Experts believe they've solved the ‘curse’ of King Tut's tomb amid string of mysterious deaths

It's perhaps one of the most famous archaeological finds ever made, but not long after the rediscovery of the Tutankhamun, the newspapers were rife with claims about a 'mummy's curse'.

The expedition was led by archaeologist Howard Carter, who himself dismissed any claims about curses as 'tommy-rot'.

Carter, who one might imagine to be the focus of any 'curse', died of lymphoma in 1939 at the age of 64, not exactly remarkable circumstances from a medical perspective.

It's not like he dropped dead mere days or weeks after opening the tomb.

But a spate of deaths after the find fanned the flames of wild speculation in the press at the time about a 'mummy's curse'.

If there had been a curse, it missed some pretty important people, such as Lady Evelyn Herbert.

Herbert was among the first people in the expedition to enter the tomb, and the 'curse' doomed her to live for just 57 years after the discovery before dying in 1980 aged 78.

The tomb of Tutankhamun. (Mohamed Elshahed/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The notion of a 'curse' may have originated from both the Times in London and New York World magazine who published speculation by best-selling Gothic novelist, Marie Corelli, in which she claimed: "The most dire punishment follows any rash intruder into a sealed tomb".

But no text or artefact making up a curse was actually found by anyone who investigated the tomb itself.

Now, scientists have published findings which could point to hazards archaeologists should be aware of when undertaking this sort of work.

This is a high incidence of radioactive material found in some archaeological sites in Egypt, which could be high enough to pose a risk to people.

Ross Fellowes published an article in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, a journal which explores topics such as cryptozoology and ufology.

For those unaware, that's things like the existence of 'cryptids' such as Bigfoot, and UFOs.

The death mask of Tutankhamun. (Mostafa Elshemy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Fellowes wrote: "Reported strong radiation (as radon) in tomb ruins has been loosely attributed to the natural background from the parent bedrock," Fellowes shared.

"However, the levels are unusually high and localized, which is not consistent with the characteristics of the limestone bedrock but implies some other unnatural source(s)."

So, it could be possible that high radiation levels in a tomb could impact on the health of people who entered in there.

The most notable death connected to the tomb was that of Lord Carnarvon, the expedition's financial backer who died in Cairo at the age of 56.

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