The Discovery Channel will air a two day documentary on the new findings about King Tutankhamun Sunday Feb. Taken together, the new research findings suggest that his death was not attributable to foul play but rather a constitutionally weakened condition caused by the combination of a leg fracture and infection with malaria. There had been theories that he had been murdered because of a hole that was found in his skull but this was ruled out in 2005 after CT scans suggested the hole was most likely the result of the mummification process. 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. His early death, sparked historians' suspicions of murder and familial disease, the researchers wrote in the Feb. Tutankhamun died at age 19 without an heir and after reigning only nine years. It was the treasures that were found in his tomb 90 years ago - including a solid gold death mask with lapis and other semi precious stones - that first piqued people's interest.īut little had been known about how he died and his family until this new study was published today. Their research showed the young king had a club foot and a cleft palate and his parents were probably siblings a brother and sister.īut, contrary to long-standing speculation, no signs of gynecomastia (breast development in males) or Marfan syndrome were found by the research team led by Carsten Pusch, of the University of Tübingen, Germany.Įver since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered his tomb in 1922 beneath the shifting sands of the Valley of the Kings, King Tut has mesmerized Egyptologists and the public alike. The study, conducted by Zahi Hawass of the Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), took two years to finish and shows that because of multiple disorders, the boy King was likely a "frail king who needed canes to walk." 16, 2010— - Years of DNA tests and CT scans on Egypt's famous pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, and his family have yielded surprising results revealing how he died at the young age of 19, and solving the centuries old mystery of his lineage.Īncient Egypt's most famous pharaoh likely died of a leg injury which was complicated by bone disease and bout of malaria, according to the comprehensive analysis of mummies in his royal family.
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