Posted on 11/12/2010 8:50:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv
One possibility that Dr. Harer ruled out is that of a chariot accident. "If he fell from a speeding chariot going at top speed you would have what we call a tumbling injury -- he'd go head over heels. He would break his neck. His back. His arms, legs. It wouldn't gouge a chunk out of his chest."
Instead, at his Toronto lecture, Harer brought up another, more exotic possibility -- that Tut was killed by a hippo.
It's not as far out an idea as it sounds, hippos are aggressive, quick and territorial animals, and there is an artefact in Tut's tomb which appears to show him hunting one of them...
"Hippos kill more people than any other animal, they are the most lethal animal in Africa (if not) the world," said Harer. "The victim suffers massive tearing injury and can actually be cut in half." Medical reports indicate that "even though they are running away from the hippo they typically suffer a frontal wound."
In Tut's case, if the hippo charged, his entourage may not have been able to get to him in time. "If he did have a club foot (as a recent medical report suggests) it would make him the slowest person getting out of the way -- the easiest person for the hippo to get."
(Excerpt) Read more at heritage-key.com ...
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“He gave his life for tourism.”
That scared the heck out of me!
I don't have to be faster than the hippo, I just have to be faster than you.
I thought mummification was supposed to prevent decomposition.
“I just wanted to beat the rush.”
That’s the first time I’ve looked at that photo and wanted to laugh instead of hurl.
Very well done indeed.
Still, this is one mummy slick Willie might just pass up.
Buried with a donkey. (King Tut)
He’s my favorite honky ...
Looking at that picture, I felt my chest being crushed. The pressure was almost hippo-like.
Assuming that the hippo was satisfied with chomping just one person in half.
So this is why Mom always warned us not to taunt the hippos.
better by a hippo than a RINO...
A missile hit him.
Well done bigbob...lol
Either that, or he fell from a window on something below, or some stone fell on him. Maybe a horse kicked him.
I'm not an expert on hippos, but one would think that a deep chest wound is the least likely kind of wound one can get while running away from a hippo. It's not a unicorn; it bites and tears, but how would a hippo punch a hole through Tut's chest but not damage his arms?
Statistically, more monarchs died in their own castles (sometimes with unwelcome assistance of their political foes) than on hunts. A death from a wild animal is a chance. But a death from someone else's hand, for a king, is not really a chance - it's a near certainty. That would be a far more natural (for a king) explanation, and that would also explain lack of documentation on his death. A death at a hunt is not necessarily embarrassing, and as long as you don't have people with iPhones in your entourage you can say whatever you need about the late king. But death from a stone falling out of the ceiling and crushing the king in his bed, or a horse kicking him ... that would be less heroic indeed.
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