Archaeology & History

Mystery of King Tutankhamun's untimely death may have been solved

By T.K. Randall
April 13, 2025 ·  6 comments

The burial mask of King Tutankhamun. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Steve Evans When the tomb of King Tutankhamun was discovered by Howard Carter back in 1922, it sent shockwaves through the archaeological community and made headline news around the world.

But even today, more than 100 years on, there are still things we don't know about this iconic pharaoh.

One of the biggest mysteries is what exactly killed Tutankhamun who was just 18 when he died.

Now new research - involving a collaboration between two German DNA experts and scientists from the National Research Center in Egypt and Cairo University - may have finally found the answer.By studying tissue samples and conducting a DNA analysis, the team was able to determine that the young pharaoh had suffered from a number of maladies at the time of his demise including necrosis of his left foot which would have required him to use a walking stick.

In the end, it was a combination of malaria and chronic health issues due to inbreeding that likely sealed his fate at such a young age.

Although it still remains unclear exactly who his parents were, one prominent theory is that his father was Akhenaten, while his mother was actually Akhenaten's own sister.

Another possibility is that his mother was Akhenaten's cousin - Queen Nefertiti.

Whatever the case, Tutankhamun would have been plagued with frail health for most of his short life.

Source: lbc.co.uk | Comments (6)

Tags: Tutankhamun, Egypt