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BY A CORRESPONDENT
MARCH 8, 2005
 May
his soul rest in peace. Three millennia after the
teenage Pharaoh Tutankhamun left for his heavenly abode,
reseachers and scientists have come to the conclusion:
the boy king was not murdered in BC 1353, as doubted for
a long time. He may have died of natural causes, perhaps
an infection, but violent murder - no.
The conclusion is the result of
extensive analysis of CT scans of Pharaoh Tutankhamun's
mummified body, conducted in January 2005.
See our earlier stories here:
Curse of
Tutankhamun
Explanation to Tutankhamun's Curse
Tutankhamun exhibition in US
The tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
(sometimes spelt Tutankhamen) was discovered by British
Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1922 in Luxor in the
Valley of Kings in Egypt. The sarcophagus encasing the
boy king's mummy was found almost intact, unaffected by
tomb raiders across the centuries. Invaluable treasures
were discovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun. However,
stories soon started cropping up about violent deaths
and misfortunes to those associated with the excavation.
The "Curse of Pharaoh Tutakhamun" gained strength across
years, and no one ever conclusively proved or disproved
it.
Pharaoh Tutankhamun had ascended to
the throne shortly after the death of Akhenaten, the
heretic Pharaoh who abandoned Egypt's old pantheon of
gods and tried to install a monotheistic religion.
However, during Tutankhamun's reign, which lasted about
10 years, advocates of the old religion regained control
of the country.
In 1968, the mummy of Pharaoh
Tutankhamun was taken out of the tomb for X-Ray
analysis, which showed a small chipped bone in his
skull. This led to the theory that Tutankhamun may have
been hit with a hard object on the head, which led to
his death.
In January 2005, Pharaoh
Tutankhamun was again taken out for a CT scan analysis
of his entire body under a project backed by the
Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, the National
Geographic Society and Siemens. Siemens donated the
portable CT scan machine. The team of reserachers was
led by head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of
Antiquities Zahi Hawass. During the examination the
mummy, several unexpected events happened, which made
the learned professor remark that the "Curse of Pharaoh
Tutankhamun could be true."
 However,
the study of CT scan images did not find any evidence
that the king was assassinated. The CT scan results are
based on images generated from a total of 1,700 slices.
Some members of the investigators say that the Pharaoh
may have died from an infection of a wound on his left
leg. They point to the fact that the CT images revealed
embalming resin inside the wound, and that there was no
sign of a healing process. Other team members doubt that
the injury caused the king’s death. They believe the
wound could have been made later by archaeologists
examining the mummy. They reason that there was no
evidence for haematoma, which should be there if the
injury was inflicted during the Pharaoh’s lifetime.
"We don't know how the king died,
but we are now sure that it was not murder. Maybe he
died on his own," said Dr Zahi Hawass. "The case is
closed. We should not disturb the king any more," he
said.
The study also found that
Tutankhamun had a bent spine and an elongated skull but
they ruled out pathological causes. The shape of the
skull, they believe, was a normal variation and the
spine resulted from the way the embalmers positioned the
body. "Judging from his bones, the king was generally in
good health ... There are no signs of malnutrition or
infectious disease during childhood," the report added.
 The
study team also notes that the bone fragments were
broken during the embalming process or by the team led
by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
The current project also includes
meticulous CT scans of a large number of other Egyptian
mummies. To support the project, Siemens has provided a
special CT system, which is installed on a trailer –
making it transportable to wherever it is needed. With
this device, the fragile remains of Egypt’s ancient
people can be studied with a minimum of movement and
disturbance.
BY A CORRESPONDENT
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