A
Anonymous
Guest
What strange surface marks are those?
Re the pharaoh's curse, for an ancient egyptian, one of the worst things that could happen would be for your name to be forgotten (Akhenaton's name was erased from various monuments, and the bodies of several 'undesirables' have been found with no accompanying identification. The discovery of Tut's tomb made him world- famous, far more famous than any other pharaoh, ergo, Carter et al shouldn't have been cursed, as they ensured that Tut's name would live forever.
Carole
Carole
A
Anonymous
Guest
There's nothing at all mysterious about crystal skulls. Just go to
http://www.talisman.com.br/tradco/ttcskull.html, get your credit card out, and you too can be the proud owner of a Genuine Crystal Skull, carved by South American craftsmen! Available in a variety of styles and costing as little as 250 USD!!
The skull described in the first post is probably the Mitchell-Hedges skull. Place it ove a light source, and the eyesockets blaze with light; additionally, the hinged lower-jaw section can be made to swing up and down with very little effort, so that the skull appears to be "speaking". Quite a neat magician's prop! You can find the two (utterly conflicting) stories of the Mitchell-Hedges Skull's origins at http://www.crystalinks.com/skull.html, along with charming tales of the other dozen or so crystal skulls currently making the show circuits.
http://www.talisman.com.br/tradco/ttcskull.html, get your credit card out, and you too can be the proud owner of a Genuine Crystal Skull, carved by South American craftsmen! Available in a variety of styles and costing as little as 250 USD!!
The skull described in the first post is probably the Mitchell-Hedges skull. Place it ove a light source, and the eyesockets blaze with light; additionally, the hinged lower-jaw section can be made to swing up and down with very little effort, so that the skull appears to be "speaking". Quite a neat magician's prop! You can find the two (utterly conflicting) stories of the Mitchell-Hedges Skull's origins at http://www.crystalinks.com/skull.html, along with charming tales of the other dozen or so crystal skulls currently making the show circuits.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Okay, not strange surface marks then, just surface marks. I know there are lots of crystal skulls, saw one in a shop for 800 pounds. And the aztec did make a lot of small ones. But these two Skulls of Doom should be quite special. For example that they do not have surface marks, not the ones you would expect from being polished in the hand or on machine.
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
- 106
re pharoahs curse
Is it true that all the lights in Cairo went out at the time Carnarvon died, or is that just an urban myth?
Is it true that all the lights in Cairo went out at the time Carnarvon died, or is that just an urban myth?
bagins_X
Devoted Cultist
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2001
- Messages
- 169
Xanatic said:
I must admit I was mainly refering to the Mitchell-Hedges Skull wich is both the most mystirious and sophisticated and does have very fine polishing marks (but you DO need a microscope to detect them) the Aztek type ones are very crude in commparison, but then so are most of the modern ones as well!
Wm.
A
Anonymous
Guest
All the light going out in Cairo. Considering the time and the probable state of their power plants, doesn´t seem all that unlikely.
From what I understood it didn´t even have microscopic markings. Apparently if it is polished by hand you´d find small lines going in all directions. With a machine you´d find parallell lines, but they found no lines at all.
From what I understood it didn´t even have microscopic markings. Apparently if it is polished by hand you´d find small lines going in all directions. With a machine you´d find parallell lines, but they found no lines at all.
bagins_X
Devoted Cultist
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2001
- Messages
- 169
Xanatic said:
Apparently when Hewlett Packard Labs did their examination of the Mitchell-Hedges Skull they did find the polishing marks under microscopic examination (vage recolection of a BBC2 mini-series on the Crystal Sculls and their orthentisity or lack of), but then marks or no marks it is one hell of an impressive piece of work!
I am inclined to agree about the lights in Cairo though.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Xanatic said:
When you polish metal samples for examination under the microscope the direction of the polishing action is purposely altered every so often so that you don't end up with a series of parallel grooves.
Also by using progressively finer abrasives, some lube and a bit of practice the marks become more or less invisible unless you have access to some very hefty magnification.
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2001
- Messages
- 270
More King Tut Stuff
I can remember a TV film called "Curse of the Pharoes" or something similar on ITV in the early 80s. It was a dramatisation of the events leading up to the opening of the tomb, and the death of Caernarvon. There was a lot of spurious stuff about the "curse" in it, including the lights going out in Cairo and Caernarvon's dog in Britain dying at exactly the same time. ISTR that it also had an outrageously blacked-up Tom Baker as a doom-spouting Egyptian too!
It was much slagged at the time for taking the curse rather too literally, and for playing loose with the facts. For instance, in the film, Caernarvon's dog was shown as an Anubis lookalike, wheras in real life she was a three legged terrier, and didn't die when he did anyway!
A lot of the books on the unexplained I read as a nipper (mostly by Peter Haining and Daniel Farson, it seems) tied together a lot of junk as evidence of the curse, probably in an attempt to scare the crap out of young readers. Well, it worked on me anyway!
Sorta related, does anyone know anything about the supposedly cursed / haunted sarcophagus in the British Museum? Apparently, a photographer topped himself after taking photos of it, and people have had strange experiences near it and seen figures coming out of it. Or is this just another one from the Usbourne Book Of Scary Mummy Stories?
I can remember a TV film called "Curse of the Pharoes" or something similar on ITV in the early 80s. It was a dramatisation of the events leading up to the opening of the tomb, and the death of Caernarvon. There was a lot of spurious stuff about the "curse" in it, including the lights going out in Cairo and Caernarvon's dog in Britain dying at exactly the same time. ISTR that it also had an outrageously blacked-up Tom Baker as a doom-spouting Egyptian too!
It was much slagged at the time for taking the curse rather too literally, and for playing loose with the facts. For instance, in the film, Caernarvon's dog was shown as an Anubis lookalike, wheras in real life she was a three legged terrier, and didn't die when he did anyway!
A lot of the books on the unexplained I read as a nipper (mostly by Peter Haining and Daniel Farson, it seems) tied together a lot of junk as evidence of the curse, probably in an attempt to scare the crap out of young readers. Well, it worked on me anyway!
Sorta related, does anyone know anything about the supposedly cursed / haunted sarcophagus in the British Museum? Apparently, a photographer topped himself after taking photos of it, and people have had strange experiences near it and seen figures coming out of it. Or is this just another one from the Usbourne Book Of Scary Mummy Stories?
A
Anonymous
Guest
-Oracle- said:
If I may be allowed .....
There was no pharoah's curse inscribed on the entrance to the burial chamber. The whole 'death comes on swift wings..' business was first employed in a short story winging around at the time. You want to try reading real Egyptology books instead of believing everything you see in SG-1.
Carnarvon was already a sick man. The primary reason for his trip to Egypt was health grounds. Of the 26 people present at the opening of the tomb, 6 died within a decade. Of the 22 present at the opening of the sarcophagus, 2 died. Of those present when the mummy was unwrapped, all were still alive by 1934. Carter died in 1939, aged 64; the photographer died aged 60 in 1940, Lady Evelyn, one of the first in the tomb, lived until 1980.
The whole curse rubbish was made up by Marie Correlli and Arthur Conan Doyle.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Re: More King Tut Stuff
Yep, I've heard that one too. IIRC you're not allowed to take photos of it any more, due to the nastiness gone on before. I know I've got something about it somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember where now. I'll have to dig around, but don't hold your breath.
From memory, it's the sarcophagus of a woman, and not royalty. I think it's something about she doesn't want to be in cold, wet, smoggy London (and who can blame her?) and wants to go home to her intended resting place, where the sun is far kinder to her old aching joints.
I must get me a copy of the Usbourne Book of Scary Mummy Stories.....
Yep, I've heard that one too. IIRC you're not allowed to take photos of it any more, due to the nastiness gone on before. I know I've got something about it somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember where now. I'll have to dig around, but don't hold your breath.
From memory, it's the sarcophagus of a woman, and not royalty. I think it's something about she doesn't want to be in cold, wet, smoggy London (and who can blame her?) and wants to go home to her intended resting place, where the sun is far kinder to her old aching joints.
I must get me a copy of the Usbourne Book of Scary Mummy Stories.....
A
Anonymous
Guest
Helen said:
That would be the same Arthur Conan Doyle who thought that some children's cardboard cutouts of fairies were mythical beings, and who once ascribed the saying 'If you remove the impossible, what remains, no matter how improbable, is the truth' to one of his famous fictional characters. It's a pity he didn't employ this logic in his own investigations. Strange guy.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Re: Re: More King Tut Stuff
Just 'cos the camera flashes are detrimental to the fabric. Most museums with valuable displays disallow flash photography now.
Helen said:
Just 'cos the camera flashes are detrimental to the fabric. Most museums with valuable displays disallow flash photography now.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Re: Re: Re: More King Tut Stuff
Yep, that makes more sense, and is a bit more obvious. Damn, wish I'd thought of that Obviously, the weekend has killed off a few more braincells....
Mr. Bingo said:
Yep, that makes more sense, and is a bit more obvious. Damn, wish I'd thought of that
Obviously, the weekend has killed off a few more braincells....
A
Anonymous
Guest
Apparently that photo was really well-made. So I think you should be careful before blaming him. Though he did believe too much in spiritualism.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Re: Re: Re: Re: More King Tut Stuff
I know exactly how you feel
Helen said:
I know exactly how you feel
A
Anonymous
Guest
Xanatic said:
There were a number of photographs and yes, taking into account that they were made by kids, they were excellent. However, even a cursory glance will tell you that the figures they depict were cardboard cut-outs. For a long time I actually thought the photos were just 'mock-ups' of the originals and assumed that the originals had been lost. When I realised this wasn't the case I couldn't believe that anyone could have been taken in by them.
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2001
- Messages
- 1,805
Mr. Bingo said:
I know from personal experience that some people, no matter how rational they may otherwise be, will swallow all kinds of rubbish if it conforms to their world-view.
JamesWhitehead
Piffle Prospector
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2001
- Messages
- 14,416
The fairy pics do not look at all like the work of children
having a laugh, they were worked on in the darkroom.
Above all the poses of the kids are studied. Can't help feeling
that the most famous one is wearing an aviator's helmet though.
Doyle's involvement in spiritualism - he was its biggest English
celebrity - exposed him to a great deal of mockery. He was, after
all, the creator of the ultra-rational Holmes.
More on Doyle will emerge over the coming years. As yet, we have
only the wrong side of the carpet to read. Some hints are
given here:
http://www.btinternet.com/~j.b.w/bow.htm
The emergence of the photos was however curious. They were said to
have been stored in a draw till a lecturer on fairies nudged Mrs. Wright's
memory. From there they reached the psychic Edward Gardner - three
years after they were taken. A very slow buck! Of course the First War
had seen a great upsurge of interest in escapist Fairy Lore. Peter Pan
had been a theatrical hit and I mention the Blackwood-Elgar Starlight
Express in another thread.
On the subject of the photos, some "experts" swore that the figures
showed movement while others though they could only have been
faked by an expert. The expert views I have read - reported selectively?
say they were single exposures without retouching. I think more
recent experts have found extensive retouching! Whenever I am asked
to believe an expert I think of the Cottingley Fairies!
So, how did we get here from the Crystal Skulls?
having a laugh, they were worked on in the darkroom.
Above all the poses of the kids are studied. Can't help feeling
that the most famous one is wearing an aviator's helmet though.
Doyle's involvement in spiritualism - he was its biggest English
celebrity - exposed him to a great deal of mockery. He was, after
all, the creator of the ultra-rational Holmes.
More on Doyle will emerge over the coming years. As yet, we have
only the wrong side of the carpet to read. Some hints are
given here:
http://www.btinternet.com/~j.b.w/bow.htm
The emergence of the photos was however curious. They were said to
have been stored in a draw till a lecturer on fairies nudged Mrs. Wright's
memory. From there they reached the psychic Edward Gardner - three
years after they were taken. A very slow buck! Of course the First War
had seen a great upsurge of interest in escapist Fairy Lore. Peter Pan
had been a theatrical hit and I mention the Blackwood-Elgar Starlight
Express in another thread.
On the subject of the photos, some "experts" swore that the figures
showed movement while others though they could only have been
faked by an expert. The expert views I have read - reported selectively?
say they were single exposures without retouching. I think more
recent experts have found extensive retouching! Whenever I am asked
to believe an expert I think of the Cottingley Fairies!
So, how did we get here from the Crystal Skulls?
JamesWhitehead
Piffle Prospector
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2001
- Messages
- 14,416
Fair point, Derek, though I could slip out of it by saying
that English referred to his celebrity.
I would have added that the Scots were far too canny
to give spiritualism much credit.
OK let's agree to blame his Irish roots. :blah:
that English referred to his celebrity.
I would have added that the Scots were far too canny
to give spiritualism much credit.
OK let's agree to blame his Irish roots. :blah:
A
Anonymous
Guest
test ignore
*
*
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2001
- Messages
- 1,805
DerekH said:That wouldn't be the same Ireland that the Scots came from??
(Think you're going to escape that easily, eh?)
:eek!!!!:Hey you leave my Scots-Irish ancestors out of this! D+mnYaAyes! :madeyes:
Niles
GNC
King-Sized Canary
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2001
- Messages
- 33,626
Crystal Skull of Doom
Remember the Crystal Skull of Doom? The one in the opening titles of "Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World"?
Why is it called the Skull of Doom, when nothing particularly doomladen has happened because of it? Why not call it the Skull of Mystery instead? No deaths have been blamed on it, as far as I know, unless anyone can tell me otherwise?
Remember the Crystal Skull of Doom? The one in the opening titles of "Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World"?
Why is it called the Skull of Doom, when nothing particularly doomladen has happened because of it? Why not call it the Skull of Mystery instead? No deaths have been blamed on it, as far as I know, unless anyone can tell me otherwise?
bagins_X
Devoted Cultist
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2001
- Messages
- 169
I think it was a bit of showman ship on the part of a Mr Mitchel-Headges whom`s expidition found one, in his later years he did a lot of public speaking and introduced it as the Skull Of Doom to "spice up" the lectures a bit, apparently it`s quiet a "friendly" thing in reality.
Wm.
Wm.
Yes, Mitchell-Hedges was apparently not one to let the facts get in the way of a good story. He claimed that his daughter found the skull in Central America but evidence indicates that he bought it at Sotheby's in 1943:
http://www.parascope.com/articles/0197/skull_01.htm
Link is dead. An archived version of the MIA webpage can be accessed via the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20011006035004/http://www.parascope.com:80/articles/0197/skull_01.htm
Its full history is still unknown, though. As I recall, a gem expert on the 'Mysterious World' show said that it was impossible to say where or when it was made. Unlike some other crystal skulls the Mitchell-Hedges skull shows no evidence of the use of modern tools.
Anna Mitchell-Hedges is, last I heard, still alive here in Ontario and still promoting the 'Skull of Doom' story.
Link is dead. An archived version of the MIA webpage can be accessed via the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20011006035004/http://www.parascope.com:80/articles/0197/skull_01.htm
Its full history is still unknown, though. As I recall, a gem expert on the 'Mysterious World' show said that it was impossible to say where or when it was made. Unlike some other crystal skulls the Mitchell-Hedges skull shows no evidence of the use of modern tools.
Anna Mitchell-Hedges is, last I heard, still alive here in Ontario and still promoting the 'Skull of Doom' story.
Last edited by a moderator:
bagins_X
Devoted Cultist
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2001
- Messages
- 169
There are problems with that "evidence" ,
1, altho a skull was sold at Sotheby`s (by the British Musieum) the cataloge decription dose not aparently match the Michell-Hedges skull.
2, I cannot belive that the British Musiem would sell any thing that good.
But there are some HUGE question marks over its origin, but I no doubtes what so ever that his daughter did indeed "find" it.
Wm.