Just like the 19th-century European ruling families, the incest was also popular within the royalty of Egypt too. Researchers at the Institute for Mummies and Icemen tested King Tut’s mitochondrial DNA in order to prove whether his mother was his father’s sister and how this fact implicated the Egyptian ruler’s life.
Just after he reached the throne, Tutankhamun married his half-sister Ankhesenamun, with whom he shared the same father.
His wife’s mother was most likely the queen Nefertiti, who also might have been Tut’s mother. Therefore, Tutankhamun’s wife was indeed his half-sister, possibly his blood sister and maybe even his step-mother. Confusing right?
Due to the fact that incest was an essential part of the Egyptian royal family, Tutankhamun had various physical deformations.
It is believed that he had a rigorous overbite, a curved spine, a distorted measure, a slanted face, and epilepsy.
Researchers found over 100 walking sticks in Tut’s grave. Some historians considered them to be a symbol of his power. However, they could have served him as means to get around.
Scientists took CT scans to recreate the first life-size image of the popular Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, who ruled from 1333 B.C. until about 1323 B.C. Historians estimate his time of death to be around 19.
King Tut’s golden, mummified remains tell only an incomplete story for the Egyptian boy king who died mysteriously.
According to the popular knowledge, Tut lost his life in a chariot accident. However, scientists have another rather sad idea of how he passed away.
Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and Icemen in Italy, told The Independent it would have been impossible for Tut to have died while riding a chariot.
“We concluded it would not be possible for him, especially with his partially clubbed foot, as he was unable to stand unaided.”
More recent theory points many things as the cause of death, varying from epilepsy to sickle-cell anemia and a hormone imbalance disorder.