...Assignment 1: Exploring Ancient Mysteries Diane M. Hall Dr. Chad Redwing Humanities 111 5/01/2016 No other king is more well-known or studied than a pharaoh named Tutankhamen. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the king, but among the most popular is the way the young pharaoh died. Some theories state it was an injury; others say the pharaoh died due to illness, and yet, still others indicate he was murdered. This paper will reveal the most likely and acceptable theory on the cause of King Tuts death. A team of British scientist, working with vehicle accident investigators at the Cranfield Forensic Institute in Swindon, England stated that the king died on his knees while being run over by a chariot. The team used x-ray and other data received from the results of a virtual autopsy. The results showed injuries in a manner of a particular pattern on one side of Tuts body. By using the computer to simulate related injuries in a car accident, the team put together a crash scenario involving a chariot that resulted in his death (Knapp, 2013). Although this is one possible theory from evidence gained during research, the pharaoh could have lived through the chariot accident. According to Egypt’s chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, the real cause of the young king’s death was an inherited bone disorder called Kohler disease that made the King week, followed by an infectious disease called Malaria. This conclusion came from x-rays and DNA analysis performed. Hawass found genes...
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...What Happened to “King Tut?” There is no true explanation or clear reasoning on how King Tutankhamen died suddenly, approximately at the age of 18. Theorists have yet to come to any clear explanation on how he suddenly died. Two theories that make the most sense to me are that he died from some sort of sickness, such as malaria combined with a degenerative bone disease, which some studies suggest, or a broken leg, which later lead to infection, that has been discovered and recent autopsies. The theory revolving around malaria has been one of the the lasting reasoning’s on how he died, which was accelerated by a broken leg, recent studies suggest. Several mummies buried along with the remains of King Tut have been examined and 4 out of the 11, including King Tuts remains, showed strands of malaria. In fact, 4 of the 11 mummies, including King Tut’s, had genetic traces of malaria tropica, the most severe form of the infection. He was also plagued with avascular bone necrosis, a condition in which diminished blood supply to the bone leads to serious weakening or destruction of tissue. These two findings have deemed theorists to believe that these findings are a likely reason to his death. In recent studies, Ashraf Selim, a radiologist at Kasr Eleini Teaching Hospital at Cairo University in Egypt, along with a team of scientist set up a noninvasive CT scanner in Luxor to perform a full-body scan on the king's remains, obtaining about 1,900 digital cross-sectional images. The...
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...The Mystery of the Death of King Tutankhamun Many believe that King Tutankhamun was murdered; others believe he died of natural causes deriving from an insect bite. According to a two-year long study conducted by Zahi Hawass of the Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), scientists now believe that he likely died of a leg injury, further complicated by an attack of malaria (HASAN, 2010). Having different theories and no concrete evidence, the death of King Tut has always been and continues to remain a mystery. The manner, in which King Akhenaten (father of King Tutankhamun) died, brought concern to suspect that Tutankhamun would become a political target for assassination. King Akhenaten yielded a religious revolution creating a world filled with chaos and during this pandemonium, Tutankhamun was born. The religious uproar that he caused led to several attempted assassinations on his life, and after 17 years of reigning, he died. The cause of his death was unknown but was suspected to be murder. At the young age of 9, Tutankhamun was made king but it took him several years to mature and rise to power. King Tutankhamen then experienced an acute early death at age 19 leaving people to believe that his death may have been a politically motivated assassination. Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter, many theorized that the cause of Tutankhamun’s death was murder because of the hole in his skull. This was later...
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...Tutankhamen died young, at around 18 years of age. However, his cause of death has not been confirmed. Did he die of an injury, of illness or was he murdered? The cause of King Tut’s death has been unclear and is the root of much speculation. The question of what happened to him has continued to puzzle scientists, archaeologists, and egyptologists for many years. There are many different theories as to how he died and all of them continue to be controversial topics. Many people have argued that he was likely murdered due to greed and power, while others believe he fell from his chariot or died from an illness. In recent years, there have been several findings by different archaeologists and scientists to see if they could determine the cause of the young king’s death. On March 8, 2005, an Egyptian archaeologist by the name of Zahi Hawass revealed the results of a CT scan which was performed on the pharaoh’s mummy. The scan uncovered no evidence of a blow to the back of the head and no evidence suggesting foul play. However, there was a crack in the skull but it appeared to have been the result of drilling by embalmers. A fracture to the young king’s left thighbone was interpreted as evidence that the pharaoh badly broke his leg shortly before he died and his leg severely became infected. Members of an Egyptian led research team recognized it as a possibility that the fracture was caused by the embalmers. A total of 1700 images were produced of the mummy during the CT scan...
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...Death of King Tut In: Philosophy and Psychology Death of King Tut Did King Tut die from a sickness or was he murdered, that’s the question. Some Egyptologists and Scientists argue over the fact regarding King Tut’s death. The first theory is that King Tut was murdered because he had a lot of power. King Tut’s father (Akhenaten) changed Egypt in a big way. He wanted Egyptians to only believe in one God, in which it was against what they believed in. Some of the Egyptians wasn’t happy with that decision. King Tut’s father changed the way that the priest thought and it would have forced the priest to close down their temples and believe in what he believed in. The change caused the environment to be unstable. This change would also change the thinking from hundreds of years prior. When King Tut was a child, his father died and that’s how he received the throne. With King Tut being so young, he had little knowledge of how to run Egypt so that meant that he needed someone with a lot of experience to help him, so they would also look at the help that he had. Meaning, the help may have had something to do with his death. The second theory from Forensic experts was that King Tut may have had an infection. Doctor Zahi Hawass, stated that King Tut had a crack in his skull and it may have been caused during the process of mummification. Doctor Zahi Hawass also stated that King Tut had a fracture in left leg, supposedly to have happened a few days before...
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...so many ways King Tut could have died. Some people are saying he was murdered and some say he died from an injury. The book of Sayre said, “at the time of Tut’s death, the last judgment was routinely illustrated in Books of Going Forth by Day (also known as Books of the Dead), collections of magical texts or spells buried with the deceased to help them survive the ritual of judgment” (Sayre, 2012, p.88). Most people think that King Tut was murdered but I see in an online magazine that King Tut died from a broken and infected leg. “It’s official: King Tutankhamen’s death was caused by a badly broken and infected leg, refuting murderous theories about the famous pharaoh’s demise 3,300 years ago, according to Egyptian radiologists” (Hayes, 2006). Everyone believed that King Tut was killed by a blow to the back of his head, “however recent medical imaging of the mummy refutes this widely accepted theory, present today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North American” (2006). They said King Tut did not experience any violence during his death. “There was no evidence of violent premortum trauma to the skull”, according to Ashraf Selium, from the Cairo University in Egypt” (2006). Another theory is saying that King Tut was murdered by Ay because he wanted the throne. “It was said that Ay killed King Tut out of greed; Ay knew that by killing King Tut he would inherit the throne and became pharaoh” (King Tut one, 2005). It was said that Ay killed King Tut by a blow to...
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...Week 4 Assignment 1 Hum 111 July 29,2013 King Tutankhamen better known as King Tut was a ruler of ancient Egypt in 1343 B.C. At an early age King Tut inherited the throne. However King Tut did not rule the New Kingdom for more than a decade, before he died at a young age before his 20th birthday (King Tut Fun Facts, 2013). Since the tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 more than 90 year old ago. The question has been how did the young ruler die? Was he murdered? Or did he die from an injury or illness? There are many mysteries of King Tutankhamen’s death theories though out the years. One of the popular theories of King Tut’s death would be the murder theory. Many suggested that he was murder possibly from begin fatally hit from the behind because of an x-ray in 1968 of King Tut’s skull indicated sign of bone fragment lost (Rattini, 2013). There were only a few servants that could benefit from the King Tut’s death. One of the close advisor named Ay would mostly likely kill he out of greed or/and to gain power of the throne. Later an Egyptologist named Bob Brier believe this theories because of a ring found in Cairo in 1931, that show that Ay and Ankhesenamun got married after King Tut’s death because if Ay did not forced her to marry him he would of not inherited the throne (King Tut's Death Remain a Mystery, 2013). Another theory was that King Tut died from a chariot accident when he was hunting in the desert. Zahi Hawass, a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence...
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...King Tutankhamen’s Death Edwin R Martinez Dr. James Hewitt Humanities 111 July 30, 2014 There are many theories relating to the cause of King Tutankhamen’s death. Many people say King Tut was murdered, some say it was from an accident from a chariot, while others say it was from a serious illness. Though the majority of the people believe that King Tut was murdered, in recent medical examination reveals it was due to and illness. King Tutankhaten born 1323 B.C, was the son of King Akhenaten. When King Akhenaten died, King Tutankhaten became Pharaoh changed his name to King Tutankhamen which meant, the living image of Amun. King Tut was 9 years old when he became King and ruled for 10 years till his death. King Tut married his half-sister, Ankhensenamun. King Tut was very young and was guided as king. Some say he was manipulated, by his Elderly Aye and Horemheb till he was at age to make his own decisions to rule. After King Tut death, Aye ruled then followed by Horemheb to restore order for Egypt. Some say they try to destroy the name Pharaoh Akhenaten. Could that been motive to say they might have been involved in the murder King Tutankhamen? A theory to King Tut death is murder. Some say he was struck in the back of the head that cause his death. Elder Aye, knew that he would follow after King Tut to gain the throne and assume power to Egypt. For many people, they speculated that Aye had something to do with the death of King Tut. At the age of 19...
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...The Mystery of King Tut's Death The Mystery of King Tut's Death If you ask the average American to name an egyptian king ninety nine percent of the time they will spout out the name king Tutankhamun or king Tut for short with out really even thinking about it. Why is that so many automatically associate an egyptian casket with the one that was unearthed in Tut's tomb? Maybe it has something to do with the kings appointment at such a young age and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death or murder at the tender age of eighteen. Maybe it has something to do with the highly publicized discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun's is the only royal tomb in Egypt to have escaped the discovery of looters. In addition to the royal sarcophagus discovered by archeologist Howard Carter, there were also vast quantities of beautiful furniture in the tomb, including a golden throne that dates from the early kings rule (Sayre, H. M., 2011). This makes us curious about what really happened to king Tut there are many accounts but they have not been proven so for now they are just theories that add to the mystery of king Tut's demise. The most controversial theory of what happened to tutankhamun is that he was murdered by someone in his inner circle whom he trusted maybe even a family member. In his international bestseller The Murder of Tutankhamun paleontologist Bob Brier accuses Aye, Tutankhamun's administrator of assassinating him...
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...The Death of King Tut Assignment 1 By Angela Faison Humanities 101 Professor Charles Fleming King Tut was born 1341 B.C.E. and was the 12th king of the 18th Egyptian dynast. King Tutankhamun was in power from approximately 1332 to 1323 B.C.E. After King Tutankhamun (also known as King Tut), death at age 19 he disappeared from history, until the discovery of his tomb in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history) With this discovery came a fascination into King Tut’s life and death. There have been many theories surrounding his death. Two theories I find interesting are that an accident caused the untimely death of teenage pharaoh King Tut. The other theory is that King Tut was murdered by his advisor Ay. King Tutankhamun's mummy has been X-rayed three times, in 1968, 1978 and in 2005. (ancientegyptonline.co.uk) But these scans have not been able to confirm the cause of his death. The first theory is that King Tutankhamun was genetically inferior. In 2010 DNA tests published revealed that Tutankhamen’s parents were likely brother and sister. (www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/tutankhamen) This left King Tut with a bone disease in his clubbed left foot. It also made it difficult for King Tut to stand in the chariot while performing his Kingly duties. Theorist believe that King Tut may have crashed his chariot leaving him with a broken leg. (www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/tutankhamen) In 1995 CT scans...
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...There are several different theories as to how King Tutankhamun died. Some will argue he was murdered, while others believe he died from an illness. Due to the several theories that surround his death it is virtually impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of his death that occurred over 3,000 years ago. However the one fact that scientists and historians can agree about, is that the death of King Tutankhamun is one of the most fascinating mysteries to ever come out of Egypt and still intrigues scientists and historians to this day. Did King Tut die of an illness? According to researchers at Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, a combination of bone disease and a malaria infection may have led to the young king’s untimely death. King Tut suffered from avascular bone necrosis, a condition where poor blood supply to the bone leads to a weakening or destruction of an area of bone. He also, along with three mummy’s identified as close relatives, suffered from malaria at some time in his life. Researches write that the bone condition alone would not cause death but in addition to a malaria infection, death is highly probable. "These results suggest avascular bone necrosis in conjunction with the malarial infection as the most likely cause of death of Tutankhamun”, (Covington, June 2005). Was it murder? One popular story that stands out is based on the theory that King Tut was murdered with a blow to the back of the head by a member of the royal court in order to inherit...
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...Was king Tut murdered or did he die from an illness? It seems that this question has puzzled Egyptologist, historians, and scientist for decades. While conducting my research it became apparent that there are many different theories as to how King Tut’s life came to an end. Many of the theories that revolve around the death of the king tend to circle many controversial topics. With so many theories surrounding King Tut’s death it is almost impossible to rule out an exact cause of his death. One thing that is certain; there will always be many theories as to how King Tut died. One popular story that stands out is based on the relationship between King Tut and Ay. This story is popular so much so, that It was said that Ay killed King Tut out of greed. Ay knew that by killing King Tut he would inherit the throne. In 1968, Ronald Harrison, a British scientist took x-rays of Kings Tut’s skull. During his examination he discovered fragments of bone inside the skull possibly indicating trauma to the head. The damages to the head could have been caused after death, during the mummification process; however, it is highly unlikely. A trauma specialist from Long Island University by the name of Bob Brier insisted it could not have been caused naturally. He stated, “The blow was to a protected area at the back of the head which you do not injure in an accident, someone had to sneak up from behind.” Bob Brier revealed his findings January 17, 1997 in a conference held in California. ...
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...TUTANKHAMUN’S DEATH He was just a teenager when he died. Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, the modern world has speculated about what has happened to him, with murder the most extreme possibility. Most people argue that Tutankhamun was murdered from a blow to the head because he had an injury to the back of his skull. He also had visible broken bones when his tomb was excavated. Many think that he was murdered because Tut died when he was only 19 years old. For many years, it was assumed that the so called Boy King was a murder victim by either one of his successors. Although Many speculate that King Tut was murdered, Scientist have their own theories about the death of King Tut as well. Scientist believe that he may have died from natural causes, or simply by an accident. The first theory that King Tut was murdered was because of the head injury to the back of his skull. After extensive research, I found an article in The National Geographic magazine that states a team of specialist in radiology, forensics, and anatomy did a ct scan and found no traces of lethal trauma to King Tuts head. It also states that embalmers apparently entered the skull through the nose as well as the neck, perhaps breaking off bones in the process. This would explain the injury to King Tuts head. The team found no evidence for a blow to the back of the head, and no other indication of foul play. The second theory is that King Tut may have...
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...The Mysteries of King Tutankhamen’s Death There have been many theories on how Tutankhamen died. However, several scientist and doctors believe that they have solved the mystery. During research of this mystery many theories and assumptions have been made; such as murder, accidental death, birth defects, and illnesses. The three theories that will be discussed here are as follows: gynecomestia, accidental death, or murder. First we have the theory of Dr. Hutan Ashrafian, a lecturer and surgeon at the Imperial College London. He says that the key to solving the mystery lies in the art of the time. Numerous signs in the art depict King Tut with highly feminine features, and that the enlarged breast is indicative of a condition known as gynecomastia. He states that this condition when added to familial evidence, indicates that Tutankhamun might have suffered and eventually died from temporial lobe epilepsy. “ For all of them to die sequentially at younger ages is a sign of genetic inheritance of some sort,” Ashrafian said, adding “you could argue that one of them died in battle, one of them was poisoned, but none of them did die in battle. They could have been poisoned, of course, but it’s very odd for sequential pharaohs who were aware that they could have been killed to be killed at such a young age.” This statement he made after researching King Tut’s family members that preceded him in ruling as Pharoah. Ashrafian believes that Tutankhamun’s father, Akhenaten...
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...As a child of a King, I don’t doubt that the young King Tut was fiercely guarded. When looking at King Tutankhamun’s (Tut) mask, it easy to see that he was young. Yes indeed, he was only 19 years old when he died. King Tut was by far from being the most powerful of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, however, he is the most celebrated Ancient King, now three thousand years after his death; people are still incredibly fascinated about the circumstances surrounding his death. Speculation about the possible cause of King Tut’s death have been swarming around since Howard Carter, British archaeologist discovered the tomb in the Valley of Kings in 1922. Designated KV62 (Kings Valley Tomb 62), it was the first royal tomb to be found almost intact (Kmtsesh). Along with the discovery of his mummified body, his tomb was stuffed with treasures and artifacts. One theory regarding King Tut is murder. Many scientists believe the fracture to the back of the skull which was revealed in an X-ray of his mummy is due to being hit with a blunt object. There is no need to jump to conclusion about this theory. Some scientists are convinced the he was not murdered; however, some are convinced that the crack in the skull was accidental, caused during the process of mummifying the body. If proper care was not taken during the initial process, they are many things that could have occurred such as his corpse being dropped on the ground or a sharp instrument falling on his skull. The two prime suspects...
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