TUTANKHAMUN’S treasures have come to the UK and that includes one of his ‘cursed trumpets’, which is rumoured to ‘stir deadly conflict’ if sounded.
An impressive 150 objects from the most famous Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb are currently on display at the Saatchi Gallery in London and they range from spooky to spectacular.
5
The cursed trumpet is displayed next to its painted wooden core
5
The silver military trumpet is on display at the Saatchi gallery in LondonCredit: Laboratoriorosso, Viterbo/Italy
The silver military trumpet was found inside Tutankhamun’s tomb alongside a painted wooden core by archaeologist Howard Carter.
Carter actually found two of the gilded trumpets, one silver and one bronze, which are decorated with lotus flowers and Egyptian gods.
Both trumpets are thought to be cursed because Cairo suffered a blackout when one of them was first played after thousands of years.
World War II broke out shortly after it was played a second time.
5
5
The trumpet noise has been recorded but it will never be played again
5
The Tutankhamun exhibition is open to the public from November 2 to May 3Credit: BackGrid
The trumpets are usually on display in Egypt and museum staff innocently blowing into them have also been accused of starting conflicts.
A member of staff at the Egyptian Museum in Egypt reportedly blew into one of the trumpets a week before a revolution broke out.
The same thing is said to have happened before the 1967 Arab–Israeli War and the 1991 Gulf War.
The BBC did record the haunting sound of the bronze trumpet when it was first played in 1939 after nearly 3,000 years.
Just five minutes before the recording was about to happen the museum in Cairo was plunged into darkness and the recording had to be made over candlelight.
The silver instrument shattered and injured the musician trying to play it during an earlier attempt to hear the sound of the trumpets.
The silver trumpet was repaired but the musician needed hospitalisation.
You can hear the sound of the trumpet while staring directly at it via the audio guide at the current Tutankhamun exhibition in London.
But don’t let the spookiness put you off paying it a visit.
Curator of the exhibition Dr Tarek el Awady told us: “I’m telling all the visitors that they are safe visiting.
“They won’t get cursed at all because we are here just to show the magic and the beauty of Tutankhamun and pronounce his name.
“Just to say the name of the king you are making the king live because it was very important for the ancient Egyptians to have their names always remembered.”
The Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh exhibition is on at the Saatchi Gallery in London from November 2, 2019 until May 3, 2020.
Who was King Tutankhamen?
Here’s everything you need to know
King Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus leaves his tomb for the first time in 100 years for restoration
In other archaeology news, the remains of an ancient 30-foot ‘sea monster’ that hunted crocodiles 150million years ago have been found in Poland.
A lost Bronze Age stone circle used for ancient rituals has been uncovered in Gloucestershire.
And, a rare 2,500-year-old ‘Golden Warrior’ has been found buried under precious ornaments in Kazakhstan.
What do you think of these cursed trumpets? Let us know in the comments…
