What Is the Truth behind the Mummy's Curse? 都是法老王詛咒搞的鬼？

For over a century, tales of Egyptian mummies seeking revenge over their disturbed tombs have excited the curiosity of people around the world. However, according to British archaeologist Dominic Montserrat, curses that protect the remains of ancient Egyptians are simply an invention of storywriters.

Montserrat has found that the idea of a curse was created 180 years ago by novelist Jane Loudon. In 1821, Loudon got the idea for a horror novel while watching an exhibition of mummies being unwrapped in London. Her novel featured a mummy coming back to life and seeking revenge against an archaeologist.

During the late 1860s, the vengeful mummy idea evolved into the concept of the mummy’s curse, which was made popular by several American and British novelists. Another author, Marie Corelli, issued a warning after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s (King Tut) tomb that anyone who dared enter would be severely punished.

Stories of mummy curses were widespread in the early 20th century. Some journalists even said that the Titanic sank in 1912 because an ancient Egyptian coffin was on board. Later, in 1923, the discovery of King Tut’s tomb added new life to the legend. The unexpected death of Lord Carnarvon, who led the exploration of the tomb, propelled the curse story onto the front pages of newspapers around the world.

According to Dominic Montserrat, however, there was nothing unusual about Carnarvon’s death, since he was in poor health anyway. Moreover, almost all the 26 members of the exploration team were still alive ten years later. Some curse!

Montserrat actually sees the discovery of the tomb as beneficial to King Tut’s soul. Ancient Egyptians believed that the soul of the departed survived only as long as the name was remembered. If that is true, then the discovery of King Tut’s tomb and those of other Egyptians ensures that their souls will survive for many years to come.

100多年來，埃及木乃伊向盜墓者報復的傳說激起了全世界人的好奇心。然而根據英國考古學家多米尼克·蒙瑟雷特的說法，保護古埃及人遺骸的詛咒只是小說家的一個創造。

蒙瑟雷特發現這種詛咒的構想是小說家簡·勞敦在180年前創作的。1821年當勞敦在倫敦觀看一個解開木乃伊裹布的展示時，便想到這個構思來寫恐怖小說。她的小說表現了一個木乃伊復活并向考古學家復仇。

19世紀60年代末，木乃伊復仇的構想演變成為木乃伊詛咒的觀念，并在被許多英美小說家采用后，已蔚然成風。在埃及圖坦克哈門王（塔特王）的陵墓被發現后，另一位作家瑪麗·柯瑞里發出警告：擅闖者將嚴懲不怠。

20世紀初木乃伊詛咒的故事廣為流傳。一些新聞記者甚至說，1912年泰坦尼克號的沉沒是因為船上放置了一副古埃及棺木。之后1923年塔特王陵墓的出土也為此傳說注入了新生命。率領挖掘陵墓的卡納文勛爵的猝死，更將此詛咒傳說推上全球報紙的頭版。

然而根據多米尼克·蒙瑟雷特的說法，卡納文的死并無異常之處，因為他的健康狀況一直欠佳。而且10年后勘探隊的26名成員幾乎都還健在。這算什么詛咒﹗