiri and Isetemkheb were incredibly lucky to stay untouched. The odds were not in King Tut's favor, though. The researchers' work hit him hard. The tomb itself was discovered in 1922, but it wasn't until 1925 that the nested coffins were opened during an excavation. The outer coffin, held together with silver pins, opened up to show another coffin shaped like a mummy, decorated with colorful glass and flower garlands. There were worries about the king's mummy because it had been exposed to moisture.
The middle coffin was pretty heavy and didn't have any handles, [music] so they had to be super careful taking it out.
Inside the innermost coffin, which was solid gold and wrapped in a red cloth, they found the royal mummy, and this all went down [music] on October 28th, 1925.
Tutankhamun's mummy, measuring about 6.07 ft, fit snugly into the innermost coffin, which was 6.17 ft long.
You can already tell there was a problem, right? Imagine how hard it is to extract something as fragile as an ancient dried-up mummy, especially when there's not much room for maneuver.
Plus, the mummy looked sus.
It was pitch black. Howard Carter, the lead archaeologist of the expedition, estimated that around two buckets [music] worth of oils had been poured over the mummy.
But, care had been taken to avoid the mask and feet. It was made to preserve him better. The body was positioned at a slight angle in the coffin, and there was a noticeable difference in the amount of dark oils on the right and left side, indicating that the coffin [music] might have tilted while being lowered into the sarcophagus.
This oil created moisture inside the coffins, and over time, it reacted [music] chemically, which Carter described as a sort of slow spontaneous combustion, leading to the carbonization of the linen wrappings.
Unfortunately, the combination of heat and moisture took a toll on the mummy's trappings, as well. The crook and flail fell apart. The resin scarab cracked, and the thread [music] holding the hands and mummy's bands started to decay, making everything quite fragile.
Plus, the oils hardened over the years, effectively gluing the mummy and mask [music] to the coffin's bottom.
To try and separate the mummy from the inner and middle coffins, they were placed in the sun for several hours, reaching temperatures of 149° Fahrenheit.
Despite this effort, the mummy remained stuck, so the initial examination had to be done right where it was.
The first part of Tutankhamun's mummy the researchers checked out was his lower legs and feet, meaning they started the examination from the bottom up. As they peeled back the bandages, they uncovered the first of many treasures wrapped [music] up with the king.
They took their time to carefully document and photograph everything they found. The inner layers of bandages were in pretty bad shape, mostly [music] turning to dust, making it tough to figure out how everything was originally wrapped.
Still, the overall methods matched what was seen in other nobles' mummies from that time. Lots of folded linen pads were used to shape the torso and thighs.
The outer and inner bandages were made from fine linen, while the middle layers were coarser.
They had some intricate bandaging around the shoulders and chest with a similar style around the groin.
Each limb, along with fingers and toes, which were fitted with gold caps, [music] was wrapped separately.
Tutankhamun even wore gold foil sandals on his feet.
They hoped to separate the mummy from the coffin by removing the outer bandages, but the resins had stuck the body to the coffin.
So, >> [music] >> the researchers ended up chiseling it out. To do this, they had to cut the torso in half at the hips >> [music] >> and disarticulate the arms to continue unwrapping. Each part was treated with hot paraffin wax for stability. [music] And later, the hands and feet were reattached with resin.
Finally, they used hot knives to detach the head from the mask.
To check the teeth, it was decided to make an incision around the jaw and neck, which was later fixed with resin.
So, technically, the scientists did [music] all they could to preserve the mummy, but still, in a way, it ended up being damaged beyond repair.
What do you think? Should they have left it in the coffin?
>> [music] >> Or did they do the right thing?
Let us know in the comments.
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