Mystery Box Found In Cursed Egyptian Tomb Opened For The First Time On Camera

The final resting place of ancient Egypt's most famous leader, King Tut's burial chamber was opened in the 1920s. The act unleashed a "mummy's curse," as many researchers affiliated with his tomb got sick or died soon after entering its hidden doors. Recently, archaeologists poking around in the chamber found a locked chest that didn't belong to King Tut. Two experts decided to open it — and a second curse struck Egypt.

Mysteries of Today

The news had traveled fast, and archaeologists, historians, and mummy-fans alike were all excited for the major event that was to take place. While most of the contents of King Tutankhamun's burial chamber had long since been sent to museums, one chest had remained a mystery. No one had ever dared to open it.

Stand By

The world was eager to find out what lay inside, but only a few people would be able to actually touch the chest. This created a puzzle: how would the team show the world what was going on? The solution was to actually film the careful opening of this mysterious chest — an idea brought up by Bettany Hughes, historian and TV host of Egypt's Great Treasures.

Centuries Later

Hughes had been observing the chest for her show, along with other experts who were preparing it for a museum exhibition at the new Grand Egypt Museum in Cairo. To the average eye, the chest appeared as a simple box — ignoring the fact that it was 3,500 years old, of course. On closer inspection, though, it was far from simple.

Undisturbed

Hughes used her knowledge of the past to emphasize the unique background of the unopened box. "One of the items in Howard Carter’s original photographs [of Tutankhamun's tomb] was this enigmatic box," she said. Since 1923, the box had been left alone...and for a well-known reason.