Lord Carnarvon: Cursed or Blessed? Quiz

Answer: Horses and automobiles

In 1902 Lord Carnarvon established a business to breed racehorses; he was appointed one of the stewards of Newbury Racecourse in 1905. The family remained avid fans of horse racing; his grandson, Henry, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, was Queen Elizabeth II's Racing Manager from 1969 until his death in 2001.

As far as his hobby as an automobilist is concerned, it is said that while the Earl considered himself a careful driver, he was sometimes rebuked for driving too fast.

Answer: He was injured in a car accident.

Sometimes said to drive too fast, one account said that Lord Carnarvon drove "like a flash"; at speeds of up to twenty miles per hour, he would whiz past pedestrians and cyclists! In 1901 he was involved in a car crash in Germany, which left him weak and unable to bear the cold, damp climate of England.

He began to spend the winters in Egypt in 1903. While the climate was appealing, he found life there very dull. That is when he became an amateur archaeologist. Lord Carnarvon, and sometimes his wife, would sit in a screened cage and watch the workers dig. That was when he decided he needed to find someone with some expertise to help with the endeavor.

Answer: Howard Carter

Gaston Maspero, who was the Director of the Antiquities Department in Egypt, suggested that Lord Carnarvon should meet a young archaeologist named Howard Carter. In 1904, while working for the Egyptian Antiquities Service, Carter worked supervising excavations near Thebes; later he was moved to the area of Lower Egypt. During this time he found the tombs of Thutmose I and Thutmose III; they had, however, been robbed of treasures in ancient times.

In 1907, Carter was hired to work in the area of ancient Thebes, modern Luxor, for Lord Carnarvon.

Answer: He had to to gain concessions from the Egyptian government.

From the beginning of their association, Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter had wanted to dig in the Valley of the Kings. However, an American archaeologist, Theodore Davis, held the concession, or permission from the Egyptian government needed to look for artifacts in the Valley of the Kings.

When Davis gave up the concession in 1914, he thought that there were no other artifacts to find there; it has been said that when Davis gave up the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings, he had been only two meters from finding the passage to the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Answer: True

In digging around Thebes, Carter found the tomb of the 18th Dynasty mayor of Thebes, as well as several private tombs dating from the end of the Middle Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom. Two "lost" temples, belonging to Queen Hatshepsut and Ramesses IV, were also uncovered; digging in the Valley of the Kings, however, was their goal.

After finally gaining the concession to dig there beginning with the season of 1914-15, they were faced with some difficulties, including the interference of World War I. By 1917, Carter, who had been used as a diplomatic courier in Egypt during the war, was able to resume work in the Valley of the Kings, but found little success.

By the end of the 1921-22 season, Lord Carnarvon told Carter that he would no longer be able to finance the archaeological dig.

Answer: False

When faced with losing the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings, Carter asked Lord Carnarvon for one more season, during which he would use his own money to finance the dig. Carnarvon agreed; it was during that time, in November of 1922, that the monumental discovery was made. Lord Carnarvon was in England when Carter found the steps that would eventually lead them to the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

As the stairway was cleared, it became apparent that the seals to the doorway were intact. What fortitude did Carter have to summon when he ordered the stairway refilled? He sent a telegram to Lord Carnarvon, "At last have made wonderful discovery in valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; recovered same for your arrival; congratulations".

It took about two weeks for Lord Carnarvon to make his way to Egypt, but Carter did not resume work at the site until Lord Carnarvon arrived. Finally work resumed, and they entered the passage together. "Can you see anything"? Carnarvon asked? "Yes, wonderful things...", Carter replied.

Answer: He was bitten by a mosquito.

The burial chamber of the tomb was opened in February 1923, and Lord Carnarvon was there to enjoy the discovery. Shortly after, he left for Aswan for a few days rest. It was during this time that he was bitten on the cheek by a mosquito.

Answer: He nicked it while shaving.

While watching a program, "Mysteries of the Pyramids" that was produced in 1994, I saw the razor that Lord Carnarvon used at the time he nicked the mosquito bite. The family still has it, and it didn't look like the one in the picture! Pictured is an ancient Egyptian shaving razor that dates to 1550-1292 BC.

What probably happened was that after Lord Carnarvon cut the bite, he contracted erysipelas which led to blood poisoning, which led to pneumonia. Of course, nobody dies from a mosquito bite, but Lord Carnarvon suffered from a rather odd chain of events.

Answer: Cairo

Lord Carnarvon's daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, was with him when he entered the burial chamber of King Tutankhamun's tomb, and she traveled to Aswan with him. After he became ill, she convinced him to rest, and after two days he felt better. When he suffered a relapse, she made arrangements for her father to be moved to Cairo, where he died.

At the time he died, there was a blackout in the city, which no one could explain. It was also said that at the precise time of death, his favorite dog in England barked and fell over dead as well. Was it the curse of the mummy?

Answer: Highclere Castle

While staying in Egypt, Lord Carnarvon apparently collected a number of quality Egyptian artifacts that were purchased in local antiquity markets. While the plan was to resell the items to collectors at a profit, many of the artifacts remained in his possession. His will directed his wife to sell the collection to the British Museum for 20,000 pounds sterling. However, they were eventually sold to his second choice, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, for $145,000.

In 1987, when Lord Carnarvon's grandson was taking an inventory at Highclere Castle, a 75 year-old butler, who had worked there for quite some time, revealed that he knew there were Egyptian artifacts sealed in a cupboard that apparently hadn't been opened for quite some time. More than three hundred artifacts were uncovered and can be viewed in the "Egyptian Exibition" today.