British archaeologist Howard Carter and the Earl of Carnarvon found the tomb stuffed with gold and jewels, as well as the pharaoh’s golden burial mask, which has since become the face of ancient Egypt.
For many years, stories of a “curse of the pharaohs” abounded after some of those who had entered the tomb suffered an untimely death soon afterwards. It was put down to a curse believed to be cast on any person who disturbs a pharaoh’s mummy.
Now scientists have revealed that the body of Tutankhamun spontaneously combusted after a botched attempt to embalm him. A fragment of flesh from his mummified remains confirmed that his body burned while sealed in his coffin.
A staggering amount of the evidence has been overlooked
In a new documentary, fire investigators reveal that a chemical reaction caused by embalming oils used on Tutankhamun’s mummy when he died more than 3,300 years ago was responsible.
Egyptologist Dr Chris Naunton examined Carter’s original notes and also carried out a virtual autopsy on the body using X-ray and CT scanning technology, which pointed to a theory that he had died in battle.
Doctor Naunton said: “Although the death mask and other treasures are very familiar, a staggering amount of the evidence has been overlooked. Despite all the attention Tut’s mummy has received, the full extent of its strange condition has largely been overlooked.
“The charring and possibility that a botched mummification led to the body spontaneously combusting shortly after burial was entirely unexpected.
“With this study we have taken a big step forward in terms of understanding what happened at the end of Tut’s life.”
In February 2010, DNA tests confirmed that Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten, whose wife was also his sister.
He was about 17 when he died and may have inherited the throne aged eight or nine. He quickly began to restore Egypt’s traditional cult of Amun, which his father had replaced with the solar deity Aten.
According to the Restoration Stele, the most important document of the boy king’s reign, his father’s reforms left the country in a bad state. Its traditional gods, seeing their temples in ruins and their cults abolished, had abandoned Egypt to chaos.
When Tutankhamun came to the throne he took Ankhesenpaaten, third daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, as his queen and changed the name on her throne to Ankhesenamun.
Tutankhamun: The Mystery Of The Burnt Mummy, is on Channel 4 at 8pm next Sunday