A handwritten letter from 1934 has come to light showing that British archaeologist Howard Carter believed the curse surrounding ancient Egypt’s King Tutankhamun was not a supernatural warning but a story invented by a rival journalist to generate headlines.
The three-page letter, written on stationery from Curna, Luxor, Egypt, sold for 12,000 pounds at RR Auction in Boston. In it, Carter addressed Helen Ionides and made no effort to hide his feelings about Egyptologist Arthur Weigall.
Carter began by expressing sympathy for the death of the Duchess of Alba, who had suffered a long illness. He then made clear he felt nothing of the sort about Weigall’s passing, saying the world was better off without him.
Carter called the curse story a complete fabrication
While Carter acknowledged that Weigall had real skill as a writer, he accused him of being deceptive. He said Weigall’s claims had no factual basis and had done lasting harm to archaeology.
Carter held Weigall directly responsible for the curse story, saying it was his invention and had been built on fabrications that served no purpose beyond stirring temporary public excitement. Carter also noted that Weigall was not present when the tomb was first opened and had shown up after every other journalist on the scene.
Howard Carter's newly surfaced letter exposes the real origin of Egypt's curse of Tutankhamun, pointing directly at a rival journalist who was not even present at the tomb's opening. pic.twitter.com/hvMBhNLUi3
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) March 26, 2026
The conflict between the two men began with the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Carter and his financial backer, Lord Carnarvon, reached an agreement with The Times in January 1923, giving the paper sole access to all reporting and imagery from the excavation.
The deal paid Carnarvon $6,660 plus 75 percent of the revenue generated through content licensing. The Daily Mail had separately brought in Weigall to report on the story.
How Egypt’s curse of Tutankhamun took hold worldwide
When Weigall saw a cheerful Carnarvon heading into the tomb, he told those nearby that he doubted the man would survive another six weeks. Carnarvon died from a mosquito bite that turned fatal not long after.
Following that death, Weigall wrote a series of articles arguing that a dark force surrounded the pharaoh’s resting place and that anyone who disturbed it risked paying a heavy price. The claim spread widely, even though no such warning was found anywhere in the tomb.
Arthur Merton, The Times correspondent in Cairo and a friend of Carter, had described the find as the century’s most significant Egyptological achievement. But the curse tied to Egypt’s Tutankhamun became the story that outlasted everything else.
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