Did a pharaoh's curse cause Suez Canal crisis, other Egyptian disasters?
Many had feared a supernatural cause for many of Egypt's woes, having tied it to plans by Egypt's Tourism and Antiquities Ministry moving of 22 royal mummies to a new permanent exhibit.
A 2,300-year old mummy is displayed after it was found by the Sakkara pyramids south of Cairo, May 3, 2005 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Have the recent series of disasters that have befallen Egypt been the result of an ancient pharaoh's curse?
According to several archaeologists, this is a definite "no," multiple Middle Eastern sources reported Monday.
Many had feared a supernatural cause for many of Egypt's woes,
having tied it to plans by Egypt's Tourism and Antiquities Ministry
moving of 22 royal mummies to a new permanent exhibit in the National
Museum of Egyptian Civilization out of their current home in Tahrir's
Egyptian Museum.
The
mummies – which include such notable former pharaohs as Ramesses II,
Thutmose III, Seti I and the queen Hatshepsut – are set to be moved as
part of a government effort to use archaeological and cultural
activities to develop and modernize Cairo and other cities around the
country, Arab News reported.
These
plans are set to take place on April 3. However, in recent weeks, the
North African country has suffered a bewildering number of disasters
that are equal parts strange and devastating. These include the
collapsing of a massive 10-storey structure in Suez Bridge and a
concrete pillar on a still-under-construction bridge in Mariotia;
multiple fires in Minya, the Zagazig railway station and the Maadi
tower, and a fatal train collision in the Sohag Governorate on March 26,
according to Arab News.
Some of these disasters had cost lives, with the collapsed building reportedly killing 23 people, according to Gulf News, and the train collision resulting in 19 deaths and 185 injuries.
But
one other notable incident stands out from the rest: The gigantic cargo
ship Ever Given accidentally getting stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking
the vital waterway and bringing global trade to a grinding halt. Some
estimated this disaster had resulted in a global loss of $400 million an
hour (and costing the canal itself $14-$15 million a day) before the
situation was finally resolved on Monday, nearly a week later.
It should be noted that while the timing of these disasters seemed
suspicious due to them all happening at once, they can still be
explained. For instance, the train collision is likely the result of the
numerous problems that plague Egypt's railway system. In fact, Egyptian
Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly admitted that the railway system in the
country "has been neglected for decades to an extent that made it quite
outdated and extremely dangerous," and the country has a long history
of train accidents as a result, with 2017 alone having had 1,793 train
accidents, according to German daily Deutsche Welle.
As for the Suez Canal incident,
there are many factors that were at play. For one, official reports at
the time of the incident had credited high winds and sand for blocking
visibility, which led to the disaster. In addition, later reports
emerged citing the possibility of human error, with many in the industry
unsurprised due to both the overall fatigue and over exhaustion of ship
crews in recent years due to busy schedules and for many complaints
people have had regarding the pilots at the Suez Canal. And a third
factor is the sheer size of the ship, with the Ever Given being one of
the largest ships in the world.
But
regardless, many on social media had credited the curse of ancient
Egyptian pharaohs, quoting a warning that "death will come on quick
wings for those who disturb the king's peace," Arab News reported.
The
idea of a mummy's curse is nothing new, and the legend of the
supernatural disastrous fate that would befall graverobbers is well
engrained in pop culture. Many examples of actual curses - or rather,
the warnings of curses - were put in place either inside or on the
façade of a tomb of the ancient Egyptian kings, though some scholars
have suggested they were not meant to keep away grave robbers so much as
encourage the clergy to properly maintain the tomb.
And
considering the statuses of some of these mummies - Ramesses II in
particular is widely considered by many to have been the greatest, most
celebrated and most powerful pharaoh in all of Ancient Egypt – it isn't
surprising that many would feel curses were left in place on their
tombs.
But several experts have been quick to quash such worries.
“The
occurrence of these accidents is just fate and there is no connection
between them and the mummies at all,” said former Egyptian antiquities
minister Zahi Hawass, who himself had actually supervised the discovery
of several ancient Egyptian tombs and had emerged unscathed, Arab News
reported.
This was
supported by Egyptian historian Bassam el-Shammaa, who discredited both
the link between the accident and the curse as well as the entire
concept of pharaonic curses.
It
should be noted, though, that the idea of a terrible fate befalling
those who disturb the tombs of Egyptian kings is far from unfounded, and
has nothing to do with the warnings of curses. Though rather than bad
luck and financial disaster, the terrible fate was due to illness,
typically in the respiratory system.
Ancient
Egyptian tombs often had a number of significant health hazards.
According to Shammaa, these included problems with the mummy itself –
such as mold causing the tomb walls to be covered in bacteria that could
fatally attack the respiratory system, or ammonia gas leaking from the
coffins that could cause pneumonia – and with the environment of the
tomb itself – with bat excrement possibly carrying fungus that could
cause flu-like sicknesses, Arab News reported.
In
a television interview with Al-Nahar, Hawass backed up these
statements, and further added that the claims of a curse were especially
nonsensical because "the relocation of the mummies will honor them as
they will be put in a place becoming of them and their history," adding
"The eyes of the whole world will be fixed on Egypt amid great respect
during the transport of the mummies that will take 40 minutes."
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