Forensic findings shed more light on King Tut

CAIRO, Egypt - He died more than 30 centuries ago, but new evidence continues to uncover more secrets into the life and death of boy King Tutankhamun.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, is the lead investigator in this forensic search to find more about the Egyptian pharaoh and was our guest on 9NEWS At Noon.

A British archaeologist, Howard Carter, originally found King Tut's tomb in 1922. But later in 2005, Hawass was part of the effort to perform DNA testing and CT scans on the mummy. He says the results explained more into the king's death.

"I found that he had a fracture in the left leg, and maybe had an infection. We found out now that that infection because of the severe malaria that caused high fever," Hawass explained.

Hawass says all of King Tut's ailments together contributed to his death at the age of 19. His research has ruled out longtime speculation that King tut was murdered.

Hawass concluded Tut succumbed to brain malaria after his already-frail health was compromised by a broken leg. He also suffered from a club foot and cleft palate, but severe malaria proved to be his undoing.

Tut ascended to the throne of ancient Egypt around 1333 BC at the age of ten. He died nine years later at the age of 19. Hawass believes a lot of the king's health issues were also related to the fact that his mother and father were also brother and sister.

"It was actually a secret, you know. And you know, I believe now we know a lot about him. We had only four mummies identified of his family. Now there are nine," Hawass said.

Research indicates King Tut used a cane because of his health ailments. Hawass actually examined one of the canes and found an interesting twist.

"...I found hieroglyphic inscriptions saying that King Tut said 'I made it by myself.' And he actually used this cane," he said.

The Discovery Channel aired many of these findings in a just-aired special, "King Tut Unwrapped," that detailed how Hawass and his team reached these findings.

Hawass will be in Denver this summer as part of a touring exhibition, "Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs." It premiers at the Denver Art Museum July 1. The exhibition will continue through early January. For more information on this upcoming event, visit www.denverartmuseum.org .