The Tutankhamun Deception: The Truth Behind the Mummy's Curse
| Format: | Paperback 350 pages |
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Synopsis
The discovery and excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb is one of the most famous archeological finds in history. but compelling evidence suggests the story we know is a sham: Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon actually discovered Tutankhamun's tomb several years before they told the world they did, looted it (even destroying some artefacts to make it look as though tomb robbers from centuries before had been there), re-sealed it, then led the world's media back to the site to claim their place in history. This book tells the story of the skullduggery that went on in the Valley of the Kings between the wars and how the famous Mummy's Curse, far from being something mystical, could well have been a systematic way of getting rid of those who were about to blow the cover on the secret of the find, and the secrets of the tomb.
Book details
Published
09/08/2002
Publisher
Pan Books
ISBN
9780330481687
Publisher and industry reviews
UK Kirkus review
Ah, conspiracy theorists. You can hear the publishers rubbing their hands. Every week brings new exposes, shocking facts never before revealed, radical new insights and the rest. And most of it's junk. Sidgwick and Jackson should therefore be congratulated on finding, in this book, what seems to be a genuine case concerning one of the last century's most significant cultural events: the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Drawing on his 30 years' experience in Egypt, O'Farrell has uncovered a set of inconsistencies in the various accounts of the discovery and surrounding events which point to something very definitely 'going on'. Without giving the game away too much, the circumstantial evidence suggests that the boy-king's tomb was in fact located by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon a number of years before the official announcement of its discovery, the intervening period having been used to 're-locate' a massive number of artefacts from the site to the joint benefit of the two excavators. O'Farrell takes us through the story with none of the frothing zeal of the monomaniac - he merely tells us the facts he has uncovered and posits a number of very plausible hypotheses involving the downfall of many of those associated with the affair, and the spawning of the 'mummy's curse' legend which has hovered around the treasure for nearly a century. The effects of this deception seem to have been wide-reaching, involving some of the early 20th century's best-known names and having implications in spiritual and historical spheres so great that they had to be suppressed. On this last matter, O'Farrell is curiously less than forthcoming - suggestions so momentous that they would force a paradigm shift for Western and Middle Eastern society are dropped in and then not mentioned again. A conspiracy theorist might be tempted to think that the author has been 'got at' - in reality, it probably heralds another book on the subject in the pipeline. Adventurers, bandits, tomb-robbers, aristocrats, treasure, mummies, and a great story. Watch out for the video-game. (Kirkus UK)
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