Egypt Evidence in the tomb and analysis of King Tutankhamun’s remains shows that he may have died suddenly at a young age due to falling from his chariot.
The reason why King Tutankhamun (who ruled ancient Egypt around 1332 – 1323 BC) died young is one of the great archaeological mysteries, although there is evidence that he may have died after falling from his chariot. , IFL Science reported on November 10.
The expert group, including A. van As at the University of Limpopo and R. Brown at the University of Cape Town, said that Tutankhamun may be the first traffic death in Africa. In the new study, published in the South African Journal of Surgery , they compiled all the data supporting this theory and concluded the accident could have been severe enough to cause Tutankhamun internal damage.
In 1922, when King Tutankhamun’s mummy was discovered, archaeologists realized that the 19-year-old king was hastily buried in a tomb that was too large for him, possibly originally intended for someone else. This led them to believe that the king’s death occurred suddenly.
X-ray photos taken in 1968 support the above hypothesis by revealing broken bone fragments in the skull. At that time, the popular explanation was that the young king was bludgeoned to death by his enemies. However, subsequent studies did not support this political violence hypothesis because it showed that the skull was essentially intact. The bone fragments were probably just part of the spine that broke off during the mummification process.
However, the study also showed that the remains were missing a large part of the chest wall and several rib segments. Another confusing thing is that Tutankhamun’s heart and lungs were not placed in glass jars buried with the mummy. This led experts to speculate that his organs may have been removed due to a severe injury to his chest that crushed them.
In 2005, a CT scan revealed a fracture in the left distal femur, just above the knee. The resin embalming of the fracture shows that this is a new, open fracture, and appeared just before Tutankhamun’s death because there were no signs of bone healing. 3,500 years ago, when there were no antibiotics to fight infections, death from open fractures was very likely.
Regarding the cause of the injuries, researchers note that Tutankhamun’s tomb contained several chariots with very worn wheels and that there are ancient descriptions of him riding in such chariots. The fact that Tutankhamun was born with club feet also led to speculation that he used a horse-drawn carriage to get around.
According to the research team, the type of fracture that Tutankhamun suffered is extremely rare in children. Open fractures are often caused by blunt trauma, such as a car crash, a fall from a height, or a serious sports injury. “We believe that pharaoh Tutankhamun fell from his chariot due to a weak left leg. When he fell, he suffered multiple injuries, including chest injury and femur fracture,” the research team wrote.
The circumstances leading up to the chariot accident are unclear, but one notable point is that Tutankhamun’s tomb was filled with wine. Therefore, it is possible that the accident occurred when he was drunk and driving a horse-drawn carriage.
Thu Thao (According to IFL Science )
