How old is tutankhamun when he died

This led him to suggest that the king may have suffered a blow to the head, and others to conclude that this was evidence that the boy-king had been murdered. The CT scans revealed that the king had suffered a fracture to the left femur. Perhaps more important was the observation that an amount of embalming fluid had entered the break. This suggested that the wound that caused it was still open at the time of death, and also that there were no signs that it had started to heal.

Yet, even this has failed to persuade everyone. In a recent book on the subject, Hawass notes that his theory was not shared by every member of the team.

It displays a series of highly unusual features, particularly around the torso, where a number of the ribs and a section of the left pelvis are completely missing. The embalming incision through which certain internal organs would have been removed — as was standard — is in the wrong place and considerably larger than normal; much of the soft tissue inside the chest cavity was removed and replaced with rolls of linen; and the arms were crossed in an unusually low position. Finally, the heart, which would not normally have been removed and which was crucial for the survival of the individual into the afterlife, was missing.

It was clear that if these anomalies were the result of some kind of injury, they might well provide the clues as to the cause of death. But one question we have to answer is to what extent these injuries might have been caused by Carter and his team when they removed the mummy from its nest of coffins. The team tried various methods to loosen it, and even left it out in the sun in the vain hope that the heat would help to melt the oils. At the time the body was reinterred in the tomb, having finally been unwrapped and lain on a sand bed, the king was still wearing a skull-cap and a beaded necklace.

This has led some to suggest that at some point the mummy was illicitly disturbed in order that the skull cap and necklace could be stolen, and that the robbers removed a section of the human remains, including the missing ribs, in order to free the booty. However, it is perfectly possible that Derry was unaware that the ribs were missing given he did not have the benefit of x-rays. Egyptologist W Benson Harer argues that the direction of the cuts suggest they could only have been made prior to the body being packed, and also that the bones must have been fresh when this took place, as older bone cannot be cut so cleanly.

This is persuasive. 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. Their research showed the young king had a club foot and a cleft palate and his parents were probably siblings; a brother and sister.

Ever since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered his tomb in beneath the shifting sands of the Valley of the Kings, King Tut has mesmerized Egyptologists and the public alike. 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.

But little had been known about how he died and his family until this new study was published today. Tutankhamun died at age 19 without an heir and after reigning only nine years.

His early death, sparked historians' suspicions of murder and familial disease, the researchers wrote in the Feb. 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 after CT scans suggested the hole was most likely the result of the mummification process.

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.

The brain, its function then unknown, was simply thrown away — the heart, rather than the brain, was regarded as the organ of reasoning.

As such, the heart would be required in the afterlife. It was therefore left in place and, if accidentally removed, immediately sewn back; though not always in its original location. Tutankhamun, however, has no heart. Instead he was provided with an amuletic scarab inscribed with a funerary spell. This may have happened simply because the undertakers were careless, but it could also be a sign that Tutankhamun died far from home. One dagger had a gold blade, while the other had a blade made of iron.

Each dagger had a gold sheath. The fact that these pieces are not particularly well made, combined with their small size, suggest that they were made by local craftsmen who struggled to work the rare meteorite iron. The dagger blade, however, is very different. Beautifully crafted, it is likely to have been imported to Egypt from a region accustomed to working iron.

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