King Tut's Cause of Death

While King Tut has been dead for over 3,300 years, ithad Kohler's disease. The resulting lack of blood flow
only took two years for scientists to unlock theto his left foot would have caused an excruciatingly
mystery of his death. In 1922, Howard Carter struckpainful state. In fact, archeologists found 130 canes and
archeological gold when he discovered the tomb ofwalking sticks in King Tut's tomb!
the renowned King. Now, nearly 90 years later, theBut how did King Tut die? While complications from a
body of Pharaoh Tutankhamen is making headlinebroken leg were the main cause, the onset of malaria
news again.made the situation even more complex. Experts have
Who exactly was this ruler of ancient Egypt? Ironically,suggested that the malaria infection could have
the discovery of the King's body is what ignited theappeared following the formation of a leg fracture. In
public's interest in him. Experts believe thatfact, the malaria parasite has been located in several
Tutankhamen was the leader of the 18th Dynasty inof the mummies belonging to King Tut's relatives. The
Egypt. Since he likely died in his late teens and onlyCT scans and DNA testing indicate that King Tut was
ruled for nine years, Tut has earned the moniker of thelikely quite a feeble young man. This is in sharp
"Boy King". Some 1968 X-rays caused scientists tocontrast to the image of a robust Egyptian leader,
conclude that perhaps King Tut had died afterwhich many of us are familiar with.
someone had struck him in the head. However, a CTBesides learning about King Tut's death, the scientists
scan in 2005 determined that the hole in the skull likelyalso gained some insight into the pharaoh's family tree.
resulted from the process of mummification.One of the most striking discoveries was that his
For the past two years, scientists have beenparents were also siblings! Most likely, King Tut's father
conducting CT scans and DNA test on 16 ancientwas Akhenaten, who attempted to transform ancient
Egyptian mummies. The mummies include both theEgypt's religion, and enforce monotheism. Akhenaten
Boy King and his immediate family. In recent years,enforced the worship of Aten, the sun god. While DNA
they had already determined the age of King at hisstudies have revealed that King Tut's mother was a
death (approximately 19 years old), and that his overallsister of Akhenaten, they're uncertainly about her
health was good. While earlier CT scans indicated thatexact identity.
the Pharaoh had suffered a broken leg, experts wereWhile we still lack a comprehensive understanding the
uncertain if that had indeed been the cause of hisKing, we now have a better glimpse of how he lived
death.and died. It's highly likely that future research will
Now they know. The young Tutankhamen had a cleftindicate new and exciting revelations about the Boy
palate. He also had a club foot, which probablyKing.
required him to walk by using a cane. King Tut also