Google Doodle: Howard Carter and the pharaoh's curse (+video)

When archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, he may have anticipated he’d be bringing unprecedented knowledge about the Egyptian culture to the world. He probably didn’t realize he’d be bringing another cultural phenomenon as well: the superstition of a curse of the pharaohs.

Carter, an English archaeologist who began working in Egypt when he was 17, became primarily known for his discovery of the tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. The artifacts discovered in the tomb and various lectures that Carter delivered about his discoveries were largely responsible for America's sudden interest in Egyptology. Because of his stature in the archaeological community, Carter has often been represented in fiction, becoming a key character in the popular "Amelia Peabody's Egypt" mystery series by Elizabeth Peters and “The Tutankhamun Affair” by Christian Jacq, as well as being portrayed by actor Pip Torrens in the “Young Indiana Jones” TV series and by John Cleese as part of a Monty Python sketch.

The idea that those who opened a pharaoh’s tomb were cursed did not originate with Howard Carter and the opening of King Tut’s resting place. In fact, various short stories, including one by author Louisa May Alcott, had appeared before then using the device of a mummy coming back to life.

However, a series of tragedies that befell those who were involved in the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb sparked media coverage and gave rise to the superstition that that some mystical curse had affected those who had dared disturb the tomb. The first incident supposedly occurred when a pet canary kept by Carter was found dead in its cage, attacked and killed by a cobra. A cobra was often a symbol for the rulers of Egypt.

“The incident made an impression on the native staff, who regard it as a warning from the spirit of the departed King against further intrusion on the privacy of his tomb,” wrote a New York Times reporter at the time. However, the veracity of this story – whether the canary died or was ever even attacked by a cobra – has been called into question.

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