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Since I was a teenager, I have been interested in Ancient Egypt and so I was most interested to read that scientists have effectively dispelled the theory that the 19 year-old pharaoh Tutankhamun was murdered.
Over the last two years scientists and Egyptologists have closely examined the pharaoh’s mummy as well as his blood and DNA. The latter was compared with ten other mummies and two have now been confirmed as being his grandmother and probably his father.
It really is quite amazing what can be discovered so many years after someone’s death. We now know that Tutankhamun may have had a rare bone disorder affecting the foot, called Kohler disease II, as well as a club foot and a curvature of the spine. Scientists also found that not long before his death he fractured a leg which did not heal properly. That he had problems with walking was reinforced by the discovery of canes in the pharaoh's tomb. Finally, they discovered that there were traces of the malaria parasite in the Tutankhamun’s blood.
The overall verdict seems to be that the fractured leg seriously weakened Tutankhamun’s health and that malaria finished him off.
This does seem to have dealt with the theory that the pharaoh was murdered. On the other hand, there is still speculation that what killed him was a fall from his chariot as may be evidenced by his chest cavity which was caved in as well as broken ribs.
The truth is that we will never know. But it is really quite amazing that scientists were able to extract DNA from a 3,300 year-old corpse which was badly charred as a result of the mummification process.
.
Since I was a teenager, I have been interested in Ancient Egypt and so I was most interested to read that scientists have effectively dispelled the theory that the 19 year-old pharaoh Tutankhamun was murdered.
Over the last two years scientists and Egyptologists have closely examined the pharaoh’s mummy as well as his blood and DNA. The latter was compared with ten other mummies and two have now been confirmed as being his grandmother and probably his father.
It really is quite amazing what can be discovered so many years after someone’s death. We now know that Tutankhamun may have had a rare bone disorder affecting the foot, called Kohler disease II, as well as a club foot and a curvature of the spine. Scientists also found that not long before his death he fractured a leg which did not heal properly. That he had problems with walking was reinforced by the discovery of canes in the pharaoh's tomb. Finally, they discovered that there were traces of the malaria parasite in the Tutankhamun’s blood.
The overall verdict seems to be that the fractured leg seriously weakened Tutankhamun’s health and that malaria finished him off.
This does seem to have dealt with the theory that the pharaoh was murdered. On the other hand, there is still speculation that what killed him was a fall from his chariot as may be evidenced by his chest cavity which was caved in as well as broken ribs.
The truth is that we will never know. But it is really quite amazing that scientists were able to extract DNA from a 3,300 year-old corpse which was badly charred as a result of the mummification process.
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