TUTANKAMUN’S tomb has revealed new curses and mysterious sticky dust after the eerie 3,300-year-old burial chamber was re-explored.
As conservators removed an old viewing platform to fit a new air filtration system, they found ancient writings, jinxing and calling for curses on others.
Other scraps of ancient parchment were found asking for blessings from the boy king.
The discovery was made after a decade-long project between the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Los Angeles-based Getty Conservation Institute.
Within the boy king’s colourful 1,182 square-foot chambers, one of the most enduring mysteries of the tomb were the acidic brown freckles spread across the wall paintings.
National Geographic reported how the substance confounded scientists for almost a century after the tombs discovery in 1922.
A study of the spots revealed high concentrations of acids from fungi and bacteria, but even microscope imaging showed no remnants of the original organisms that created them.
Now conservators theorise that because Tut died unexpectedly, the preparation of his tomb was likely a rush job.
The fresh paint would have retained enough moisture for microbes to thrive in the tomb’s dark and warmth.
One of the stickiest problems in the tomb has been the constant presence of adhesive dust that slowly corroded the paintings on the walls.
Scientists now believe it is simple human perspiration that causes it, along with sands tramped in by the tombs 1,000 daily visitors.
Researchers have now installed a sophisticated air filtration and ventilation system to filter the corrupting substance.
The tombs were first discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter.
The new revelations follow the discovery of a 16th-century mummified monk which may help us understand why we suffer arthritis.
