Melissa Block 2-14-13 7 King Tut Paper

Tutankhamen, the young pharaoh had an unusually short life. He was the Egyptian King at 10 years old. The archeologist, Howard Carter, examined Tuts tomb in the Valley of the Kings. He found the rooms filled with golden treasures and venerable artifacts, which showed that he was in extensive power. Historians do not know much about his achievements and wonder what he did in his short time. Tuts life was cut short because of his death at age 19. There are many wonders on how this boy died at such a young age. People this day and age are confused on how it could have happened and what actually did happen. Over the years Scientists have studied more information on his death, and there are two main theories as to how he died. There is a good amount of evidence for both, which makes it hard to know which one is the actual reason he died. For an example one of them is a wound in his knee that caused his death. Or, others believe he was murdered, but the truth is still not to be found. King Tut lived an extremely short life, and many historians are wondering the same question, how did he die? After years of trying to find how King Tut died, there is finally a theory of natural causes that most likely caused his death. When doctor R.G. Harrison x-rayed King Tuts femur, he found a damaged leg, that could have caused his death. This could totally be his death point, as back then they didnt have cures and even a fractured bone could lead up to a deadly death. In an article by National Geographic one of the doctors known as Dr. Hawass stated, he had an accident when he was hunting in the desert. (2007) This could be true, as an accident back then, with not the right medications, could cause a severe death. Long ago natural causes such as a fractured or wounded leg, could cause harmful deaths, especially at his young age.

Despite natural causes, there is a chance that murder could be the reason he died. Supposedly King Tut had a damaged cranium, which may have led him to his tragic death. An article on National Geographic stated, During an x-ray of the mummy in 1968, scientists found bone fragments in Tut's skull, prompting a sensational theory that the boy king had been bludgeoned to death by his political enemies during a particularly volatile time in Egyptian history.(2006) In the same way King Tut could have just been in a battle and got attacked, and then injured his skull. Over the years our technology has gotten better and better but back then it was hard to fix or help someone injured. Murder is a big problem and still causes death now, so it could be the logical theory for Tuts death. After extended research on King Tuts death it is clear that he died from an infection in his left leg-Natural causes. This is straightforward, King Tut had a deadly wound which led him to a serious infection that then caused his death. On National Geographic, Ashraf Selim, a radiologist at Kasr Eleini explained that there wasnt medicine to help infections 3,000 years ago, so the probability of a severe wound would be high. If only they had medication back then, because this story could be less tragic by saving the young pharaohs life. Therefore, the thesis of natural causes is the outcome of how this 19-year-old pharaoh died. King Tuts reign was unexpectedly short, caused by his infection in his leg. Tuts tomb is a great discovery to learn about and is fascinating to people in several ways. Tut was alive more than 3000 years ago but learning about him is still interesting for the viewers and people can know what it was like back then with few medications and technology. Tut accomplished few things knowing his short time span, but being able to learn what happened 3000 years ago in Egypt is pretty remarkable! Even more amazing is having actual artifacts, and his tomb to show historians this day and age.

Works Cited: King Tut Died From Broken Leg, Not Murder, Scientists Conclude. (n.d.). National Geographic. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061201king-tut_2.html King Tut. (n.d.). Revealed. Retrieved from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2005/06/king-tut/williams-text