a team of whom had gathered to probe the secret of tut death in 2005?
Answers
One cause of death proposed at the time of the CT scan was a chariot crash.
The king might have been riding in a chariot during a hunt or a battle—activities that ancient Egyptian rulers routinely performed as part of their kingly duties.
The damage to Tut's chest might also be explained by a swift kick from a horse—entirely possible, since horses pulled the pharaoh's chariot.
Or was it a hippopotamus that killed Tut? Perhaps the pharaoh was in the wrong place at the wrong time—hunting on foot in a marsh when a hippo charged.
Today hippos are extinct in Egypt, but farther to the south in Africa these aggressive 3,000-pound (1,360-kilogram) creatures with powerful jaws and sharp incisors are legendary for their attacks. Victims may suffer massive tearing, deep puncture wounds, and crushed bones, any combination of which could be fatal.
Other experts have wondered if modern thieves—likely operating during World War II when Tut's tomb was unguarded—sawed through the pharaoh's ribs to remove the last beads stuck to the goop that coated his chest.
Flammable Materials
That goop features in the most surprising revelation of the upcoming television program: The great quantity of resins and oils that were poured over Tut's mummy to prepare him for eternity somehow burst into flames after the mummy had been sealed in several nested coffins.
That conclusion is based on tests done to a scrap of Tut's flesh, which was apparently collected at the time of the 1968 examination of the mummy.
Tut's mummy is, indeed, very black. But did a fire really turn him into a fried pharaoh?
Some Egyptologists believe that carbonization—a chemical reaction between the mummy and the resins, fostered by the stuffy heat of the tomb—turned Tut the color of Osiris.
But catching fire? Hard to imagine.
To begin with, Tut's mummy survives.
Does that mean the fire was serious enough to make him sizzle and char but not so hot that he was reduced to ashes? According to reports about the TV show, the researchers believe the fire burned at about 390°F (200°C). A modern cremation is much hotter, occurring at 1400 to 1800°F (760 to 982°C).
But even if mere charring were possible, the burial holds more evidence that argues against a fire.
King Tut wore a beaded linen cap on his shaved head. If his flesh had burned, wouldn't his cap show similar effects?
King Tut's mummy was decked out with jewelry—bracelets, necklaces, pendants, earrings, finger rings, and amulets galore, made of gold and silver set with precious stones such as carnelian, lapis lazuli, quartz, and turquoise. Many pieces are on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and none appears to have suffered fire damage.