Eerie mystery of King Tut’s 'cursed' battle horns that were played for the first time in 3,000 years…and 'sparked WW2' | The Sun

THIS is the chilling moment Tutankhamun's cursed battle horns were played for the first time in over 3,000 years.

But the haunting screech, which was internationally broadcast to 150million listeners 84 years ago, is believed to have sparked the Second World War.

The pre-recorded sound of the trumpets was aired by the BBC on April 16, 1939 – around four-and-a-half months before the devastating global conflict began.

An estimated total of 70-85million people were killed across six years of battle in the deadliest military conflict in history.

As a result, this lead to a legend that Tutankhamun's trumpets had the magical power to summon war.

The trumpets were played by bandsman James Tappern of Prince Albert's Own 11th Royal Hussars regiment.

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Five minutes before Rex Keating, a prominent figure in radio at the time, was supposed to present the broadcast, the electricity went out in Cairo and forced him to read his script by candle light.

Perhaps that was an early warning sign, yet Rex proceeded nonetheless.

In the three minute recording, both of the ornate trumpets give out chilling sounds as they offer a glimpse into Ancient Egypt.

Mr Keating mentioned that neither of the instruments were easy to sound, "particularly" the copper instrument.

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The ancient instruments, discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter, are considered to be the oldest operational trumpets in the world.

One is made of bronze, while the other is made of silver and has a wooden core, but both are finely engraved with decorative images of the gods Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, and Amun.

Approximately 58cm (22.83 inches) in length and 4cm (1.57 inches) wide, it's believed they were used for military purposes.

Experts concluded that it is likely King Tut would probably have used them to communicate with his armies – therefore associating the instruments with war.

So, when Mr Tappern played the trumpets for the first time in more than 3,000 years in 1939 and WW2 followed shortly after, comparison's were soon made.

But the theories were backed up when, according to some accounts, one of the trumpets was also played just before the Six Day War in 1967 and right before the beginning of the Gulf War in 1990.

One of the trumpets was also apparently played right before the Egyptian uprising against Hosni Mubarak in 2011, report Ancient Origins.

During the looting, however, the trumpets were stolen – before being mysteriously returned.

It was also believed that there was a curse lifted upon the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

In the following years, several members of Carter's team died under mysterious circumstances.

Carter angrily dismissed the whole curse idea but his death in 1939, a month before the trumpets were played, saw the story of the mummy’s curse spring back to life and has persisted to this day.

While there are very interesting coincidences, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest Tutankhamun's trumpets are indefinitely cursed.

Since most archaeologists consider the trumpets to be simply too fragile for another performance, it's unlikely they'll be played again.

But that does mean they cannot be blamed for starting any future wars.

Earlier this year, researchers digitally recreated King Tut's face for the first time ever.

3,300 years after the young pharaoh's death at just 19-years-old, teams from Australia, Italy, and Brazil utilised technology to re-create his face.

And one expert who has seen Tutankhamun's "cursed" body believes she noticed something that could blow apart everything already known about the Boy King.

Sofia Aziz, a biomedical Egyptologist who has been face-to-face with Tutankhamun's mummy before, has spent years researching the famous king's body.

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