Posted on 03/08/2005 5:29:13 AM PST by Pharmboy
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The results of a CT scan done on King Tut's mummy indicate the boy king was not murdered, but may have suffered a badly broken leg shortly before his death at age 19 - a wound that could have become infected, Egypt's top archaeologist said Tuesday. Zahi Hawass, secretary general if the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced the results of the CT scan about two months after it was performed on Tut's mummy.
Hawass said the remains of Tutankhamun, who ruled about 3,300 years ago, showed no signs that he had been murdered - dispelling a mystery that has long surrounded the pharaoh's death.
"In answer to theories that Tutankhamun was murdered, the team found no evidence for a blow to the back of the head, and no other indication of foul play," according to a statement released Tuesday by Egyptian authorities.
"They also found it extremely unlikely that he suffered an accident in which he crushed his chest."
Hawass said some members of the Egyptian-led research team, which included two Italian experts and one from Switzerland, interpreted a fracture to Tut's left thighbone as evidence that the king may have broken his leg badly just before he died.
"Although the break itself would not have been life-threatening, infection might have set in," the statement said. "However, this part of the team believes it also possible, although less likely, that this fracture was caused by the embalmers."
Some 17,000 images were taken of Tut's mummy during the 15-minute CT scan aimed at answering many of the mysteries that shrouded his life and death - including his royal lineage, his exact age at the time of his death and the reason he died.
"I believe these results will close the case of Tutankhamun, and the king will not need to be examined again," Hawass said. "We should now leave him at rest. I am proud that this work was done, and done well, by a completely Egyptian team."
Tutankhamun's short life has fascinated people since his tomb was discovered in 1922 in the fabled Valley of the Kings in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor by a British archaeologist, Howard Carter. The find revealed a trove of fabulous treasures in gold and precious stones that showed the wealth and craftsmanship of the Pharaonic court
Hawass had long refused to allow DNA testing on Tut's remains and only agreed to perform a noninvasive CT scan on the mummy, which has since been returned to its tomb. The CT machine was brought from Germany and donated by Siemens and National Geographic.
The study, which was the first CT scan on a member of Egypt's ancient royalty, showed that Tut was of a slight build, well-fed and healthy and suffered no major childhood malnutrition or infectious diseases.
The boy king also had a slight cleft palate, which was not however associated with an external expression, like a hair-lip, or other facial deformities. He also had large incisor teeth and the typical overbite characteristic of other kings from his family. His lower teeth were also slightly misaligned.
Ruled out also were pathological causes for Tut's bent spine and elongated skull, which had been noted in earlier examinations. His head shape appeared normal and spine was bent as a result of how royal embalmers had positioned his body.
Tut's lineage also has long been in question. It's unclear if he is the son or a half brother of Akhenaten, the "heretic" pharaoh who introduced a revolutionary form of monotheism to ancient Egypt and who was the son of Amenhotep III.
He is believed to have been the 12th ruler of ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty and ascended to the throne at about the age of 8 and died around 1323 B.C.
Criminy! "Hair-lip"? For the love of Mike, it's a harelip. Am I the sole remaining speaker of the Queen's English?
Not quite the ONLY one...see post #21.
There should be evidence of osteomyelitis on a microscopic examination of the bone which would clinch it or throw it out.
Heh heh... I guess he was hurt bad, his body was found wrapped head to foot in bandages.
Couldn't one suffer a fatal embolism from a break?
Yes...rather than a blood clot, fat emboli can follow a fracture (the marrow is very fatty).
Egyptian School DazeOver the years I have tried loading Latin, German, and French into my brain, more or less unsuccessfully, and with some effort have picked up enough Spanish and Greek to find a bathroom or avoid the squid-and-tripe casserole. Nonetheless, I took on the task of trying to learn hieroglyphs using Janice Kamrin's Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Practical Guide (New York: Abrams, 2004; $35) and How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs (Berkeley: University of California, 2003; $24.95), by Mark Collier and Bill Manley. The authors are all Egyptologists... With enough dedication, either book will help, but I was happier with Collier and Manley's... Do what I didn't do: make flash cards. It will be a no-fun exercise of rote learning, but you can make use of spare moments that might otherwise be wasted (such as committee meetings or visits with the in-laws). Kamrin recommends this, and it really will pay off later on.
reviews by Mark Rose
Archaeology
March/April 2005
Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs:
A Practical Guide
A Step-by-Step Approach to
Learning Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs
by Janice KamrinHow to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs:
A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself
Revised Edition
by Mark Collier
and Bill Manley
En Route to the TruthA new archaeological series titled "Digging for the Truth" debuts on the History Channel, beginning with two one-hour episodes on January 24 (9:00 and 10:00 pm ET/PT). Hosted by Josh Bernstein, who runs an outdoor survival school in Boulder, Colorado, the show looks at archaeological sites and questions around the world... Bernstein trots about Egypt and visits with a number of experts en route to concluding that finding Nefertiti's mummy isn't likely and that the pyramids were built by Egyptians, not Atlanteans, Martians, or the like... [T]here's a good part in which Zahi Hawass is shown in a tomb with Bernstein explaining to him why a mummy recently proposed as Nefertiti's can't possibly be hers (among other evidence, a DNA test, he says, proves the mummy is a male).
by Mark Rose
January 13, 2005
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ever wonder why Tut fell and broke his leg in the first place?
King Tut Liked Red Wine
sciencedaily.com | 2005-04-03
Posted on 04/03/2005 8:32:09 AM PDT by quantim
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A combo of a broken leg / bone fragments in skull could have resulted from a bad fall from a horse. I wonder if that’s what happened. I’m trying to imagine another way a king would end up with a broken leg / skull injury.
Drinkin’, while livin’ in a condo made of stone-ah.
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