00:00Researchers have discovered old artefacts very close to Tutankhamun's grave.
00:06It turns out that this resting place, supposedly reserved for the elite,
00:10is more like a common necropolis,
00:12sheltering a dozen wooden coffins dating from around 3600 years ago.
00:16Okay, I may have exaggerated a bit.
00:19These 11 graves were not exactly next to those of Tutankhamun,
00:23but relatively close, on the outskirts of Luxor.
00:27Recent discoveries in Egyptian graves
00:30provide valuable indications of everyday life in Ancient Egypt.
00:34And contrary to all expectations,
00:36it appears that the Egyptians shared many similarities with our modern civilisations.
00:41Women have worn necklaces since the dawn of time,
00:44and archaeologists have found a necklace of remarkable finesse,
00:48made up of 30 amethyst pearls and 2 agate pearls,
00:52as well as a pendant in the shape of a hippopotamus head,
00:55probably very popular at the time.
00:57Researchers have also discovered two copper mirrors,
01:00one with a lotus-shaped neck,
01:03the other adorned with the goddess Hathor,
01:06associated with heaven, femininity, fertility and love.
01:10These recent excavations on the outskirts of Tutankhamun's grave
01:14have revealed a striking discovery.
01:16For the first time in millennia,
01:18remains of the funeral temple of Queen Hatshepsut have been discovered.
01:23So try to repeat it 10 times quickly.
01:26In the end, forget it.
01:28Considered the second woman to have reigned as a pharaoh,
01:31this sovereign exercised her power with courage and wisdom,
01:34leaving a legacy as durable as stone.
01:37Her temple, buried for centuries,
01:40is now a precious window on an era marked by intrigue and spiritual fervor.
01:45Archaeologists have excavated more than 1,000 blocks of stone
01:48richly decorated on the outskirts of Hatshepsut's funeral temple.
01:51Few women have succeeded in accessing the throne in ancient Egypt.
01:55Nearby, another tomb has been discovered.
01:58It belonged to Djehoutimes,
02:00attendant to the palace of Queen Tethysheri.
02:02Queen Hatshepsut seems to have many more tombs,
02:05or rather assets, hidden in her sleeve.
02:07Unlike the pyramids,
02:09these tombs were directly dug into the rock,
02:12illustrating a unique approach to preserving the soul in the afterlife.
02:15The excavations have allowed us to exhume several fascinating ancient objects,
02:19such as clay toys, mummy masks,
02:22winged scarabs and a few amulets.
02:25Unfortunately, it is likely that many other artefacts have disappeared over the centuries,
02:30because less scrupulous visitors than the archaeologists
02:33have explored the site before them.
02:36There is much to be bet on that
02:38pillars are handcrafted on certain pieces of great value.
02:41However, they have left behind them
02:43some interesting remains for researchers,
02:46including pottery intended for offerings of bread and meat,
02:49as well as arches,
02:51suggesting a link between the owners of these tombs
02:54and the Egyptian army.
02:56Speaking of soul protection,
02:58it is much more essential than one might think,
03:01especially when walking on the outskirts of Luxor
03:03in search of buried secrets.
03:05You are not the kind to fear the curse of Tutankhamun,
03:09are you?
03:10Let me tell you what happened to those who braved it,
03:13but were not going to take everything at the foot of the letter.
03:16For years, some Egyptologists,
03:18in particular those who claimed to have fled from the paranormal,
03:21were convinced that a curse
03:23weighed on the discoveries linked to Tutankhamun.
03:26This belief took root in the brutal and inexplicable death
03:29of several members of the team
03:31who exhumed his tomb in 1922.
03:33Since no obvious scientific explanation justified these deaths,
03:37it was easier to attribute them to a supernatural force
03:41and avoid asking more questions.
03:43Yet it seems that this famous curse is only a myth.
03:47In reality, these deaths could be linked to the exposure to deadly radiation.
03:51But where did it come from?
03:53After all, if radioactivity was discovered in the 19th century,
03:56it is difficult to imagine that the ancient Egyptians
03:59had access to radium
04:01to illuminate the tomb of Tutankhamun
04:03in a disturbing light.
04:05So, what is the real explanation?
04:07It could be that toxic waste
04:09is at the origin of these mysterious deaths.
04:11High levels of radiation
04:13from uranium and other dangerous substances
04:16would have been trapped in the tomb for more than 3,000 years.
04:19Moreover, it is rumored that the funeral chamber of Tutankhamun
04:22would still contain today
04:24radiation rates so high
04:26that anyone entering it
04:28would risk developing an incurable disease
04:30due to so much exposure.
04:32And if this seems exaggerated to you,
04:34tell yourself that you could touch
04:36a level of similar contamination
04:38if you let the remains of food
04:40rot in the bottom of your fridge for a month.
04:43However, this radioactivity
04:45is not limited to the tombs of Tutankhamun.
04:47The search for Egyptian artifacts
04:49is clearly fascinating but just as dangerous.
04:52Many tombs of the ancient empire
04:54display abnormally high levels of radiation.
04:57Geiger counters have detected radiation
04:59on two sites near the pyramids of Giza,
05:01and radon, a radioactive gas,
05:03has been detected in several underground tombs in Saqqara.
05:06It is likely that the builders of these graves
05:09were aware of these toxins.
05:11Warnings engraved on the walls
05:13warn of an inevitable death
05:15for anyone who dares to defile these sites.
05:17One of the inscriptions warns
05:19that anyone who violates this tomb
05:21will perish from an evil that no doctor will be able to understand.
05:24Other formulas evoking the forbidden
05:26caused by evil spirits
05:28have undoubtedly reinforced the fear of these ancient curses.
05:31Since always, these warnings intrigue archaeologists.
05:34But an event occurred a century ago
05:36to revive the fear of curses.
05:38In 1922, shortly after the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun,
05:42Lord Carnarvon, who had financed the expedition,
05:45died in mysterious circumstances,
05:47as did many people who had explored the tomb.
05:50Arthur Wagle, a British Egyptologist
05:52present at the opening of the tomb,
05:54is also considered as one of the craftsmen
05:56of the myth of the curse.
05:58Irony of fate,
06:00he died prematurely in 1934,
06:02when he was only fifty years old.
06:04Some advance that his death
06:06could be linked to an extended exposure to radiation.
06:09Of the 26 people present at the opening,
06:116 perished in the next ten years.
06:14However, these disappearances are not all imputable to X-rays.
06:18The causes varied.
06:19Asphyxia,
06:20stroke,
06:21cardiac failure,
06:22pneumonia,
06:23and even poisoning.
06:25Sinister, isn't it?
06:27However,
06:28a man seems to have escaped this alleged curse.
06:31Howard Carter,
06:32the archaeologist who led the excavations.
06:35For some,
06:36his survival proved that this legend was only a myth.
06:39After his discovery,
06:40Carter published several books,
06:42before gradually abandoning archaeology
06:44for antiquity trade intended for museums.
06:47However,
06:48some think that the curse struck him in another way.
06:51A persistent rumor links him to Evelyn,
06:53the daughter of Lord Carnarvon.
06:55It is said that he loved her very much,
06:57but that she married another man.
06:59Desperate,
07:00he would have chosen to remain single until the end of his life.
07:03Another form of curse,
07:05more subtle,
07:06but just as cruel.
07:08Others have claimed that they had a relationship during his stay in Egypt,
07:12but that it all ended with the death of his father
07:15and his final departure from the country.
07:17Nevertheless,
07:18these stories lack proof.
07:19Evelyn was only 6 years old when they met,
07:22and their relationship remained cordial until the end.
07:25Present at his funerals,
07:26she was one of the rare guests,
07:28but she denied any romance,
07:30claiming that they were not that intimate.
07:32A year after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun,
07:35Evelyn married the politician Sir Brograve Beauchamp
07:39and had a daughter.
07:40That same year,
07:41Beauchamp visited the grave with his parents,
07:44under the leadership of Carter.
07:45The latter never got married
07:47and,
07:48apart from his posthumous speculations about Evelyn,
07:50no other romantic relationship was attributed to him.
07:53If the legend of the curse adds an intriguing touch to his story,
07:57his distant temperament towards relationships
08:00was already evident long before the opening of the tomb.
08:03Carter was simply not a sociable person.
08:06In 1939,
08:07after a long fight against the disease,
08:09he eventually succumbed.
08:11He was 64 years old,
08:13a life expectancy quite ordinary in the United Kingdom at that time,
08:17so that no one judged his suspicious death
08:19or associated it with any curse.
08:22At his death,
08:23it was discovered that several artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun
08:26were in his possession,
08:28in his London apartment.
08:29These were eventually returned to Egypt,
08:32an event that some interpreted
08:34as the conclusion of the curse.
08:36Perhaps if he had not kept his memories at home,
08:39he would have lived much longer.
08:41As for the other deaths,
08:42they retain a part of the mystery.
08:45The theory of the curse
08:46has undoubtedly been reinforced by disturbing events
08:48that occurred during the excavations.
08:50Carnarvon developed a serious infection
08:52after a simple mosquito bite.
08:54And at the time of the opening of the tomb,
08:56the quarry experienced an inexplicable power failure
08:59followed by a sandstorm.
09:01In England,
09:02Lord Carnarvon's dog, Suzy,
09:04escaped from the house
09:05and began to bark frenetically,
09:07for no apparent reason,
09:08at least if you believe the witnesses.
09:11Even stranger,
09:12at the exact moment
09:13when his master breathed his last,
09:15the animal screamed
09:17before collapsing,
09:18inert.
09:19Perhaps the radiations
09:20did not play any role,
09:22and that the ancient artifacts
09:24of Tutankhamun's tomb
09:25were really carriers of a curse.
09:28Disturbing, isn't it?
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