Art News

Tests Show King Tutankhamen Died from Malaria Infection, Study Says

CHICAGO (REUTERS).- King Tutankhamen, the teen-aged pharaoh whose Egyptian tomb yielded dazzling treasures, limped around on tender bones and a club foot and probably died from malaria, researchers said on Tuesday. There has been speculation about the fate of the boy king, who died sometime around 1324 BC probably at age 19, since the 1922 discovery of his intact tomb in Egypt’s Valley of Kings. Tests performed on 16 royal mummies found four, including Tut, had contracted a severe form of malaria that likely cut short Tut’s reign — ruling out murder or some other sickness. Scientists from Egypt, Germany and elsewhere, including Zahi Hawass of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, compiled results from genetic and radiological testing performed on the mummies between 2007 and 2009. The results clarify details about the 155-year-long 18th Dynasty that included Tutankhamen, who inherited the throne at age 11.