The face of Pharaoh Tutankhamun is displayed in a climate-controlled case at his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, close to Luxor, 500 km south of Cairo. It was moved from its ornate sarcophagus in order to be better preserved, experts said.
Credit: AFP
WASHINGTON: The celebrated Pharaoh Tutankhamun was subjected to modern genetic testing and computer technology to reveal that his parents were siblings and he was likely killed by malaria.
Researchers from Egypt, Italy and Germany used DNA testing to draw "the most plausible" family tree to date for Tutankhamun and computerised tomography (CT) scans to determine that the pharaoh and his forebears were unlikely to have had the feminine physiques they are depicted with in 3,000-year-old artifacts.
They analysed DNA taken from 11 mummies, including the boy king himself, and scanned all but one of the mummies to determine if they were related, look for evidence of genetic disorders and infectious diseases, and determine what killed Tutankhamun at just 19.
Many theories about King Tut's early demise
Tutankhamum - or King Tut - died just nine years into his reign, which lasted from 1333 to 1324 BC.
"Many scholars have hypothesised that Tutankhamun's death was attributable to an accident, such as a fall from his chariot or a kick by a horse or other animal; septicemia or fat embolism secondary to a femur fracture; murder by a blow to the back of the head; or poisoning," the study said.
But genetic testing found evidence that Tutankhamun had been infected with Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes an often deadly form of malaria.
Several disorders
The scans and genetic fingerprinting carried out on Tutankhamun also showed he had several disorders, some of which ran in the family. They included a bone disease and a clubfoot.
So rather than the majestic ruler that Tut is often depicted as, the pharaoh was probably "a young but frail king who needed canes to walk because of the bone-necrotic and sometimes painful Koehler disease II, plus oligodactyly (hypophalangism) in the right foot and clubfoot on the left," the study said.
Tut's many disorders probably weakened his immune system over time, and the researchers believe he might have died when, in his immuno-deficient state, he sustained a "sudden leg fracture, possibly introduced by a fall," which snowballed into a life-threatening condition when he contracted malaria.
Using genetic fingerprinting, the researchers also lifted the veil on another mystery surrounding King Tut: his lineage.
