The fame of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun is truly royal. His personality is familiar even to those people who are completely far from the history of the ancient world. The appearance of Tutankhamen is recognizable thanks to the funeral mask and is one of the most famous among the Egyptian rulers. But such popularity is due not to great achievements or deeds, but to the fact that his tomb is the only one of all that retained its original appearance, it was not touched by the hands of robbers, thanks to which it appeared to the world in all its splendor.
The find of the century
The tomb of the pharaoh was discovered in 1922 by the American Egyptologist Howard Carter. The find amazed scientists. Such a rich decoration has never been seen before. And this is no wonder: all the tombs that were found before were looted. The pharaoh was buried in three sarcophagi, the last one, which contained the mummified body, was made of pure gold. It took more than one month to compile an inventory of all the items that were found. The Egyptians did not sparegold and precious stones for their tombs, believing that they will have all this in the afterlife. From the mask and the sarcophagus, the world first saw the appearance of Tutankhamun, which was very attractive.
The existence of the pharaoh was generally questioned, the data about him were so insignificant. On this occasion, G. Carter even said: "In the current state of our knowledge, we can say with certainty only one thing: the only remarkable event in his life was that he died and was buried."
Curse of the Tomb
The next year after the opening of the tomb, the man who financed the excavations, D. Carnarvon, died. The official cause of death is pneumonia. But in pursuit of a sensation, the press began to "inflate" the story of the curse of the tomb. Subsequently, the death of 22 people was attributed to this mystical fact, of which thirteen were present at the direct opening of the tomb. But in pursuit of mysticism, many have forgotten that all members of the research group died at a fairly mature age (74 years on average), and the last one, violating all logic, was G. Carter.
Life and reign
Tutankhamun belongs to the 18th dynasty of Egyptian rulers, he had a chance to reign for only 10 years. It is difficult to establish any family ties after the millennia have passed. But still, scientists suggest that he was the son or brother of the previous pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) and at the same time son-in-law. Numerous marriages among close relatives, includingbetween siblings have led to frequent genetic anomalies and diseases. And perhaps this causes the fact that the appearance of Tutankhamen was not so majestic. He suffered from diseases such as cleft palate, clubfoot caused by necrosis of the bones of the feet (Köhler's syndrome). He ascended the throne at the age of 10-12, that is, still a child, and in fact the regents ruled for him. The most significant event of his reign is the revival of traditional Egyptian culture, which was cruelly abandoned by his predecessor. The wall images in the tomb indicate that the young Tutankhamun took an active part in hunting and military campaigns, including in Nubia. The pharaoh died presumably at the age of 18-19, and the dynasty ended on him. This fact of early death to this day causes many versions and reasons to believe that he was killed.
The mystery of Tutankhamen's death
Back in 1922, many scholars noticed that the ruler of Egypt was buried as if people were in a hurry. The dimensions of the tomb were too miniature and could hardly contain all the decoration. Even the wall paintings were done carelessly, leaving stains of paint that weren't wiped off. All this led to thoughts about the murder of the pharaoh. The main version is a blow to the base of the skull, confirmed by her x-ray, where fragments of bone inside the head were visible. Some scientists from Europe believe that the pharaoh died of gangrene, after an injury received while hunting. This was debunked in 2010. Tomography of the mummy (in 2005) and DNA analysis of the remains not only established the appearanceTutankhamun, but also with a great deal of confidence confirmed that the pharaoh died at the age of 18-19 from severe, complicated malaria, since it was precisely its pathogens that were discovered. And the damaged skull is most likely the result of the embalming process. It is impossible to say something with 100% certainty, scientists around the world have not come to a consensus.
Tutankhamun's appearance
The mummy has survived to this day in very poor condition. G. Carter was forced to separate it piece by piece from the golden sarcophagus because of the resin with which it was glued to the walls. The employees hired by the scientist first separated the skull, and then the rest of the body, violating the integrity of the main joints. But, despite this, decades later, scientists still recreated the appearance of Tutankhamun. The mummy was one of the first to be studied using computed tomography. On the basis of the obtained data on the structure of the skull, soft tissue reconstruction was carried out and the appearance of Tutankhamun was recreated. The pharaoh was not handsome, as it turned out, he had quite specific facial features. Elongated skull, protruding lower jaw and malocclusion. The growth was only about 168 cm, and the structure of the skeleton is very fragile. Some scientists attribute to him congenital scoliosis and clubfoot. Most likely, this is the result of incest (the father and mother of the pharaoh are brother and sister, according to DNA studies). The reconstruction shown in the photo was made by British scientists.
Thousands of years have passed, science does not stand still, and although scientists have recreated the appearance of Tutankhamun, the death of the young pharaoh still excites many and causes heated debate among the world's most famous Egyptologists, without giving clear answers to numerous disputes.
