How Old Was Tutankhamun When He Died?

Tutankhamun, the “boy king”, who ruled for less than a decade, died at age 19.

For many years, people puzzled over King Tut’s death.

Aided by advisers, King Tut reversed many of his father’s decisions. Under his rule, Egypt returned to polytheism.

CT scans in 1995 showed that the king had an infected broken left leg, while DNA from his mummy revealed evidence of multiple malaria infections, all of which may have contributed to his early death.

King Tutankhamen was largely erased from history until his tomb was discovered in the 1900s. His tomb and mummy are still being studied using high-tech tools.

The CT scans of Tutankhamun found a cleft palate and fairly long head, as well as a curved spine and fusion of the upper vertebrae, which are conditions associated with Marfan’s syndrome. But DNA tests in 2010 proved negative for that diagnosis.

In 2014, producers of a BBC television documentary postulated that Tut died in chariot crash that broke his legs and pelvis, and resulted in an infection and perhaps death by blood poisoning.

Supporters of this theory note that Tut was depicted riding on chariots and also suffered from a deformed left foot, making it possible that he fell and broke his leg.

In fact, one of the Egyptologists involved in that British television program still has his doubts about what happened.

“We cannot at present know how Tutankhamun died,” says Christopher Naunton, an Egyptologist and former head of the Egypt Exploration Society.

Naunton says the BBC documentary started from the premise that the mummy showed evidence of the king having suffered a severe trauma to his left torso and side.

The filmmakers commissioned research that showed that this kind of injury could have been caused by the impact of a chariot wheel, but not by a fall from a chariot.