April 15, 1912 marks a tragic chapter in history, as RMS Titanic – a British passenger and mail carrying ocean liner operated by the White Star Line – sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on that day after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton (England) to New York (the US). Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew onboard, about 1,500 perished, making it the deadliest sinking of a single ship up to that time. However, many believe that a mummy’s curse triggered this maritime accident.

William Thomas Stead (July 5, 1849 – April 15, 1912), an English newspaper editor who was considered as a pioneer of investigative journalism, was one of the passengers of Titanic. Later, survivors of the ill-fated vessel recalled that Stead chatted enthusiastically through the 11-course meal that fateful night, telling thrilling tales (including one about a cursed mummy of the British Museum) to his co-passengers. He told them that the mummy was there in the Titanic and a passenger was the owner of the mummy. After the accident, this story went viral. Many believed that the accident was caused by the curse of the mummy kept inside the ship.

Others used to believe that a passenger was carrying a large collection of antiques, including the mummy, with him. He was supposed to take that mummy to a museum in the US. It was heard that the mummy was that of a devotee of the Amon, an Egyptian deity who was revered as King of the Gods. As per rumour, the Titanic sank due to the curse of this mummy.

Meanwhile, the real story of this mummy is different. Indeed, the mummy was that of a devotee of the ancient Egyptian god, Amon. Warwick Hunt, a resident of London’s Holland Park, had donated the mummy, kept inside a 162cm-long box, to the British Museum in 1889. Since then, it had been preserved in the British Museum. The box was made of high-quality wood and plaster. The face of the mummy was that of a woman. The fingers of the lady were carved on the box in such a manner so that the body of the mummy could be protected.

Musical performances used to take place occasionally at the temple of Amon. The box housed in the British Museum was made in the same way as boxes that contained mummies of the women who used to perform in those ceremonies. This dead devotee was mummified between BC 950 and BC 900. Since 1990, the mummy has been kept in the museum’s First Egyptian Room for visitors. Some are of the opinion that the mummy was moved from the British Museum between the First World War and the Second World War. Later, it was brought back to the British Museum. The mummy was taken to Australia for an exhibition in 1990 and to Taiwan for a press conference in 2007.

English journalist Betram Fletcher Robinson (August 22, 1870 – January 21, 1907) was conducting research on mummies in the 19th Century, as he was determined to debunk ideas of mummies and tombs being cursed. According to many, he realised that this mummy was cursed in a way. Some attributed Robinson’s death to the curse linked with this mummy, called the Unlucky Mummy, which would later be linked to the sinking of the Titanic.

Currently, the mummy is preserved in Room Number 62 of the British Museum. However, whether it is cursed or not has not yet been revealed.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das