Tutankhamun

TutankhamunTemplate:Efn or TutankhamenTemplate:Efn (Template:Langx; Template:Circa), was the thirteenth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, who ruled Template:Circa. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of ancient Egyptian religion, undoing a previous shift to the religion known as Atenism. Tutankhamun's reign is considered one of the greatest restoration periods in ancient Egyptian history, and his tomb door proclaims his dedication to illustrative constructions of the ancient Egyptian gods.

His endowments and restorations of cults were recorded on the Restoration Stela. The cult of the god Amun at Thebes was restored to prominence, and the royal couple changed their names to "Tutankhamun" and "Ankhesenamun", replacing the -aten suffix. He also moved the royal court from Akhenaten's capital, Amarna, back to Memphis almost immediately on his accession to the kingship. He reestablished diplomatic relations with the Mitanni and carried out military campaigns in Nubia and the Near East. Tutankhamun was one of only a few kings known to be worshipped as a deity during their lifetime. He likely began construction of a royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings and an accompanying mortuary temple, but both were unfinished at the time of his death.

Tutankhamun died unexpectedly aged about 18; his health and the cause of his death have been the subject of much debate. In 2012, it was suggested he died from a combination of malaria and a leg fracture. Since his royal tomb was incomplete, he was instead buried in a small non-royal tomb adapted for the purpose. He was succeeded by his vizier Ay, who was probably an old man when he became king, and had a short reign. Ay was succeeded by Horemheb, who had been the commander-in-chief of Tutankhamun's armed forces. Under Horemheb, the restoration of the traditional ancient Egyptian religion was completed; Ay and Tutankhamun's constructions were usurped, and earlier Amarna Period rulers were erased.

In modern times, Tutankhamun became famous as a result of the 1922 discovery of his tomb (KV62) by a team led by the British Egyptologist Howard Carter and sponsored by the British aristocrat George Herbert. Although it had clearly been raided and robbed in ancient times, it retained much of its original contents, including the king's undisturbed mummy. The discovery received worldwide press coverage; with over 5,000 artifacts, it gave rise to renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's mask, preserved at the Egyptian Museum, remains a popular symbol. Before it was relocated to the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2025, some of his treasures have traveled worldwide, with unprecedented response; the Egyptian government allowed tours of the tomb beginning in 1961. The deaths of some individuals who were involved in the excavation have been popularly attributed to the "curse of the pharaohs" due to the similarity of their circumstances. Since the discovery of his tomb, he has been referred to colloquially as "King Tut".

Family

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Relief carving from the lid of a coffer found in the tomb, showing Tutankhamun and his queen, Ankhesenamun

Tutankhamun was born in the reign of Akhenaten, during the Amarna Period of the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. His original name was Tutankhaten or Tutankhuaten, meaning "living image of Aten",Template:Efn reflecting the shift in ancient Egyptian religion known as Atenism which characterized Akhenaten's reign.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

His parentage is debated as they are not attested in surviving inscriptions. He was certainly a prince, as a fragmentary inscription from Hermopolis refers to "Tutankhuaten" as a "king's son".Template:Sfn He is generally thought to have been the son of AkhenatenTemplate:Sfn or his successor Smenkhkare.Template:Sfn Inscriptions from Tutankhamun's reign treat him as a son of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, but that is only possible if Akhenaten's 17-year reign included a long co-regency with his father,Template:Sfn a possibility that many Egyptologists once supported but is now being abandoned.Template:Sfn His mother has been variously suggested to be Akhenaten's chief wife Nefertiti,Template:Sfn Amenhotep III's daughter Beketaten,Template:Sfn or Akhenaten's daughters MeritatenTemplate:SfnTemplate:Efn or Meketaten.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Tutankhamun was wet nursed by a woman named Maia, known from her tomb at Saqqara.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

DNA testing identified his father as the mummy from tomb KV55, thought to be Akhenaten, but due to the developmental condition of the mummy's skeleton, most scholars estimate the age to be around twenty, thus effectively ruling out the possibility of Akhenaten; other scholars believe he was Smenkhkare. His mother as "The Younger Lady", an anonymous mummy cached in tomb KV35. His parents were full siblings, both being children of Amenhotep III and his chief wife Tiye.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn The identity of The Younger Lady is unknown, but she cannot be Nefertiti, as she was not known to be a sister of Akhenaten.Template:Sfn However, researchers such as Marc Gabolde and Aidan Dodson claim that Nefertiti was indeed Tutankhamun's mother. In this interpretation of the DNA results, the genetic closeness is not due to a brother-sister pairing but the result of three generations of first-cousin marriage, making Nefertiti a first cousin of Akhenaten.Template:Sfn The validity and reliability of the genetic data from mummified remains have been questioned due to possible degradation due to decay.Template:Sfn Today, scholars consider the mummy from tomb KV55 not to be Akhenaten, but rather Smenkhkare. The Younger Lady is more likely not any of Akhenaten's known wives, but one of Tiye's younger daughters, perhaps Nebetah or Beketaten (or possibly the two were the same person, who changed her name at the beginning of Akhenaten's reign).

When Tutankhaten became king, he married Ankhesenpaaten, one of Akhenaten's daughters, who later changed her name to Ankhesenamun.Template:Sfn He fathered two daughters who died at or soon after birth and were buried with him in his tomb.Template:Sfn Computed tomography studies published in 2011 revealed that one daughter was born prematurely at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other at full-term, 9 months.Template:Sfn DNA testing has suggested the anonymous mummy KV21A is their mother, but the data is not statistically significant enough to allow her to be securely identified as his only known wife, Ankhesenamun.Template:Sfn Tutankhamun's death marked the end of the royal bloodline of the Eighteenth Dynasty.Template:Sfn

Reign

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The throne of Tutankhamun, the Aten depicted above

Tutankhamun became pharaoh between eight and nine years of ageTemplate:Sfn following the short reigns of Akhenaten's successors Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten. It is uncertain whether Smenkhkare's reign outlasted Akhenaten's; the female ruler Neferneferuaten is now thought to have either been co-regent shortly before Akhenaten's death and to have had a sole reign of 2 or 3 years before the accession of Tutankhamun, which means that she was Tutankhamun's predecessor according to Athena van der Perre and Nozumu Kawai..Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn On acceding to the throne, Tutankhamun took the throne name Nebkheperure. He reigned for about nine years.Template:Sfn

During Tutankhamun's reign, the position of Vizier was split between Upper and Lower Egypt. The principal vizier for Upper Egypt was Usermontu. Another figure named Pentju was also vizier, but it is unclear which lands. It is not entirely known if Ay, Tutankhamun's successor, actually held this position. A gold foil fragment from KV58 seems to indicate, but not certainly, that Ay was referred to as a Priest of Maat along with an epithet of "vizier, doer of maat." The epithet does not fit the usual description used by the regular vizier but might indicate an informal title. It might be that Ay used the title of vizier in an unprecedented manner.Template:Sfn

An Egyptian priest named Manetho wrote a comprehensive history of ancient Egypt where he refers to a king named Orus, who ruled for 36 years and had a daughter named Acencheres, who reigned for twelve years, and her brother Rathotis, who ruled for only nine years.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Amarna rulers are central in the list, but which name corresponds with which historic figure is not agreed upon by researchers. Orus and Acencheres have been identified with Horemheb and Akhenaten, and Rathotis with Tutankhamun. The names are also associated with Smenkhkare, Amenhotep III, Ay, and the others in differing order.Template:Sfn

For the pharaoh, who held divine office, to be linked to the people and the gods, special epithets were created for them at their accession to the throne. The ancient Egyptian titulary also served to demonstrate one's qualities and link them to the terrestrial realm. The five names were developed over the centuries, beginning with the Horus name.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn Tutankhamun'sTemplate:Efn original nomen, Tutankhaten, did not have a Nebty nameTemplate:Efn or a Gold Falcon nameTemplate:Efn associated with itTemplate:Sfn as nothing has been found with the full five-name protocol.Template:Efn

Religiopolitical countermand

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Egyptian art of the Amarna period

At the beginning of Tutankhaten's reign, the royal court was still located at Amarna, and evidence from his tomb shows that the Aten was still acknowledged.Template:Sfn But several pieces of evidence suggest that his court was trying to reconcile Atenism with the traditional religion,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn and activity at Amarna decreased during the first four years of his reign.Template:Sfn These years saw dramatic reversals of Akhenaten's policies, which, given the king's young age, must have been instigated by his advisors.Template:Sfn

In his third regnal year, Tutankhamun reversed several changes made during his father's reign. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to supremacy. The ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood. Tutankhamun enriched and endowed the priestly orders of two important cults, initiated a restoration process for old monuments that were damaged during the Amarna Period, and reburied his father's remains in the Valley of the Kings. It has been argued that it was in fact Tutankhamun himself, and not his successors, who began reversing Akhenaten's religious changes on a large scale.

Around this time, the royal court abandoned Amarna.Template:Sfn Memphis became the main seat of royal administration,Template:Sfn continuing a trend that dated back to Akhenaten's predecessors, toward administering the country from that central location rather than the more outlying site of Thebes.Template:Sfn The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten was abandoned. With Amun restored as Egypt's preeminent deity, Thebes once again became its greatest center of religious activity.Template:Sfn

Tutankhamun's treasurer, Maya, was instrumental in executing Tutankhamun's regal orders of the restoration program. In his autobiography, he described himself as "one who carried out the plans of the king of my time and one who did not neglect what he had commanded to make splendid the temples, in fashioning the images of the gods".

This countermand rendered Tutankhamun's reign one of the greatest restoration periods in ancient Egyptian history. The action established his legacy as such. Concurrently, Tutankhamun's tomb door describes him as he "who spent his life fashioning images of the gods".

Restoration Stela

In the third year of Tutankhaten's reign, his name was changed to "Tutankhamun", and that of his queen to "Ankhesenamun".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Restoration Stela, dated to Year 4 of Tutankhamun's reign, characterizes the Amarna Period as a time of disaster, saying:

"Temples and the estates of the gods and goddesses from Elephantine to the marshes of the Delta had fallen into ruin… If you asked a god for advice, he would not attend; and if one spoke to a goddess likewise she would not attend."Template:Sfn

The stela proclaims the rebuilding of the traditional cults;Template:Sfn priests and other members of temple staff were restored to their former positions.Template:Sfn The Restoration Stela was later usurped by Horemheb.Template:Sfn

Architectural projects

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Quartzite statue thought to be of Tutankhamun from temple complex at Medinet Habu

As part of the restoration of the traditional cults, the king initiated building projects, in particular at Karnak in Thebes, where he laid out the sphinx avenue leading to the temple of Mut. The sphinxes were originally made for Akhenaten and Nefertiti; they were given new ram heads and small statues of the king. At Luxor temple he completed the decoration of the entrance colonnade of Amenhotep III.Template:Sfn Tutankhamun made several endowments that enriched and added to the priestly numbers of the cults of Amun and Ptah. He commissioned new statues of the deities from the best metals and stone and had new processional barques made of the finest cedar from Lebanon and had them embellished with gold and silver.Template:Sfn

A building called the Temple-of-Nebkheperure-Beloved-of-Amun-Who-Puts-Thebes-in-Order, which may be identical to a building called Temple-of-Nebkheperre-in-Thebes, a possible mortuary temple, used recycled talatat from Akhenaten's east Karnak Aten temples, indicating that the dismantling of these temples was already underway.Template:Sfn Many of Tutankhamun's construction projects were uncompleted at the time of his death and were completed by or usurped by his successors, especially Horemheb. The Sphinx Avenue was completed by his successor, Ay, and the whole was usurped by Horemheb. Pieces of the Temple of Nebkheperure in Thebes were recycled into Horemheb's own building projects.

During-life deification

In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were venerated after their deaths through mortuary cults and associated temples as deities. This form of apotheosis was typically reserved for deceased pharaohs, but Tutankhamun was one of the few pharaohs who was worshiped in this manner during his lifetime.Template:Sfn Temples of his cult were built as far away as in Kawa and Faras in Nubia. The title of the sister of the Viceroy of Kush included a reference to the deified king, indicative of the universality of his cult.Template:Sfn

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Cartouche left: Nomen "Tutankhamun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Right: Prenomen "Nebkheperura".Template:Sfn

Three positions in the cult and their respective appointees are known, summarized in the table below:

Tutankhamun Cult Structure

Appointee	Position
Viceroy Huy	1st Prophet of Tutankhamun
Mermose	2nd Prophet of Tutankhamun
Taemwadjsy	Chief of the Harem of the Deified Tutankhamun

Egyptologist Lanny Bell described the meaning of a criosphinx imagery at Kawa as a representation of the deified form of Tutankhamun as Amun-Re:

In the context of the extensive evidence available on the assimilation of the king to Amun-Re, especially in Nubia, Tutankhamun's adoration of himself as a form of this god at Kawa is hardly as outlandish as might at first have seemed. In this he was following the precedent of Amenhotep III; Ramesses II merely displayed the symbolism of his predecessors on an unparalleled scale.

Tutankhamun patterned his cult parallel to Amenhotep III, except emphasizing Amun instead of Aten. Then, Ramesses II would amplify this cult structure in the design of his own cult.

The Stela of Huy from Karnak Temple is also evidence of the lifetime deification of pharaoh Tutankhamun. It contains a hymn directed to the deified form of Tutankhamun. Below is an excerpt of an English translation:

Give praises the ka of Amun, lord of Karnak homage to Amun, by whom swear the Two Lands
and ... to the royal ka of Tutankhamun:
that they may give a happy lifetime and a body, joyful, every day,
to the ka of the royal son of Kush, the overseer of the countries of the south, Huy

The hymn clearly regards Tutankhamun with equivalent divinity as the god Amun. Lanny Bell also described artwork accompanying the Stela of Huy, stating that Huy is shown standing adoring three deities: Amun-Re the lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, a ram-headed Amun, and the royal ka of Tutankhamun. Hence, the artwork of the stela also clearly juxtaposes Tutankhamun with deities.

Military campaigns

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Tutankhamun charging enemies, 18th dynasty

The country was economically weak and in turmoil following the reign of Akhenaten. Diplomatic relations with other kingdoms had been neglected, and Tutankhamun sought to restore them, in particular with the Mitanni. Evidence of his success is suggested by the gifts from various countries found in his tomb. Despite his efforts for improved relations, battles with Nubians and Asiatics were recorded in his mortuary temple at Thebes, both victories for Egypt.Template:Sfn Also, as far as is known, Tutankhamun's military reign was undefeated, and is one of several other undefeated reigns in ancient Egypt's history.

Battle participation

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One of Tutankhamun's shields, depicting him threatening lions, symbolizing Egypt's enemies

The extent to which Tutankhamun participated in battles is an open question and has yet to reach consensus among researchers. On one hand, his tomb contained extensive military armament, such as bows, khopesh swords, daggers, wristguards, maces, shields, and a club, indicating he had extensive weaponry training. Many such items were inscribed with his name, and clearly in used condition. Various imagery, in ancient Egypt's classic battle narrative art genre, does depict Tutankhamun as directly participatory in warfare, such as the graphic battle depictions on the painted treasure chest in his tomb, and a gold leaf picture of him during chariot archery against enemies. Additional figurative military art depicts him dominating enemies, such as imagery of him as a sphinx trampling foes. Other personalized artifacts, such as the Nine Bows footstool, walking sticks, and sandals depicting enemies, suggest that he was personally involved in Egypt's international conflict.Template:Sfn Egyptologist Bob Brier has argued leaning towards Tutankhamun being an actively participating warrior in his later years.

On the other hand, given Tutankhamun's youth and hypothesized physical disabilities, like a speculated cane handicap, some historians are skeptical that he participated in these battles.Template:Sfn Yet some experts, such as Biomedical Egyptologist Sofia Aziz and other researchers, have taken the position that the speculations of Tutankhamun's physical frailty are overestimated, arguing that mummy damage has led to misdiagnosis. Instead, they argue that the more rigorous, scientific view is that he was physically active and perhaps militarily participatory. Egyptologist Charlotte Booth states that Tutankhamun participated in at least two battles (one Nubian battle, and one Asiatic battle), nevertheless noting that other researchers suggest that he may have only accompanied the army to the battlefield for moral support, as opposed to actively participating.Template:Sfn

Genealogy and population affinities

A genetic study, published in 2020, revealed Tutankhamun had the haplogroups YDNA R1b, which originated in western Asia and which today makes up 50–60% of the genetic pool of modern Europeans, and mtDNA K, which originated in the Near East. He shares this Y-haplogroup with his father, the KV55 mummy (Akhenaten), and grandfather, Amenhotep III (and his entire male ancestral line), and his mtDNA haplogroup with his mother, The Younger Lady, his grandmother, Tiye, and his great-grandmother, Thuya (and his entire female ancestral line). The profiles for Tutankhamun and Amenhotep III were incomplete, and the analysis produced differing probability figures despite having concordant allele results. Because the relationships of these two mummies with the KV55 mummy had previously been confirmed in an earlier study, the haplogroup prediction of both mummies could be derived from the full profile of the KV55 data.

In 2022, S.O.Y. Keita analysed 8 Short Tandem loci (STR) data originally published by Hawass et al. in studies from 2010 and 2012. The first of these studies had investigated familial relationships among 11 royal mummies of the New Kingdom, which included Tutankhamun and Amenhotep III, as well as potential inherited disorders and infectious diseases. The second of these studies had investigated the Y-haplogroups and genetic kinship of Ramesses III and an unknown man buried along with him in the royal cache at Deir el Bahari. Keita analysed the STR data from these studies using an algorithm that only has three choices: Eurasians, sub-Saharan Africans, and East Asians. Using these three options, Keita concluded that the majority of the samples had a population "affinity with 'sub-Saharan' Africans in one affinity analysis". However, Keita cautioned that this does not mean that the royal mummies "lacked other affiliations", which he argued had been obscured in typological thinking. Keita further added that different "data and algorithms might give different results", reflecting the complexity of biological heritage and the associated interpretation.

In 2025, biochemist Jean-Philippe Gourdine reviewed genetic data on the Ancient Egyptian populations in the international scholarly publication, General History of Africa Volume IX. Expanding on a previous STR analysis co-performed with Keita, on the Amarna royal mummies which included Tutankhamun, Gourdine stated the analysis had found “that they had strong affinities with current sub-Saharan populations: 41 per cent to 93.9 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 4.6 per cent to 41 per cent for Eurasia and 0.3 per cent to 16 per cent for Asia (Gourdine, 2018).” He also referenced comparable analysis conducted by DNA Tribes company, which specialized in genetic genealogy and had large datasets, with the latter having identified strong affinities between the Amarna royal mummies and Sub-Saharan African populations.

Health

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A painted, wooden figure of Tutankhamun suggested to be a mannequin for clothing

Details about Tutankhamun's health and early death are heavily debated, and there has been extensive investigation into various hypothesized medical diagnoses, especially about his death. The majority of the diagnoses stem from research conducted on Tutankhamun's mummy, via CT scans and genetic testing, such as the 2005 CT scans of his mummy. Out of the many hypothesized medical conditions of Tutankhamun, two of them have been confirmed to have afflicted him during his lifetime, namely, a malarial infection and a leg fracture. Various podiatric diagnoses have also been suggested. In particular, a left clubfoot diagnosis has been a subject of much debate in conjunction with debate about the purpose of the numerous walking sticks discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb. Furthermore, upon the results of later research, some of the medical diagnoses suggested have been dismissed as confirmed misdiagnoses.

In addition to investigations of his medical health, there has also been an investigation of his dental health. CT investigations of Tutankhamun's skull revealed an excellent condition of his dentition in comparison to other ancient Egyptian mummies. He had large front incisors and an overbite characteristic of the Thutmosid royal line to which he belonged.

Malaria

Malaria was endemic in ancient Egypt, as the Nile Delta provided ideal ecological conditions for robust reproduction of the mosquitos carrying the plasmodium falciparum parasite responsible for causing human malarial infections. A 2023 meta-analysis study found that 22% of ancient Egyptian mummies tested positive for malaria. Genetic testing on Tutankhamun for STEVOR, AMA1, or MSP1 genes specific for plasmodium falciparum revealed indications of malaria tropica in Tutankhamun's mummy.Template:Sfn The team discovered DNA from several strains of the parasite, indicating that he was repeatedly infected with the most severe strain of malaria. It has been speculated that his malaria infections may have contributed to a fatal immune response in the body or triggered circulatory shock.Template:Sfn

Leg fracture

The 2005 CT scan also showed that Tutankhamun had experienced a compound left leg fracture. The counterargument of the injury being the result of modern mummy damage has been ruled out due to the ragged edges of the fracture; this is in contrast to modern mummy damage edge patterns, which feature sharp edges. Additionally, embalming substances were present within the fracture, indicating that the wound was present before Tutankhamun's mummification. No signs of healing were present, suggesting that the wound occurred very recently before Tutankhamun's death.Template:Sfn In overview, it is reasonable to conclude that Tutankhamun died from leg fracture complications, possibly exacerbated by malarial infection. Egyptologist Raymond Johnson has remarked that it is possible that the leg injury occurred during battle while Tutankhamun was on a military campaign.

Podiatric diagnoses

Tutankhamun has been associated with various possible podiatric diagnoses. As a result of the 2005 CT scans, it has been speculated that he had a flat right foot with hypophalangism. Also, it is speculated that he had bone necrosis of the second and third metatarsal bones (Freiberg disease or Köhler disease II).

Another podiatric diagnosis of Tutankhamun is a left clubfoot, which is heavily disputed. If he was inflicted with clubfoot, it could have forced Tutankhamun to walk with the use of a cane as a mobility aid. More than 130 various canes and sticks were found in his tomb.Template:Sfn Some scholars interpret this as evidence of podiatric illness, but this is heavily disputed. Many of the sticks were not of a medical type, and were instead fashion accessory sticks like crooks or sceptres like was-sceptres, which served as types of staffs of office.Template:Sfn Furthermore, opposed to being clinical assistance, the canes were status symbols functioning as royal regalia for religious rituals and public appearances. Egyptologist Nick Brown has articulated that Tutankhamun's sticks "served as essentially kingly insignia during his rule, not as walking aids". Records of other ancient Egyptians' stick usage are consistent with this. For example, the tomb of ancient Egyptian nomarch, Djehutynakht, had over 250 walking sticks in his tomb, while pharaoh Amenhotep II, known for his athletic prowess, is depicted being gifted 30 walking sticks in artwork in tomb TT93, the tomb of Ken-Amun.

Another factor in the walking sticks being regalia, as opposed to assistive canes, is the pattern of wear on the sticks. None of them shows the extent of wear expected of essential aids. Also, the wear on Tutankhamun's sandals, where present, was even on both feet.Template:Sfn This symmetry indicates that Tutankhamun was not relying more on one foot for mobility, challenging speculated podiatric diagnoses. Around 2020, the Tutankhamun's Sticks and Staves Project was launched to investigate by an international team of scientists that aimed to analyze the various stick objects in Tutankhamun's tomb. One of the main research goals was to investigate signs of usage on the sticks. The results were that there was very little wear on the sticks, indicating that they were not used to an extent that one would expect if Tutankhamun was using them as assistive canes. The researchers concluded:

These sticks were not used as supports, and were more likely ceremonial accessories/objects that did not hit the ground frequently... it does not seem as if Tutankhamun leant heavily for support on the sticks that have been found in his tomb...The absence wear on the tips of the sticks suggests that the king was stronger and more able-bodied than has been suggested, not needing a stick as walking aid, but using it more as a stylish accessory or as part of his royal regalia, as would have been the case for any other pharaoh.

This research is consistent with prior research conducted examining the extent of usage of the sticks. Overall, evidence points towards Tutankhamun having healthy mobility.

Misdiagnoses

Multiple speculated medical diagnoses of Tutankhamun have been dismissed as misdiagnoses due to the results of further investigation. In attempts to explain Tutankhamun's unusual depiction in art and his early death, it had been speculated that Tutankhamun was inflicted with gynecomastia, Marfan syndrome, sagittal craniosynostosis syndrome, Antley–Bixler syndrome or one of its variants. However, later genetic testing through STR analysis rejected the hypothesis of gynecomastia and craniosynostoses (e.g., Antley–Bixler syndrome) or Marfan syndrome.Template:Sfn

James Gamble had instead suggested that Tutankhamun's left clubfoot position is a result of Tutankhamun habitually walking on the outside of his foot due to the pain caused by Köhler disease II. This hypothesis has been refuted by members of Hawass' team.

Other speculated diagnoses

Also, as an explanation attempt of certain art depictions and an early death, it has been surmised that Tutankhamun may have had Wilson–Turner X-linked intellectual disability syndrome, Fröhlich syndrome (adiposogenital dystrophy), Klinefelter syndrome,Template:Sfn androgen insensitivity syndrome, or aromatase excess syndrome. It has also been suggested that he had inherited temporal lobe epilepsy in a bid to explain the religiosity of his great-grandfather Thutmose IV and father Akhenaten and their early deaths. However, caution has been urged in this diagnosis. Timmann and Meyer have argued that sickle cell anemia fits exhibited pathologies exhibited,Template:Sfn a suggestion Hawass's team has called "interesting and plausible".Template:Sfn

Researchers argued that the results of the 2005 mummy CT scan suggest Tutankhamun had a partial cleft palate on his hard palate.Template:Sfn Researchers also speculated that had mild scoliosis.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, Tutankhamun's vertebra did not display any rotation or deformation, suggesting that the mummy spinal curvature resulted from embalmer handling.

Physical appearance

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Close-up of Tutankhamun's mummified head

The appearance of ancient Egyptians, especially Tutankhamun, has remained an area of inquiry and debate. Tutankhamun was of slight build; his mummy measured approximately Template:Convert tall.Template:Sfn Analysis of the clothing found in his tomb, particularly the dimensions of his loincloths and belts suggest that he had a narrow waist and rounded hips.

Multiple attempts have been made to reconstruct a computerized image of Tutankhamun's face, and there has been one attempt at reconstructing imagery of his full figure. Reconstructions have repeatedly incited controversy upon release.

Facial appearance

In 1983, forensic artist Betty Pat Gatliff, alongside forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow, developed a reconstruction image of Tutankhamun's face from a plaster cast of his skull.

In 2005, an extensively media-covered study by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and National Geographic employed three different research teams (Egyptian, French, and American) to develop a facial image using CT scans of his skull. The Egyptian and French teams were informed that their subject was Tutankhamun, while the American team was not informed who the subject was, thereby working blindly. Results were generally similar, although the reconstruction did not resemble effigy artifacts of Tutankhamun.Template:Sfn The depiction sparked controversy, particularly for its skin color, which also did not resemble painted effigies of Tutankhamun, such as the Head of Nefertem artifact or the mannequin artifact. Throughout the years, the image's light-skinned representation has ignited numerous picketing protests outside multiple Tutankhamun exhibits that included the depiction. Terry Garcia, executive vice president for mission programs for National Geographic in response to protests purported that Tutankhamun's exact skin tone is unknown and that they aimed for a middle skin tone.

In 2007, amidst more exhibition protests, anthropologist Nina Jablonski addressed what an educated guess of Tutankhamun's skin tone might be:

"Our best guess is that he was neither lily white nor ebony black. He was probably somewhere in between... When we look at the representation of the Egyptian royalty on the walls of tombs, we see a range of sort of moderate, tan-colored skin on the royalty. This probably is a fairly close approximation of what skin color these people actually had."

In 2008, Egyptologist Stuart Tyson Smith criticized the skin-tone choice of the 2005 study, stating that the light skin tone was indicative of a bias, elaborating that ancient Egyptians were generally of darker skin tone, especially in more southern regions. In 2022, bioarcheologist Andrew Nelson used CT scans and the 3D bioimaging software, Dragonfly, to create a virtual model of Tutankhamun's face. The result was distinct from prior reconstructions from skull CT scans. Nelson stated that the skull anatomy guided the project which made for a more realistic reconstruction. Nelson's study did not overlay a skin tone on the facial reconstruction. In 2023, researchers developed a new version of Tutankhamun's face using further CT scans. Results greatly resembled the results of the CT scan reconstruction performed in 2005. The skin tone was also akin to the skin tone chosen in the 2005 study.

Depictions of Tutankhamun deemed Afrocentristic have repeatedly generated protest and tension. In 2023, an exhibit titled "Kemet: Egypt in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Soul and Funk" at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands depicted a statue of rapper Nas's (1999) I Am... album cover, which portrays Nas's face in the Mask of Tutankhamun. Egyptian antiquities expert Abd al-Rahim Rihan accused the exhibit curators of promoting Afrocentric pseudohistory by displaying the Tutankhamun mask with black facial features, indirectly advocating the black Egyptian hypothesis. Similarly, Ahmed Belal, an Egyptian member of parliament, accused the exhibit curators of "distorting Egyptian identity" and "attacking Egyptian heritage and civilization." The exhibit curators denied the accusations, stating that the exhibit takes a neutral position on the race of ancient Egyptians. Daniel Soliman, the exhibition curator, who himself is half-Egyptian, stated that some Egyptians feel an exclusive possession to the pharaonic heritage, while the African diaspora's artistic envisioned of ancient Egypt has been ignored. Museum director Wim Weijland stated that the exhibition is about art, not racially classifying ancient Egyptians.

Egyptian journalist, Shahira Amin, in a 2023 article titled "Egyptians aren't racist. They're frustrated with Western appropriation of their ancient history", wrote that "many Egyptians shun their Africanness, preferring to associate themselves with the Middle East and identify as Muslims and Arabs."

Full-body reconstruction

In a 2014 BBC documentary, presented by Dallas Campbell, titled Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered, revealed results of a computerized forensic reconstruction of Tutankhamun's body that harnessed 2,000 CT scans of Tutankhamun's mummy to generate an image of his body. The resultant image depicted Tutankhamun in his underwear, physically infirm with a club foot, an overbite, a gynecomastic chest, and multiple other visible physical disorders. The reconstruction was controversial, characterized as being of poor taste. Jonathan Jones of The Guardian articulated that the imagery was a "morbid freak show" and "crass and vulgar infotainment". Egyptologist Zahi Hawass criticized that the virtual reconstruction of Tutankhamun's body was scientifically unfounded. Disability studies scholars have criticized the reconstruction of Tutankhamun, stating that they were derogatory and "seemed designed to exaggerate the physical features of said impairments, rather than offer any scientific value, let alone any humanity or recognition that this historical figure was a man".

Death

File:Tumba de Tutankamón, Valle de las Reyes, Luxor, Egipto, 2022-04-03, DD 75.jpg

Scenes from the north wall of the burial chamber of Tutankhamun. On the left side, Tutankhamun, followed by his ka (an aspect of his soul), embraces the god of the dead Osiris. In the center, Tutankhamun is greeting the goddess Nut. On the right side, Ay performing the opening of the mouth for Tutankhamun.Template:Sfn

There are no surviving records of the circumstances of Tutankhamun's death; it has been the subject of considerable debate and major studies. Hawass and his team postulate that his death was likely the result of the combination of his multiple weakening disorders, his femur fracture, perhaps as the result of a fall, and a severe malarial infection.Template:Sfn

Murder by a blow to the head was hypothesised as a result of the 1968 x-ray, which showed two bone fragments inside the skull. This hypothesis was then disproved by further analysis of the x-rays and the CT scan. The intercranial bone fragments were determined to be the result of the modern unwrapping of the mummy, as they are loose and not adherent to the embalming resin.Template:Sfn No evidence of bone thinning or calcified membranes, which could be indicative of a fatal blow to the head, was found. It has also been suggested that the Tutankhamun was killed in a chariot accident due to a pattern of crushing injuries, including the fact that the front part of his chest wall and ribs are missing. However, the missing ribs are unlikely to be a result of an injury sustained at the time of death; photographs taken at the conclusion of Carter's excavation in 1926 show that the chest wall of the king was intact, still wearing a beaded collar with falcon-headed terminals. The absence of both the collar and chest wall was noted in the 1968 x-ray and further confirmed by the CT scan.Template:Sfn the front part of his chest was likely removed by robbers during the theft of the beaded collar; the intricate beaded skullcap the king was pictured wearing in 1926 was also missing by 1968.

Succession

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Tutankhamun's ritual Sekhem scepter

Since the two children of Tutankhamun were either stillborn or did not survive long after birth, and Tutankhamun was presumably the last of the royal male siblings, there was no immediate heir apparent to assume the throne. Records in Horemheb's tomb state that Tutankhamun appointed him "lord of the land" as Iry-pat (heir designate), which is essentially the designated hereditary prince to maintain law. However, some have argued that Queen Ankhesenamun may have been able to transfer kinship to a husband, but would have preferred not to marry someone of lesser status than royal queen status. Horemheb was a militaryman of peasant birth and was, as the military commander-in-chief, technically a servant of Queen Ankhesenamun. The vizier Ay, while of some royal blood, was an established vizier and also technically a servant of Queen Ankhesenamun. Ankhesenamun's assumed spousal preferences may have ignited a series of disruptions in the fulfillment of what some have argued may have been King Tutankhamun's preference on throne heirship.

Reign of vizier Ay

Seeking to resolve her spousal dilemma, Ankhesenamun may have inadvertently generated a predicament involving the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I and his son, prince Zannanza, known as the Zannanza affair, although Ankhesenamun's identification as the Egyptian queen in question is not definite. Meanwhile, during this interregnum period, Tutankhamun's vizier, Ay, may have maneuvered in the midst of Tutankhamun's death to intercept the throne, circumventing Horemheb's heirship, possibly marrying Ankhesenamun towards the onset of this Hittite-Egyptian negotiation period, unbeknownst to the Hittites. The fact that Ay is depicted presiding over Tutankhamun's funeral, which is customary for the successor pharaoh, and the fact that Horemheb appears to have been absent at Tutankhamun's funeral align with this.

The pharaoh Ay's reign was short, and his death again appears to have left a vacancy on the throne with no royal bloodline heir because Ay is presumed to have not had children with Queen Ankhesenamun. Toward the end of Ay's reign, Ay named his son, military generalissimo Nakhtmin, to be successor to the throne. However, Nakhtmin died before he could become pharaoh.

Horemheb Iry-pat fulfillment

Horemheb succeeded to the throne as pharaoh after Ay's death. As pharaoh, Horemheb saw to it that the restoration of the traditional ancient Egyptian religion that Tutankhamun was previously spearheading was completed, restabilizing the nation. Notably, during the standard damnatio memoriae process that each new Egyptian pharaoh undertakes, Horemheb defaced Ay's tomb, but left Tutankhamun's untouched, presumably out of respect. Nevertheless, Horemheb's damnatio memoriae venture was one of the most elaborate and successful damnatio memoriae campaigns in Egyptian history.

In due course, Horemheb had selected then civilian military officer, Ramesses I, as heir to the throne. Ramesses I's grandson, Ramesses II, would go on to found the Ramesside dynasty and become the greatest pharaoh of ancient Egypt. This initiated a new royal bloodline, replacing the royal bloodline that ended with the death of Tutankhamun.

Tomb

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The wall decorations in KV62's burial chamber are modest in comparison with other royal tombs found in the Valley of the Kings

Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb that was unusually small considering his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, causing his mummy to be buried in a tomb intended for someone else. This would preserve the observance of the customary 70 days between death and burial. His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity, but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb after the intrusions, these robberies likely took place within several months at most of the initial burial. The location of the tomb was lost because it had come to be buried by debris from subsequent tombs, and workers' houses were built over the tomb entrance.

Rediscovery

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George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, 1921

The concession rights for excavating the Valley of the Kings were held by Theodore Davis from 1905 until 1914. In that time, he had unearthed ten tombs, including the nearly intact but non-royal tomb of Queen Tiye's parents, Yuya and Thuya. As he continued working there in the later years, he uncovered nothing of major significance. Davis did find several objects in KV58 referring to Tutankhamun, which included knobs and handles bearing his name, most significantly the embalming cache of the king (KV54). He believed this to be the pharaoh's lost tomb and published his findings as such with the line; "I fear the Valley of the Tombs is exhausted". In 1907, Howard Carter was invited by William Garstin and Gaston Maspero to excavate for George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon in the Valley. The Earl of Carnarvon and Carter had hoped this would lead to their gaining the concession when Davis gave it up, but had to be satisfied with excavations in different parts of the Theban Necropolis for seven more years.

After a systematic search beginning in 1915, Carter discovered the actual tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) in November 1922.Template:Sfn An ancient stroke of luck allowed the tomb to survive to modern times. The tomb's entrance was buried by mounds of debris from the cutting of KV9 over 150 years after Tutankhamun's burial; ancient workmen's huts were also built on the site.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This area remained unexcavated until 1922 due to its proximity to KV9, as excavations would impede tourist access to that tomb.Template:Sfn Carter commenced excavations in early November 1922, before the height of the tourist season.Template:Sfn The first step of the tomb's entrance staircase was uncovered on 4 November 1922. According to Carter's account, the workmen discovered the step while digging beneath the remains of the huts; Other accounts attribute the discovery to a boy named Hussein Abdul Rasoul (Water boy) who was digging outside the designated work area.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn

By February 1923, the antechamber had been cleared of everything but two sentinel statues. A day and time were selected to unseal the tomb with about twenty appointed witnesses that included Lord Carnarvon, several Egyptian officials, museum representatives, and the staff of the Government Press Bureau. On 17 February 1923 at just after two o'clock, the seal was broken.

Letters published in 2022 of correspondence between Rex Engelbach and Alan Gardiner reveal that Howard Carter had stolen objects from the tomb before the tomb was officially opened. For instance, Rex Engelbach said in a letter to Gardiner about a 'whm amulet' gifted to Gardiner from Carter that "The whm amulet you showed me has been undoubtedly stolen from the tomb of Tutankhamun."

Contents

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An alabaster stopper from his canopic chest

Tutankhamun's tomb is the only royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings found in near-intact condition. There were 5,398 items found in the tomb, including a solid gold coffin, face mask, thrones, archery bows, trumpets, a lotus chalice, two Imiut fetishes, gold toe stalls, furniture, food, wine, sandals, and fresh linen underwear. Howard Carter took 10 years to catalog the items. Analysis from the 1960s onwards suggests a dagger recovered from the tomb had an iron blade made from a meteorite; study of artifacts of the time including other artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb could provide valuable insights into metalworking technologies around the Mediterranean at the time. Complete study of the iron artefacts from the tomb (besides the blade of a richly decorated golden dagger, small iron chisel blades set into wooden handles, an Eye of Horus amulet, and a miniature headrest) demonstrated that all were made of similar material. Only in 2022, a complex technological and material study of the Tutankhamun's mask was published. Many of Tutankhamun's burial goods show signs of being adapted for his use after being originally made for earlier owners, probably Smenkhkare or Neferneferuaten or both.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The golden Nut pectoral (Carter no. 261p1) or (Cairo JE61944) was reused for the funeral of Tutankhamun. Marc Gabolde successfully demonstrated that the original cartouches reinscribed on the pectoral with Tutankhamun's nomen and prenomen were those of Neferneferuaten with the variation of Ankhkheperure-Mery-Waenre and Neferneferuaten-Akhetenhies “One Who is Beneficial for Her Husband,” proving Neferneferuaten was a female king who was at the same time the wife of Akhenaten. Traces of the cartouches of Neferneferuaten were also identified underneath the cartouches of Tutankhamun on the four miniature golden canopic coffins [of the Boy King]."

On 4 November 2007, 85 years to the day after Carter's discovery, Tutankhamun's mummy was placed on display in his underground tomb at Luxor, when the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus to a climate-controlled glass box. The case was designed to prevent the heightened rate of decomposition caused by the humidity and warmth from tourists visiting the tomb. In 2009, the tomb was closed for restoration by the Ministry of Antiquities and the Getty Conservation Institute. While the closure was originally planned for five years to restore the walls affected by humidity, the Egyptian revolution of 2011 set the project back. The tomb reopened in February 2019.

Rumoured curse

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Howard Carter examining the innermost coffin of Tutankhamun, 1925

For many years, rumors of a "curse of the pharaohs" (probably fueled by newspapers seeking sales at the time of the discovery) persisted, emphasizing the early death of some of those who had entered the tomb. The most prominent was George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who died on 5 April 1923, five months after the discovery of the first step leading down to the tomb on 4 November 1922.

The cause of Carnarvon's death was pneumonia supervening on [facial] erysipelas (a streptococcal infection of the skin and underlying soft tissue). The Earl had been in an automobile accident in 1901, making him very unhealthy and frail. His doctor recommended a warmer climate, so in 1903, the Carnarvons traveled to Egypt, where the Earl became interested in Egyptology. Along with the stresses of the excavation, Carnarvon was already in a weakened state when an infection led to pneumonia.

A study showed that of the 58 people who were present when the tomb and sarcophagus were opened, only eight died within a dozen years; Howard Carter died of lymphoma in 1939 at the age of 64. The last survivors included Lady Evelyn Herbert, Lord Carnarvon's daughter who was among the first people to enter the tomb after its discovery in November 1922, who lived for a further 57 years and died in 1980, and American archaeologist J.O. Kinnaman who died in 1961, 39 years after the event.

Legacy

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The "Egyptian Number" of Life, 19 April 1923

Tutankhamun's fame is primarily the result of his well-preserved tomb and the global exhibitions of his associated artifacts. As Jon Manchip White writes, in his foreword to the 1977 edition of Carter's The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, "The pharaoh who in life was one of the least esteemed of Egypt's Pharaohs has become in death the most renowned".

The discoveries in the tomb were prominent news in the 1920s. Tutankhamen came to be called by a modern neologism, "King Tut". Ancient Egyptian references became common in popular culture, including Tin Pan Alley songs; the most popular of the latter was "Old King Tut" by Harry Von Tilzer from 1923, which was recorded by such prominent artists of the time as Jones & Hare and Sophie Tucker. "King Tut" became the name of products, businesses, and the pet dog of U.S. President Herbert Hoover. While The Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibit was touring the United States in 1978, comedian Steve Martin wrote a novelty song "King Tut". Originally performed on Saturday Night Live, the song was released as a single and sold over a million copies. In 2023, an extinct whale discovered in the Eocene deposits of Egypt was named Tutcetus, after Tutankhamun, due to the small size and immature age of the type specimen.

International exhibitions

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San Francisco's M. H. de Young Memorial Museum hosted an exhibition of Tutankhamun artifacts in 2009

Tutankhamun's artifacts have traveled the world with unprecedented visitorship. The exhibitions began in 1962 when Algeria won its independence from France. With the ending of that conflict, the Louvre Museum in Paris was quickly able to arrange an exhibition of Tutankhamun's treasures through Christiane Desroches Noblecourt. The French Egyptologist was already in Egypt as part of a UNESCO appointment. The French exhibit drew 1.2 million visitors. Noblecourt had also convinced the Egyptian Minister of Culture to allow British photographer George Rainbird to re-photograph the collection in color. The new color photos, as well as the Louvre exhibition, began a Tutankhamun revival.

File:Pectoral of Tutankhamun by M. Strasser.jpg

Pectoral of Tutankhamun

In 1965, the Tutankhamun exhibit traveled to Tokyo National Museum in Tokyo, Japan (21 August–10 October) where it garnered more visitors than the future New York exhibit in 1979. The exhibit next moved to the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art in Kyoto (15 October–28 November) with almost 1.75 million visitors, and then to the Fukuoka Prefectural Cultural Hall in Fukuoka (3 December–26 December). The Template:Linktext attraction exceeded all other exhibitions of Tutankhamun's treasures for the next 60 years. The Treasures of Tutankhamun tour ran from 1972 to 1979. This exhibition was first shown in London at the British Museum from 30 March until 30 September 1972. More than 1.6 million visitors saw the exhibition. The exhibition moved on to many other countries, including the United States, Soviet Union, Japan, France, Canada, and West Germany. The Metropolitan Museum of Art organized the U.S. exhibition, which ran from 17 November 1976 through 15 April 1979. More than eight million attended.Template:Sfn The showing in the United States was part of a diplomatic effort begun by Henry Kissinger to further convince Americans of the value of Egypt as an ally. It traveled first to Washington, D.C., then to Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Seattle, and finished in New York.

File:Amulets and Bracelets of Tutankhamun 2019.jpg

Amulets and Bracelets of Tutankhamun

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Bracelet of Tutankhamun

In 2005, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, in partnership with Arts and Exhibitions International and the National Geographic Society, launched a tour of Tutankhamun treasures and other 18th Dynasty funerary objects, this time called Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. It featured the same exhibits as Tutankhamen: The Golden Hereafter in a slightly different format. It was expected to draw more than three million people, but exceeded that with almost four million people attending just the first four tour stops. The exhibition started in Los Angeles, then moved to Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia and London before finally returning to Egypt in August 2008. An encore of the exhibition in the United States ran at the Dallas Museum of Art.Template:Sfn After Dallas the exhibition moved to the de Young Museum in San Francisco, followed by the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York City.Template:Sfn

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Tutankhamun exhibition in 2018

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A solar barque scarab beetle pectoral from Tutankhamun's tomb

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A gem stone bracelet found on Tutankhamun body

The exhibition visited Australia for the first time, opening at the Melbourne Museum for its only Australian stop before Egypt's treasures returned to Cairo in December 2011.

The exhibition included 80 exhibits from the reigns of Tutankhamun's immediate predecessors in the 18th Dynasty, such as Hatshepsut, whose trade policies greatly increased the wealth of that dynasty and enabled the lavish wealth of Tutankhamun's burial artifacts, as well as 50 from Tutankhamun's tomb. The exhibition did not include the gold mask that was a feature of the 1972–1979 tour, as the Egyptian government has decided that the damage that occurred to previous artifacts on tours precludes this one from joining them.

In 2018, it was announced that the largest collection of Tutankhamun artifacts, amounting to forty percent of the entire collection, would be leaving Egypt again in 2019 for an international tour entitled; "King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh". The 2019–2022 tour began with an exhibit called; "Tutankhamun, Pharaoh's Treasures," which launched in Los Angeles and then traveled to Paris. The exhibit featured at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris ran from March to September 2019. The exhibit featured one hundred and fifty gold coins, along with various pieces of jewelry, sculpture, and carvings, as well as the gold mask of Tutankhamun. Promotion of the exhibit filled the streets of Paris with posters of the event. The exhibit moved to London in November 2019 and was scheduled to travel to Boston and Sydney when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the tour. On 28 August 2020 the artifacts that made up the temporary exhibition returned to the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and other institutions. The treasures will be permanently housed in the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, expected to open between October 2023 and February 2024.

See also

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External links

• Grim secrets of Pharaoh's city—BBC News
• Tutankhamun and the Age of the Golden Pharaohs website
• British Museum Tutankhamun highlight
• "Swiss geneticists examine Tutankhamun's genetic profile" by Reuters
• Ultimate Tut Documentary produced by the PBS Series Secrets of the Dead