cursed be those that disturb the rest of Pharaoh. They that shall break the seal of this tomb shall meet death by a disease which no doctor can diagnose.”?些擾亂法老其余部分的人被詛咒了。凡是打破這墳墓封印的人，必死于醫(yī)生無法診斷的疾病

Throughout the centuries, ancient Egypt and its civilization have often been referred to in terms of the dark and mysterious. Encounters with its strange customs have frequently led people, both ancient and modern, to have misconceptions about this land. The Greeks acknowledged that much ancient wisdom, such as the basics of mathematics, architecture, art, science, medicine, and even philosophy, ultimately derived from the Egyptians; but they still had some difficulty in understanding, accepting, or even dealing with the alien and unfamiliar aspects of the religion. Greek historians often wrote about the mysterious ways in which the Egyptians worshipped their deities, such as this note by Herodotus: “There are not a great many wild animals in Egypt…Such as there are—both wild and tame—are without exception held to be sacred” (II, 65). He also wrote a disclaimer: “I am not anxious to repeat what I was told about the Egyptian religion. . . for I do not think that any one nation knows much more about such things than any other” (II, 4). Of course he then goes on to state: “[The Egyptians] are religious to excess” (II, 35-39).

Egypt was different from much of the rest of the ancient world, with its pantheon of fantastic deities, part animal, part human; its rulers who were understood to be gods on earth; its bizarre funerary practices that paid unheard of attention to the preparations for an afterlife; and its enigmatic script that was written with recognizable pictures, but remained unreadable and therefore mysterious to the uninitiated. As a result, Egypt managed to inspire both awe and fear in the foreigner who came into contact with its culture.

Today, the products of Egyptian civilization that have survived the passage of more than 3000 years provide a visible monument to its advanced state. Such accomplishments, however, often evoke suspicion rather than respect. Thus there are people who prefer to believe that Egyptian building techniques, literature, art, and mathematics derived from an alien culture from outer space, rather than to accept the documented evidence of their earthly origin. This and other equally inaccurate theories are espoused by people fondly referred to by Egyptologists as “pyramidiots.” But while some modern ideas about ancient Egypt are based on a mixture of misguided awe and respect, others appear to have originated under less innocent circumstances. One of the most persistent examples of the latter type is the so-called curse of the pharaohs.

幾個世紀以來，古埃及及其文明經(jīng)常被稱為黑暗和神秘。與其奇怪習俗的相遇經(jīng)常導致古代和現(xiàn)代人們對這片土地產(chǎn)生誤解。希臘人承認，許多古代智慧，如數(shù)學、建筑、藝術、科學、醫(yī)學甚至哲學的基礎知識，最終都來自埃及人;但他們在理解、接受甚至處理宗教中陌生和不熟悉的方面仍然有一些困難。希臘歷史學家經(jīng)常寫到埃及人崇拜他們的神靈的神秘方式，例如希羅多德的筆記：“埃及的野生動物并不多......如有——無論是狂野的還是馴服的——無一例外地被認為是神圣的“（II，65）。他還寫了一份免責聲明：“我不急于重復我被告知的關于埃及宗教的事情。因為我不認為任何一個國家比任何其他國家更了解這些事情“（II，4）。當然，他接著說：“[埃及人]虔誠得過分”（II，35-39）。

埃及與古代世界的其他大部分地區(qū)不同，它的萬神殿充滿了奇妙的神靈，部分是動物，部分是人類;它的統(tǒng)治者被理解為地球上的神;其奇異的喪葬習俗，聞所未聞地關注來世的準備工作;以及它神秘的腳本，用可識別的圖片寫成，但仍然不可讀，因此對外行來說是神秘的。結果，埃及成功地激發(fā)了接觸其文化的外國人的敬畏和恐懼。

今天，經(jīng)過3000多年幸存下來的埃及文明產(chǎn)品為其先進狀態(tài)提供了可見的紀念碑。然而，這些成就往往引起懷疑而不是尊重。因此，有些人寧愿相信埃及的建筑技術、文學、藝術和數(shù)學源自外太空的外星文化，而不是接受他們起源于地球的記錄證據(jù)。這種理論和其他同樣不準確的理論被埃及古物學家親切地稱為“金字塔”的人所擁護。但是，盡管一些關于古埃及的現(xiàn)代觀念是基于被誤導的敬畏和尊重的混合體，但其他觀念似乎起源于不那么無辜的情況下。后一種類型最持久的例子之一是所謂的法老詛咒。

An Egyptologist Cursed

During the last hundred years or so, the phrase “curse of the pharaohs” has been used to describe the cause of a large assortment of ills. These range from natural disasters to a mild stomach disorder that often plagues tourists to Egypt (also known as “pharaoh’s revenge,” or “gippy tummy”—derived from “Egyptian tummy”). I became personally involved with this curse (I mean that supposedly written by or for the pharaohs), when I became Project Egyptolo-gist for the Treasures of Tutankhamun Exhibit that traveled across the United States from 1976 to 1979.

Charged with writing the text that appeared in the exhibit, I conducted research on all aspects of the discovery, excavation, and recording of Tutankhamun’s tomb and its contents. Naturally, I came across several references to the famous “curse of King Tut.” But before I had begun to deal with that matter on more than a superficial level, I came into contact with the “curse of the curse of King?Tut.” My first published newspaper interview consisted of a few descriptive paragraphs about the exhibition that carried this headline: “Beware the beat of the bandaged feet, as the ancient Egyptian saying goes.” Of course there was no such saying in ancient Egypt. I vowed that the next time that I met with a reporter I would be more careful: I had to be assured that the tone of the column would be as professional as possible and the content totally accurate.

埃及古物學家被詛咒

在過去的一百年左右的時間里，“法老的詛咒”這個詞被用來描述各種疾病的原因。這些范圍從自然災害到經(jīng)常困擾埃及游客的輕度胃病（也稱為“法老的復仇”或“吉比肚子”，源自“埃及肚子”）。我親自參與了這個詛咒（我的意思是據(jù)說是由法老寫的或為法老寫的），當我成為1976年至1979年在美國各地巡回展出的圖坦卡蒙寶藏展覽的埃及學家時。

我負責撰寫展覽中出現(xiàn)的文字，對圖坦卡蒙墓及其內容的發(fā)現(xiàn)、挖掘和記錄的各個方面進行了研究。自然，我偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些關于著名的“圖坦王詛咒”的參考資料。但在我開始處理這個問題之前，我接觸到了“圖坦王詛咒的詛咒”。我第一次在報紙上發(fā)表的采訪包括一些關于展覽的描述性段落，標題是：“當心繃帶腳的節(jié)拍，正如古埃及諺語所說。當然，古埃及沒有這樣的說法。我發(fā)誓，下次我與記者見面時，我會更加小心：我必須保證專欄的語氣會盡可能專業(yè)，內容完全準確。

Within a matter of weeks I was interviewed again, when the crate containing Tutankhamun’s funerary mask was opened. I was circumspect, cautious, and at my scholarly best. Moreover, the entire discussion was taped; this way, I thought, I would be sure that the real facts behind the curse of King Tut were included, and any misunderstandings avoided. Afterward I waited expectantly for the newspaper to appear. The front page was as accurate as I could have hoped, but on the follow-up, the headline read: “Egyptologist admits there was a curse.” In fact, this line did bear some relationship to what I had said. In discussing the deaths of those associated with the tomb of King Tut I had remarked: “It is true that everyone who enters the tomb will die, just as it is true that everyone who crosses Woodlawn Avenue (a main thoroughfare on the University of Chicago campus) will eventually die.” I never expected to have my remark edited in such a creative way and taken out of context.

While this kind of misinformation may seem innocuous enough, there were several other articles that gratuitously included unsubstantiated “facts”, such as that which appeared in the?Washington?Post?(March 16, 1977): ” ‘Cursed be those that disturb the rest of the pharaoh’ read an inscription on his tomb.” There was in fact no curse on either the walls of the tomb or on any object found inside it. So, you may well ask, If there was no curse, how is it that there are so many of them attributed to the tomb and its owner? In the case of the articles written during the latest King Tut exhibit, I venture to say that most if not all references to the curse derived from ignorance and a desire for a catchy headline—not necessarily in that order.

幾周后，我再次接受采訪，當時裝有圖坦卡蒙葬禮面具的板條箱被打開了。我謹慎，謹慎，學術最好。此外，整個討論都被錄音了;這樣，我想，我就可以確保包括圖坦王詛咒背后的真實事實，并避免任何誤解。之后，我滿懷期待地等待報紙的出現(xiàn)。頭版和我希望的一樣準確，但在后續(xù)報道中，標題是：“埃及古物學家承認有一個詛咒。事實上，這句話確實與我所說的話有某種關系。在討論與圖坦國王墓有關的人的死亡時，我曾說過：“確實，每個進入墳墓的人都會死，就像每個穿過伍德勞恩大道（芝加哥大學校園的主干道）的人最終都會死一樣。我從沒想過我的評論會以如此創(chuàng)造性的方式進行編輯并斷章取義。

雖然這種錯誤信息似乎無傷大雅，但還有其他幾篇文章無端地包含了未經(jīng)證實的“事實”，例如出現(xiàn)在《華盛頓郵報》（16 年 1977 月 <> 日）上的文章：“'那些擾亂法老其余部分的人被詛咒'在他的墳墓上讀了銘文。事實上，無論是在墳墓的墻壁上還是在里面發(fā)現(xiàn)的任何物體上都沒有詛咒。所以，你可能會問，如果沒有詛咒，為什么有這么多詛咒歸咎于墳墓和它的主人？就最近一次圖坦王展覽期間撰寫的文章而言，我冒昧地說，大多數(shù)（如果不是全部）對詛咒的引用都源于無知和對吸引人的標題的渴望——不一定按這個順序。

The Troubles of Carter and Carnarvon

From the time of the discovery of the young pharaoh’s tomb in 1922 it was surrounded by controversy. The original concession granted to the excavators by the Egyptian government called for some division of the finds between the host country and the excavator, as had been the custom in the past.

In the end, such a division was precluded, primarily because of the desirability of keeping together the contents of a nearly intact tomb that was such an important part of the heritage of the country, not to mention the magnitude of the discovery, its impact on the world, and its effect on our knowledge of the past. While Lord Carnarvon, the sponsor of the expedition, hardly needed nor indeed expected vast remuneration for his archaeological efforts, there was the question of the cost of six years of field work conducted for Carnarvon by Howard Carter before the tomb was discovered. Moreover, there were six and one-half more years of work ahead in order to clear the tomb, and then four years of work to be completed in the laboratory before the last of the artifacts would leave the Valley of the Kings for the Cairo Museum.

In a stunning move that was calculated to deal with all of his problems (not the least of which was the overwhelming demand for information from the press), Lord Carnarvon sold the exclusive rights to publish anything about the tomb to the Times of London. By this action, Carnarvon was able not only to offset the costs of previous and future work at the site, but also to avoid constant interruptions by the press. In the past, members of the expedition had been badgered to utter distraction by reporters hungry for stories about an event that had aroused the interest of the public; now, reporters no longer had direct access to such sources. This is not to say that the Times withheld all information: it did give out stories—but only after they appeared in the Times, with the result that all other newspapers were always at least a day behind the Times with any news about the boy king.

卡特和卡那封的麻煩

從1922年發(fā)現(xiàn)年輕法老的墳墓開始，它就被爭議所包圍。埃及政府最初授予挖掘機的特許權要求在東道國和挖掘機之間對發(fā)現(xiàn)進行某種分配，這是過去的慣例。

最后，這種劃分被排除在外，主要是因為希望將幾乎完整的墳墓的內容放在一起，這是該國遺產(chǎn)的重要組成部分，更不用說發(fā)現(xiàn)的規(guī)模，它對世界的影響，以及它對我們過去知識的影響。雖然探險隊的贊助者卡那封勛爵幾乎不需要也不期望為他的考古工作提供巨額報酬，但霍華德·卡特在發(fā)現(xiàn)墳墓之前為卡那封進行的六年實地工作的成本問題是。此外，為了清理墳墓，還有六年半的工作要做，然后在實驗室完成四年的工作，最后一批文物將離開帝王谷前往開羅博物館。

為了解決他的所有問題（其中最重要的是媒體對信息的壓倒性需求），卡那封勛爵將出版有關墳墓的任何內容的專有權出售給倫敦時報。通過這一行動，Carnarvon不僅能夠抵消現(xiàn)場以前和未來工作的成本，而且還避免了媒體的不斷中斷。過去，探險隊的成員被渴望報道引起公眾興趣的事件的記者所困擾，以分散注意力;現(xiàn)在，記者不再能夠直接接觸這些消息來源。這并不是說《泰晤士報》隱瞞了所有信息：它確實發(fā)布了故事——但只是在它們出現(xiàn)在《泰晤士報》上之后，結果是所有其他報紙總是比《泰晤士報》晚一天，任何關于男孩國王的消息。

This situation angered the press, but they were not the only ones who were disgruntled. In an effort to keep tourists from interrupting those who were trying to record and clear the tomb, Carter and Carnarvon had barred virtually all but a select few from the excavation. Some officials of the Antiquities Service, other Egyptologists, and political figures from?Egypt and around the world could not gain access to the tomb easily. Such secrecy caused rumors to flourish, the most malicious of which referred to the planned theft of some objects. Unfortunately, there may well have been a bit of truth to these stories, and some authors claim that a few artifacts now in the collections of museums outside Egypt may have originated in Tut’s tomb!

Conversely, one of the objects that remained in the collection and is now on exhibit in the Cairo Museum may not have come from its designated find spot. A head of Tutankhamun portrayed as the god Nefertem emerging from a lotus depicts one of the ancient creation myths. According to Carter’s later published reports, it was found in the corridor to Tut’s tomb; this location, however, really did not make much sense, since all similar objects were found in the Treasury. Carter did not include any real information about the head in his original field reports, nor did he note it in the first volumes of his book. In fact, the figure was “discovered” in a neighboring tomb (used for storage) when a committee of officials visited the site during Carter’s absence. It was carefully wrapped, and stored in a crate with labels from a European provision shop. Despite these irregularities, no scandal emerged, and the apparently hastily devised version of its origin has become the official story: it was found in debris in the corridor, where it had been left by (ancient) thieves.

這種情況激怒了媒體，但他們并不是唯一不滿的人。為了防止游客打斷那些試圖記錄和清理墳墓的人，卡特和卡那封幾乎禁止所有人進行挖掘，只有少數(shù)人除外。古物局的一些官員、其他埃及古物學家以及來自埃及和世界各地的政治人物無法輕易進入墳墓。這種保密性導致謠言盛行，其中最惡意的謠言涉及計劃盜竊某些物品。不幸的是，這些故事很可能有一點真相，一些作者聲稱，現(xiàn)在埃及以外博物館收藏的一些文物可能起源于圖坦的墳墓！

相反，留在收藏中并于現(xiàn)在在開羅博物館展出的一件物品可能不是來自其指定的發(fā)現(xiàn)地點。圖坦卡蒙的頭像被描繪成從蓮花中出現(xiàn)的奈菲爾特姆神，描繪了古代創(chuàng)世神話之一。根據(jù)卡特后來發(fā)表的報道，它是在通往圖坦卡蒙墓的走廊里發(fā)現(xiàn)的;然而，這個位置真的沒有多大意義，因為在財政部發(fā)現(xiàn)了所有類似的物體?？ㄌ卦谒畛醯膶嵉貓蟾嬷袥]有包括任何關于頭部的真實信息，也沒有在他的書的第一卷中注明。事實上，這個人物是在卡特缺席期間，當一個官員委員會訪問該地點時，在鄰近的墳墓（用于存儲）中“發(fā)現(xiàn)”的。它被小心地包裝起來，并存放在一個帶有歐洲供應店標簽的板條箱中。盡管存在這些違規(guī)行為，但沒有出現(xiàn)任何丑聞，顯然是倉促設計的起源版本已成為官方故事：它是在走廊的碎片中發(fā)現(xiàn)的，它是（古代）小偷留下的。

While the media missed out on this particular episode, they did have a field day when Lord Carnarvon died on May 6, 1923—less than a year after the discovery of the tomb. There were all sorts of versions of the specific “curse” to which Carnarvon’s death could be attributed, but most tried to relate it to an inscription of warning in the tomb. Some of the reporters had the aid of disgruntled Egyptologists, who had not only been denied access to the tomb, but also any information about it. Since there was no love lost between Carter and Carnarvon and some of their scholarly colleagues, there was always someone who was willing to provide information about certain objects or inscriptions in the tomb, based solely on published photographs. In this manner, many inscriptions could be construed as curses by the public, especially after a “re-translation” by the press. For example, an innocuous text inscribed on mud plaster before the Anubis shrine in the Treasury stated: “I am the one who prevents the sand from blocking the secret chamber,” In the newspaper, it metamorphized into: “…I will kill all of those who cross this threshold into the sacred precincts of the royal king who lives forever.”

Such misrepresentation proliferated, and soon curses were being found in all of the inscriptions. Since few people could read the texts and thereby check the original, the re-porters were safe. They could (and did) publish a photograph of the large golden shrine in the Burial Chamber, together with a “translation” of the accompanying inscription: “They who enter this sacred tomb shall swift be visited by wings of death.” The carved figure of a winged goddess that accompanied the shrine would no doubt reinforce the “translated” threat. In reality, the texts on this shrine come from The Book of the Dead—a collection of spells intended to en

雖然媒體錯過了這一特殊事件，但他們確實有一個野外日，卡那封勛爵于 6 年 1923 月 <> 日去世——距離發(fā)現(xiàn)墳墓不到一年。卡那封的死可以歸因于特定的“詛咒”有各種各樣的版本，但大多數(shù)人試圖將其與墳墓中的警告銘文聯(lián)系起來。一些記者得到了心懷不滿的埃及古物學家的幫助，他們不僅被拒絕進入墳墓，而且還被拒絕進入任何有關它的信息。由于卡特和卡那封以及他們的一些學術同事之間沒有失去愛情，總有人愿意僅根據(jù)出版的照片提供有關墳墓中某些物品或銘文的信息。以這種方式，許多銘文可能被公眾解釋為詛咒，尤其是在媒體“重新翻譯”之后。例如，在財政部阿努比斯神殿前刻在泥膏上的無害文字說：“我是阻止沙子堵塞密室的人”，在報紙上，它變成了：“......我要殺了所有越過這道門檻進入永生王王的神圣領地的人。

這種歪曲激增，很快在所有銘文中都發(fā)現(xiàn)了詛咒。由于很少有人能閱讀文本并因此檢查原文，因此記者是安全的。他們可以（并且確實）發(fā)布一張墓室中大型金色神龕的照片，以及隨附銘文的“翻譯”：“進入這座神圣墳墓的人將迅速受到死亡之翼的訪問。伴隨神社的有翼女神的雕刻形象無疑會加強“翻譯”的威脅。實際上，這座神社的文字來自《死者之書》——一系列旨在確保永生的咒語，而不是縮短永生！

sure eternal life, not to shorten it!

Poor Lord Carnarvon. His death, rather than promoting the peace and quiet that he wished for himself and his colleague Howard Carter, resulted in more interest in, and scandal and intrigue about, the discoverers of King Tut. Every newspaper around the world carried a story about Lord Carnarvon’s death from the mysterious and ominous forces unleashed from the tomb that he was responsible for opening. All sorts of related phenomena were also attributed to the action of the curse upon the defiler of the tomb. For example, all the lights in Cairo were reported to have gone out at the precise moment of Lord Carnarvon’s death. The loss of electricity in Cairo; however, was not an uncommon occurrence, and is an experience that most tourists to Egypt have encountered several times.

Carnarvon’s son, Lord Porchester, added to the mystery by recounting that his father’s dog, at home at the family castle Highclere, let out a pitiful cry at the moment of its master’s death, and then it too died. It appears, however, that Lord Porchester was in India at the time of his father’s death, so the story of the dog’s demise must have been related to him, not actually seen by him. It is pertinent to note that the estate of the deceased Lord Carnarvon continued to reap the benefits of the arrangement made with the Times of London, receiving a percentage of the profits realized from the sale of stories. Keeping the interest of the public at fever pitch was a lucrative business for both the Times and Carnavon’s estate. During the Chicago portion of the recent exhibition (April 15-August 15, 1977), Lord Carnarvon’s heir stated that although he did not know if there was a curse, he wouldn’t take one million pounds to enter the tomb. The real story behind the death of Carnarvon is not quite so dramatic, if no less tragic. It appears that he died of an infection that caused blood poisoning, and that the origin of this infection was a mosquito bite on the cheek, cut open by a razor during shaving.

可憐的卡那封勛爵。他的死，非但沒有促進他希望自己和他的同事霍華德·卡特的和平與安寧，反而引起了人們對圖坦卡坦王發(fā)現(xiàn)者的更多興趣、丑聞和陰謀。世界各地的每家報紙都刊登了關于卡那封勛爵死于他負責打開的墳墓釋放的神秘和不祥力量的故事。各種相關現(xiàn)象也歸因于詛咒對墳墓玷污者的作用。例如，據(jù)報道，開羅的所有燈都在卡那封勛爵去世的那一刻熄滅。開羅的電力損失;然而，這種情況并不少見，而且是大多數(shù)前往埃及的游客都遇到過幾次的經(jīng)歷。

卡那封的兒子波切斯特勛爵（Lord Porchester）講述了他父親的狗在?？死麪柤易宄潜さ募抑校谥魅巳ナ赖哪且豢贪l(fā)出了可憐的哭聲，然后它也死了。然而，波切斯特勛爵在他父親去世時似乎在印度，所以狗死亡的故事一定與他有關，而不是他實際看到的。值得注意的是，已故卡那封勛爵的遺產(chǎn)繼續(xù)從與倫敦時報達成的安排中獲益，從出售故事中獲得一定比例的利潤。保持公眾的興趣對《泰晤士報》和卡納文的遺產(chǎn)來說都是一項有利可圖的生意。在最近展覽的芝加哥部分（15年15月1977日至<>月<>日），卡那封勛爵的繼承人表示，雖然他不知道是否有詛咒，但他不會拿一百萬英鎊進入墳墓?？欠庵辣澈蟮恼鎸嵐适虏]有那么戲劇化，如果同樣悲慘的話。他似乎死于導致血液中毒的感染，這種感染的起源是蚊子叮咬臉頰，在剃須時被剃須刀切開。

Corroboration for Tutankhamun’s curse mounted as people died who could be associated in some way with Carnavon or with the tomb. More rational explanations of these deaths were overlooked by the reporters, who could finally get a scoop and not have to wait for the Times to present their facts. Throughout the world, the story of the death of Carnarvon was recounted in detail, though not necessarily with accuracy. The press began to have a field day after the death of Carter’s conservator (A.C. Mace of the Metropolitan Museum of Art); the fact that Mace had had pleurisy for a long time did not appear to affect the storytellers. So another man fell to the curse. A friend of Carnarvon’s who was infirm and elderly was the next to succumb. Then the Egyptologist, archaeologist, and writer Weigall (whom Carter and Carnarvon had attempted to keep out of the tomb under any circumstances) died too, supposedly from the curse. An Egyptian prince was murdered in London by his jealous French wife–another victim! Soon the papers carried stories of curators and workmen from museums all over the world, who had neither visited the tomb nor come into close contact with any of its contents, but had nevertheless been struck down. Nervous people began cleaning out their basements and attics and sending their Egyptian relics to museums in order to avoid being the next victim.

Times have not changed. About 15 years ago, the Director General of the Egyptian Antiquities Department (Dr. Gamal Mehrez) died; he had been chronically ill, but his death was attributed to the movement of King Tut’s treasures for an exhibition in England. Even more recently, I had to testify for the prosecution at the trial of a man who had murdered his wife because (the defense claimed) he had been cursed by an Egyptian object that had come into the couple’s possession.

Carter, it should be noted, died in bed of natural causes at the age of 67 (March 2, 1939), more than 17 years after he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun.

圖坦卡蒙的詛咒越來越確鑿，因為人們的死亡可能以某種方式與卡納馮或墳墓有關。對這些死亡的更合理的解釋被記者忽略了，他們終于可以得到獨家新聞，而不必等待《紐約時報》陳述他們的事實。在世界各地，卡那封之死的故事被詳細敘述，盡管不一定準確。在卡特的保護人（大都會藝術博物館的A.C.梅斯）去世后，媒體開始有一個現(xiàn)場日;梅斯長期患有胸膜炎的事實似乎并沒有影響講故事的人。于是另一個人墮落到詛咒中?？欠獾囊晃惑w弱多病的朋友是下一個屈服的人。然后埃及古物學家、考古學家和作家魏格爾（卡特和卡那封在任何情況下都試圖將他排除在墳墓之外）也死了，據(jù)說是死于詛咒。一位埃及王子在倫敦被他嫉妒的法國妻子謀殺——另一個受害者！很快，報紙上刊登了世界各地博物館的策展人和工人的故事，他們既沒有參觀過墳墓，也沒有近距離接觸過墳墓的任何內容，但仍然被擊倒了。緊張的人們開始清理他們的地下室和閣樓，并將他們的埃及文物送到博物館，以避免成為下一個受害者。

時代沒有改變。大約15年前，埃及文物局局長（賈邁勒·梅赫雷斯博士）去世;他患有慢性病，但他的死亡歸因于圖坦卡蒙國王的寶藏在英國的展覽中移動。甚至最近，我不得不在審判一名謀殺妻子的男子時為控方作證，因為（辯方聲稱）他被這對夫婦擁有的埃及物品詛咒。

應該指出的是，卡特因自然原因在床上去世，享年 67 歲（三月 2，1939年），在他發(fā)現(xiàn)圖坦卡蒙墓17年后。

Some Real Egyptian Curses

All of the fabrications and exaggerations described above neglect two points. The first is that there may well have been some natural phenomena in Tut’s tomb (or any tomb, for that matter) that could cause disease, for example, molds or spores. It is a fact that paleopathologists and microbiologists now suggest that mummies be examined by people wearing gloves and masks to prevent the spread of any infection. Indeed, the?Philadelphia Inquirer?recently ran an article on this topic, entitled “Thesis: Fungi, not a curse, killed the finders of King Tut’s Tomb” (July 30, 1985). Of course, this theory does not account for Carter’s remarkable resistance to the micro-organisms, not to mention the workers and scientists attached to the project, officials, and tourists who also survived.

The second point is that the ancient Egyptians did in fact use curses. Most of them are couched in the form of threats, and they occur mainly on the monuments of private citizens rather than on those of royalty (see box). This interesting observation may indicate that royalty had protection against its enemies through other sources. In fact, most of the curses come from inscriptions on the walls of private tombs of the Old Kingdom, during a time when the royal tombs (pyramids) were decorated with a set of spells called Pyramid Texts that were meant as aids, advice, and directions for the king. Because of their size, prominence, and the existence of a large group of priests attached to the funerary complex, the royal funerary monuments obviously had the protection they needed.

Royal curses, when they do occur, are directed more toward this life than the next. There is an address at Deir el Bahri by Thutmose I to the court of his daughter, the reigning pharaoh Hatshepsut: “He who will adore her, he will live; he who will speak evil in a curse against her majesty, he will die” (Sethe 1906:15 ff). Somewhat distinct are the “execration texts” that occur on pottery bowls and figurines from the end of the 12th-13th Dynasty. These are curses against foreign states or peoples that might act or had already acted against Egypt. At appropriate times, the objects with their curses were ritually smashed.

Royal curses, when they do occur, are directed more toward this life than the next. There is an address at Deir el Bahri by Thutmose I to the court of his daughter, the reigning pharaoh Hatshepsut: “He who will adore her, he will live; he who will speak evil in a curse against her majesty, he will die” (Sethe 1906:15 ff). Somewhat distinct are the “execration texts” that occur on pottery bowls and figurines from the end of the 12th-13th Dynasty. These are curses against foreign states or peoples that might act or had already acted against Egypt. At appropriate times, the objects with their curses were ritually smashed.

Amenhotep, son of Hapu, was a remarkable figure from the 18th Dynasty, who was later deified (in the 21st Dynasty). A mortuary temple which was built in his honor was protected by a rather lengthy and detailed curse:

?“As for [anyone] who will come after me and who will find the foundation of the funerary tomb in destruction…
as for anyone who will take the personnel from among my people…
as for all others who will turn them astray…
I will not allow them to perform their scribal function…
I will put them in the furnace of the king…
His uraeus will vomit flame upon the top of their heads, demolishing their flesh and devouring their bones.
hey will become Apophis [a divine serpent who is van-quished] on the morning of the day of the year.
They will capsize in the sea which will devour their bodies.
They will not receive honors received by virtuous people. They will not be able to swallow offerings of the dead.
One will not pour for them water in libation…
Their sons will not occupy their places, their women will be violated before their eyes.
Their great ones will be so lost in their houses that they will be upon the floor…
They will not understand the words of the king at the time when he is in joy.
They will be doomed to the knife on the day of massacre…
Their bodies will decay because they will starve and will not have sustenance and their bones will perish” (British Museum Stele 138; Varille 1968).

Important decrees could also be protected by threats, especially in regard to specific individuals already proclaimed guilty, as this indictment shows:

“As to any king and powerful person who will forgive him, he will not receive the white crown, he will not raise up the red crown, he will not dwell upon the throne of Horus of the living. As for any commander or mayor who will petition my lord to pardon him, his property and his fields will be put as offerings for my father Min of Coptos” (Sethe 1959:98, 16ff).

It is clear that while the Egyptians rarely made the kind of curses that you find in the headlines, they did understand the power of negative thinking and saying. Their curses are hardly a mystery, hardly an enigma. Their suggestive remarks and threats were meant to dissuade those who might act against them. The means by which this was ac-complished was the written word, so important in all aspects of Egyptian culture. The curse would survive as long as the monument on which it was written.

一些真正的埃及詛咒

上述所有捏造和夸大都忽略了兩點。首先，圖坦的墳墓（或任何墳墓，就此而言）中很可能有一些自然現(xiàn)象可能導致疾病，例如霉菌或孢子。事實上，古病理學家和微生物學家現(xiàn)在建議戴手套和口罩的人檢查木乃伊，以防止任何感染的傳播。事實上，《費城問詢報》最近發(fā)表了一篇關于這個話題的文章，題為“論文：真菌，而不是詛咒，殺死了圖坦王墓的發(fā)現(xiàn)者”（30 年 1985 月 <> 日）。當然，這個理論并不能解釋卡特對微生物的顯著抵抗力，更不用說與該項目相關的工人和科學家，官員和游客也幸存下來了。

第二點是古埃及人確實使用了詛咒。其中大多數(shù)以威脅的形式出現(xiàn)，主要發(fā)生在私人公民的紀念碑上，而不是皇室的紀念碑上（見方框）。這一有趣的觀察可能表明，皇室通過其他來源保護其敵人。事實上，大多數(shù)詛咒來自舊王國私人陵墓墻壁上的銘文，當時皇家陵墓（金字塔）裝飾著一套稱為金字塔文本的咒語，旨在為國王提供幫助、建議和方向。由于它們的規(guī)模，突出性以及附屬于葬禮建筑群的一大群牧師的存在，皇家葬禮紀念碑顯然得到了他們需要的保護。

皇家詛咒，當它們真的發(fā)生時，更多地針對今生而不是來世。圖特摩斯一世在代爾巴赫里對他的女兒，在位法老哈特謝普蘇特的宮廷有一段講話：“誰會崇拜她，他就會活著;誰要說壞話，詛咒女王陛下，他就死了“（Sethe 1906：15 ff）。有些不同的是第12至13王朝末期陶碗和小雕像上的“釋經(jīng)文字”。這些是對可能或已經(jīng)對埃及采取行動的外國或人民的詛咒。在適當?shù)臅r候，帶有詛咒的物體被儀式性地砸碎。

哈普的兒子阿蒙霍特普是第18王朝的杰出人物，后來被神化（在第21王朝）。為紀念他而建造的太平間寺廟受到一個相當冗長而詳細的詛咒的保護：

“至于[任何人]會追隨我，誰會發(fā)現(xiàn)葬禮墳墓的地基被摧毀了......
至于誰會從我的人民中帶走人員......
至于所有會讓他們誤入歧途的人......
我不會允許他們執(zhí)行他們的涂鴉功能......
我會把它們放在國王的爐子里...
他的烏拉烏斯會在他們的頭頂上吐出火焰，摧毀他們的肉體并吞噬他們的骨頭。
嘿，將在一年中的早晨成為阿波菲斯[一條被征服的神蛇]。
他們會在海里傾覆，吞噬他們的身體。
他們不會得到有德行的人所獲得的榮譽。他們將無法吞下死者的祭品。
一個人不會在解放中為他們倒水...
他們的兒子不會占據(jù)他們的位置，他們的女人會在他們眼前受到侵犯。
他們的偉大人物將迷失在他們的房子里，以至于他們將在地板上......
他們不會理解國王在喜樂的時候的話。
他們將在大屠殺的那一天注定要被刀子砍倒......
他們的身體會腐爛，因為他們會挨餓，沒有食物，他們的骨頭會滅亡“（大英博物館石碑138;瓦里爾1968）。

重要的法令也可能受到威脅的保護，特別是對已經(jīng)宣布有罪的特定個人，如本起訴書所示：

“至于任何國王和有權勢的人，他不會得到白冠，他不會舉起紅冠，他不會住在活人荷魯斯的寶座上。至于任何指揮官或市長，誰會請求我的領主赦免他，他的財產(chǎn)和他的田地將作為祭品獻給我父親的科普托斯敏“（Sethe 1959：98，16ff）。

很明顯，雖然埃及人很少像你在頭條新聞中看到的那樣詛咒，但他們確實理解消極思維和言論的力量。他們的詛咒幾乎不是一個謎，幾乎不是一個謎。他們的暗示性言論和威脅是為了勸阻那些可能對他們采取行動的人。實現(xiàn)這一目標的手段是書面文字，在埃及文化的各個方面都非常重要。詛咒會像寫它的紀念碑一樣長存。