Posted on 11/14/2004 7:05:30 AM PST by Pharmboy
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt plans to X-ray the mummy of Tutankhamun to find out what killed the king who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago and died while only a teen-ager.
Archaeologists will move Tutankhamun's body from its tomb, which was discovered packed with treasure in 1922, to Cairo for tests which should resolve the mystery over whether he died naturally or was murdered.
"We will know about any diseases he had, any kind of injuries and his real age," Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass told Reuters. "We will know the answer to whether he died normally or was he killed."
The mummy would be moved by the end of November and the CAT scan, which will produce a three-dimensional X-ray of his remains, completed by the end of the year, he said.
Tutankhamun's treasures, including a stunning gold mask which covered the head of his mummy, were removed from the tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings by British archaeologist Howard Carter. They are usually on show in the Cairo Museum.
But his mummified remains were left in the tomb in a stone coffin. Archaeologists last opened the coffin in 1968, when an X-ray revealed a chip of bone in his skull.
That fueled speculation that a blow to the head had killed the king, whose high priest and army commander have been singled out as chief suspects.
"No one has seen the mummy since 1968," Hawass said.
The three-dimensional X-ray of what appears to be a fracture would show whether it had been caused by a blow to the head, said Brando Quilici, a film maker with National Geographic, which is partly sponsoring the research.
Hawass said Tutankhamun's mummy had largely been smashed to pieces by Carter's expedition, when tools were used to remove the king's gold mask from his body. The mask had been firmly attached to the mummy by resin, he said.
But that would not hinder the research.
"Even if it just bone, we can examine each bone," he said.
Hawass said he would like Tutankhamun's mummy to go back to its tomb after the completion of the research.
Mystery has surrounded Tutankhamun since the discovery of his tomb. Lord Carnarvon, Carter's sponsor and among the first to enter the tomb, died shortly afterward from an infected mosquito bite.
Newspapers at the time said Carter had unleashed a Pharaonic curse which killed Carnarvon and others linked to the discovery.
Scientists have in the past suggested that a disease lying dormant in the tomb may have killed the British aristocrat.
Halliburton killed him.
They need to solve the 'riddle' of their hate filled religion.
FIRST Halliburton overcharged him; THEN they killed him.
No, TereZah "H" sKerry.
No riddle there...it's their "Religion of Peace" (if you're not a muzzie, we hate you and we'll kill ya).
Hmm, somebody, Carter? cut off Tut's you know what.
If I was king at that age I would most definitely have killed myself in my harem.
There was a special on the discovery channel aa couple of years ago in which some students of forensic science did a murder investigation and re-enactment of how Tut's death might have occured. The chief suspects they pinpointed for having the most compelling motives were the high priest, the army commander and his wife, and they showed how each of the three might have done the deed or paid an assassin to do it. My bet was on the army commander.
Talk about a Mideast dictatorship. You simply cannot read or view anything to do with ancient Egypt these days without being subjected to this guy with his nervous accent. Aren't there any OTHER egyptologists in the world anymore? Or has Hawass got them all locked in in a tomb somewhere?
(I know, I know, I spend too much time watching documentaries to let this bother me.)
"No riddle there...it's their "Religion of Peace" (if you're not a muzzie, we hate you and we'll kill ya)."
Uh, King Tut lived many centuries before Islam existed. In fact, he ruled between 1333-23 BC, so he predated Christianity by a few centuries, too.
History is an amazing thing. If you study it, you don't make mistakes like you made.
I heard he stopped breathing.
(King Tut) Howd you get so funky?
(funky Tut) Did you do the monkey?
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia (king Tut).
Bush. It's Bush's fault.
You would be speaking of the intrepid explorer, lecturer, itenerent traveler, the favored son of Memphis, and author of books to many to mention ....Richard Haliburton.
Althought he visited and wrote of Egypt extensively, he probably had no hand in either the death or mummy disfigurement.
I guess I must mention his best and by far my favorite "The Complete Book of Marvels".
Gets MineralMan a ladder to stand on...
:D
Sitting next to the bound editions of Marvel Comics?
:)
oooo...
I remember when they were 12 cents each!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.