EGYPT/FILE: DNA tests reveal King Tutankhamun died from malaria

Record ID: 384313

  • Title: EGYPT/FILE: DNA tests reveal King Tutankhamun died from malaria
  • Date: 18th February 2010
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (FEBRUARY 17, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EGYPTIAN MUSEUM TOURISTS ENTERING MUSEUM VARIOUS OF MUMMIES OF KING TUTANKHAMUN'S FATHER, GRANDMOTHER AND MOTHER IN DISPLAY CASES AT NEWS CONFERENCE CLOSE OF MUMMY OF KING TUT'S MOTHER PAN FROM ASSEMBLED PRESS TO MUMMIES MUMMIES ON DISPLAY CLOSE ON MUMMY OF KING TUT'S GRANDMOTHER HEAD OF EGYPT'S SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES, DR. ZAHI HAWASS ADDRESSING REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF EGYPT'S SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES, DR. ZAHI HAWASS, SAYING: "And therefore we took DNA sample of KV55 mummy, and Amenhotep III, and we found out that this is the mummy of Akhenaten. He died in the age of 45 to 55, and that can confirm that he is Akhenaten. He is the son of Amenhotep III and the father of King Tut." CLOSE ON MUMMY OF AKHENATEN, KING TUT'S FATHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF EGYPT'S SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES, DR. ZAHI HAWASS, SAYING: "The other important thing, that we found that the mummy known as Elder Lady, this mummy, people said she could be Queen Tiye, because there is a hair found in the tomb of King Tut in a box. They took the sample of this hair and they analysed that with the hair of this lady, and they said they are matching. But also this will never confirm that this could be Queen Tiye. But with Yuya and Tjuya, DNA, and Tiye, we were able to find out that she is the daughter, this elder lady is the daughter of Yuya and Tjuya and the wife of Amenhotep III." MUMMY OF KING TUT'S GRANDMOTHER SIGN ON HER DISPLAY CASE (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF EGYPT'S SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES, DR. ZAHI HAWASS, SAYING: "We found out (and King Tut), that the younger lady found in cave V35, is the mother of King Tut. But we don't know her name. But we are sure that the younger lady is the daughter of this man, Amenhotep III, and is the daughter of this lady, Queen Tiye." CLOSE ON MUMMY OF KING TUT'S MOTHER HEAD OF THE INSTITUTE FOR MUMMIES AND THE ICEMAN AT THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY IN ITALY, ALBERT ZINK WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY, STANDING NEAR DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE INSTITUTE FOR MUMMIES AND THE ICEMAN AT THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY IN ITALY, ALBERT ZINK, SAYING: "He had on one foot, he had a so-called osteo-necrosis, on one of the foot bones, and that really made a lot of pain, and let's say it was difficult for him to walk probably. So he had a lot of walking sticks in his tomb. And you also see this inscription where he was shown with a walking stick. And this is actually because he has a problem in walking. This is nothing little in the end, but it also weakens your immune system, your overall health. And maybe this in combination with the malaria could have contributed to his death." VARIOUS OF MUMMIES IN DISPLAY CASES TEAM THAT CARRIED OUT STUDY SURROUNDED BY PRESS NEAR MUMMIES
  • Embargoed: 5th March 2010 12:00
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  • Topics: History,Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA1UYGL3KGC1TAYH09X1JHJD0JE
  • Story Text: 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.
    On Wednesday (February 17) a team of researchers in Cairo announced a series of landmark discoveries about Egypt's most famous Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, after they conducted DNA analysis to reveal the identity of his immediate family members and the cause of his death.
    A joint European-Egyptian team of Egyptologists and scientists carried out tests on 16 royal mummies, thought to be related to Tutankhamun, who attained worldwide fame after the discovery of his intact tomb, laden with golden treasures, in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.
    At a press conference in Cairo, the head of the team, Zahi Hawass, revealed that King Tut's father is indeed thought to be Akhenaten (ruled 1352-1336 BC), the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh, under whose reign the art and religion of Egypt altered drastically.
    "We took DNA sample of KV55 mummy, and Amenhotep III, and we found out that this is the mummy of Akhenaten. He died in the age of 45 to 55, and that can confirm that he is Akhenaten. He is the son of Amenhotep III and the father of King Tut," said Hawass, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
    Hawass also said that the team's compiled results from genetic and radiological tests performed on the mummies between 2007 and 2009, revealed with certainty the identity of King Tut's Grandmother to be the powerful wife of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
    "The other important thing, that we found that the mummy known as Elder Lady, this mummy, people said she could be Queen Tiye, because there is a hair found in the tomb of King Tut in a box. They took the sample of this hair and they analysed that with the hair of this lady, and they said they are matching. But also this will never confirm that this could be Queen Tiye. But with Yuya and Tjuya, DNA, and Tjuye, we were able to find out that she is the daughter, this elder lady is the daughter of Yuya and Tjuya and the wife of Amenhotep III," he said.
    Crucially the study has also revealed that King Tut's parents were siblings.
    While Akhenaten was married to the legendary Nefertiti, tests reveal that Tut's mother is the the so-called Younger Lady, found in tomb KV35, who is Akhenaten's sister.
    "We found out... that the younger lady found in cave V35, is the mother of King Tut. But we don't know her name. But we are sure that the younger lady is the daughter of this man, Amenhotep III, and is the daughter of this lady, Queen Tiye," he said.
    In addition to revelations about Tut's lineage, the team also did extraordinary detective work on the cause of his death.
    King Tutankhamun is now believed to have had a pronounced limp resulting from a club foot and probably died from a severe form of malaria.
    Besides the priceless gold artefacts found in Tut's tomb, he was also equipped for the afterlife with some 130 canes and staves -- some with signs of wear -- and a veritable pharmacy.
    Scientists now say that Tut was generally weak due to a mild clubfoot in his left foot and other bone ailments, and that malaria combined with a broken leg possibly from a fall likely killed him.
    "He had on one foot, he had a so-called osteonecrosis, on one of the foot bones, and that really made a lot of pain, and let's say it was difficult for him to walk probably. So he had a lot of walking sticks in his tomb. And you also see this inscription where he was shown with a walking stick. And this is actually because he has a problem in walking. This is nothing little in the end, but it also weakens your immune system, your overall health. And maybe this in combination with the malaria could have contributed to his death," said Albert Zink, one of the lead DNA researchers.
    Other tests have confirmed that two mummified foetuses found in Tut's tomb are indeed his stillborn children, as Egyptologists had assumed, and they have now pinpointed a previously unidentified mummy as the childrens' mother, Ankhsenamun, possibly Tut's wife.
    The results of the research team's efforts clarify important details about the 155-year-long 18th Dynasty that included Tutankhamen, who inherited the throne at age 11.
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