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.
According to a recent article in the National Geographic news, in 2006, a team of international scientists revealed another CT scan. It had disproved a popular theory that the Egyptian pharaoh was murdered by a blow to the head more than 3300 years ago. The scientists believed that the most likely explanation for the king’s death at 19 is a thigh fracture that became infected and ultimately