When it comes to this character of ancient history, even people who are very far from this question immediately listen. Truly the Pharaoh of Egypt Tutankhamun is synonymous with mystery! Occupying a very small place in history, even in our time, he demonstrates extraordinary strength. His name was crossed out, but it has overcome time and will remain in the memory forever.
MYSTIFICATIONS OF CHARACTERS
Mummy Tut is not represented in Cairo along with the mummies of the great pharaohs, it is the only one resting in the Valley of the Kings. It was in our days that his sarcophagus was opened to carry out analyzes of the not very well-preserved remains of Tutankhamun.
Experts confirmed that the body of this pharaoh was poorly preserved, because consists of almost decayed bones. However, this does not distort the appearance of those luxurious items buried with him.
But his fame also matters a lot! Tutankhamun has always been the object of close scrutiny. If, on the one hand, he was pushed to the fore, on the other hand, he was doomed to constant hoaxes. They wrote about Tutankhamun all the time, but few scientists seriously studied his deeds, the very personality of Tut, who left early for the Underworld.
For a long time, investigations were carried out into the real cause of his early death, all options were considered. No point of view was ruled out.
It was assumed that he was the victim of murder as a result of the conspiracy of the court, and this hypothesis seemed the most acceptable and, most likely, more attractive.
Promotional video:
Thus, on the covers of newspapers and magazines there were headlines like: "Murder on the Nile", "Who killed Tut?", "Crime of the Pharaoh", "Detective in the Valley of the Kings", "The Hand That Killed Tutankhamun". The shadow of the supposed father of Akhetanon, the greatest monotheist who brought the Egyptian kingdom to chaos with his ideas, contributed to the confirmation of this hypothesis, based mainly on the alleged and suspected fracture of the nape of the pharaoh. There were even two FBI exagents and a number of doctors involved to solve the case, and we now know, almost sure, that the events took place in a completely different way.
A study of the mummy by English Egyptologists conducted in January last year under the leadership of the head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities of Egypt, Zaha Hawas, confirmed that it was simply a matter of damage that occurred during mummification, i.e. when Tutankhamun was already dead, but not yet buried. Thus, the case, which seemed to be a judicial one for many years, turned into a medical case …
RESEARCH DOES NEVER END
Zahi Hawas, as the chief caretaker of the pharaohs, yielding to the demands of those who insisted on the exhumation of Tut's body, expressed confidence that the moment had come in the repeated violation of the eternal peace of the pharaoh in order to find an answer regarding the causes of his death. A team of experts under his leadership carried out a body analysis using state-of-the-art technologies, in order to find out the truth scientifically and dot the i's in the assumptions of the last decade.
Pathologists "scanned" Tut's mummy using high-precision mobile equipment, under the supervision of sponsors. A commission of eight scholars determined that Tutankhamun died, in all likelihood, naturally, and not a violent death.
And the National Geographic Council insisted on the distribution of a 'film, which reveals "sensational" news that this case could be archived: Tutankhamun died as a result of a banal viral infection that arose from a severe injury to his left leg.
So the "Posthumous Trial", which lasted for a long time against the hypothetical assassins of the pharaoh, burst like a soap bubble! The fact was not evident, all the charges were closed one by one, and the suspicions, consisting mainly of ghosts, disintegrated instantly.
And Ai, a loyal vizier who decided to achieve a better social position, and Horemheb, a trusted general of the army, and Ankhsenamon, his beloved wife, all previously recorded in the register of suspects were released from charges and acquitted as not having committed crimes.
The mummy revealed the truth: there was no premeditated murder, no crime, no culprit. But then what is the fatal reason for his death? The verdict was finally delivered: an infection, apparently caused by injury during the war or hunting.
WHY WASN'T TUTAHXAMOHU'S LEG?
Doctors - contemporaries of Tutankhamun, possessing deep knowledge of medicine - for some reason could not cure the young pharaoh. Antibiotics in the modern sense did not "exist" yet …
But it was Zahi Havas who in November 2001 discovered in the vicinity of Cairo the grave of Kvar, the first physician of one of the kings of the 5th dynasty. Inside the burial, about 30 surgical instruments made of bronze were found, among which were needles and scalpels. There is credible evidence that the ancient Egyptians practiced surgery, in which patients survived when the surface after amputation was covered with healing tissue.
The fact that the ancient Egyptians were "pioneers" in the field of amputation of arms and legs, as well as in prosthetics, is also confirmed by German researchers who found the mummified remains of a middle-aged woman who died about 3000 years ago in the Sheikh-Abd-El-Gourn area. whose big toe was amputated during her lifetime and replaced with a wooden prosthesis, consisting of 3 connected fragments, painted brown and fixed together with a piece of cloth wrapped around the leg. The discovery can be considered proof of the ability of the Egyptians in the field of prosthetics.
But why did they not "operate" on Tutankhamun if the wound on his leg did not heal? The answer to this question after so many centuries, you see, is very difficult to get …
Barbarism for the sake of gold
But let's look at the "clinical map" of the pharaoh's mummy that has survived to this day: with the exception of the head, it was in very poor condition. Elsewhere in his skull, two bone fragments were found, which were definitely separated from the skull after death and, thus, they were not the cause of his death.
It should be remembered that Tutankhamun was dismembered by Carter and his colleagues, who did not stand on ceremony with the mummy of the "Golden Pharaoh".
Due to the excessive use of embalming rubbers, the pharaoh's body was glued so tightly to the coffin that Carter and his colleagues - for the sake of obtaining gold jewelry - used barbaric methods. In order to separate the mummy from the sarcophagus, while trying to preserve the wonderful mask of gold, amulets and jewelry, a hammer, scalpel and red-hot knives were used. As a result, the body was dismembered into 19 parts, as if Tutankhamun wanted to reunite with the spirit of Osiris, which, according to the myth, was in turn dismembered into pieces by his brother Set and reassembled by his wife Isis …
For the first time he scientifically diagnosed Tut's mummy Garrison in 1968, and, apart from bone fragments in the skull, did not reveal any other pathologies. This is how the version of the conspiracy against Tutankhamun appeared …
Obviously, scientific knowledge from 40 years ago was not so perfect, and the available equipment was limited, as a result of which the resulting conclusion was confusing and inaccurate.
IS THE BOY HEALTHY?
However, it is one thing to declare and admit that Tutankhamun was not killed, and it is another thing to claim an exact judgment about how exactly the pharaoh was wounded.
The experts announced that no genetic disease could have caused the death of the pharaoh.
Although who can claim, without fear of being refuted, that the monarch was not subject to any physical ailment? Maybe not the spine, since the tests ruled out this, but perhaps the glandular or lymphatic system, etc. Could Tutankhamun, if I may say so, be a subject of risk, having poor health; after all, didn't he die prematurely?
The film states that the boy Tut was as healthy as a bull.
However, it was previously believed that the pharaoh-boy was a fragile child who was protected from various physical exercises and stress. But the latest discovery completely crossed out the previously known facts.
THE DEATH OF PHARAOH WAS UNEXPECTED
Be that as it may, the tomb of Tutankhamun was not so magnificent, its arrangement was carried out, as it seemed, hastily, as if death had occurred unexpectedly. Material archaeological evidence of this - in the tomb of Tutankhamun, sealed and not opened by thieves, all burial things are piled up in a heap, and not placed in their places in the order befitting the pharaoh.
Among the stunning treasures in the tomb of the young king, about 130 walking sticks were found. Many have signs of their use, no images are visible on them, they are real walking sticks, which confirms the theory that the young man needed these tools for support and even for walking. A large number of them is already a suspicious element in itself, in addition, there are images in which he is depicted leaning on a stick, similar to a kind of crutch; and now there is already a medical indication, which testifies to a physical injury to the leg and, moreover, to a shorter lower joint.
Is there a need for other confirmations? Many things already seem to be more clear then: Tutankhamun had problems with movement for a rather long period, and it was not just a few days before the moment when the wound was infected, as doctors said.
In the grave, 6 disassembled chariots of unusually fine work were found: for a parade and others, lighter, for war or hunting.
Among other things, various objects contain images of Tutankhamun in chariots and shooting arrows against the enemies of Egypt or on a hunt. Such images may only be symbolic. In accordance with its role, in the New Kingdom, indeed, the chariot has always been associated with the king, but it cannot be ruled out that the objects in the grave were also a reflection of Tut's personality. One of the ruler's chariots found was of a hunting type and showed signs of "sufficient" wear. Hundreds of arrows, which were in one of the burial chambers of the pharaoh, were also not put there with new ones: they were used. This all became a confirmation that Tutankhamun led an active lifestyle. Quite simply, he loved hunting!
New data also says that the pharaoh did not die in the spring, but in December or January, and this is the height of the hunting season!
On one of the trips, in the excitement of chasing game, Here he could turn over with the chariot or fall out of it. As a result, a severe fracture of the left leg and blood poisoning …
***
"The case of the death of Tutankhamun" is closed, but there is still a whole spiral of mysteries. After all, a large number of secrets were buried together with the young pharaoh …
Translated from Italian by Laura CORCINI