This twenty-five pound mask was placed over the king's bound mummy, and is considered to be the most recognizable treasure of the collection. Grand Rapids Public Museum holds an open house for its "Discovery of King Tut" exhibition Friday, May 15, 2015. Featuring nearly 1,000 scientifically derived replications, the exhibit aims to allow the visitor to experience what Howard Carter and his team did upon discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. (Kevin Sielaff | MLive.com)
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/08/egyptologist_answers_question.html
Egyptologist answers most frequently asked question about King Tut
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – King Tut was a minor pharaoh soon forgotten by history.
Though he was pharaoh during the 18th dynasty, one of Egypt's golden ages dubbed the "New Kingdom," Tutankhamun reigned for only 10 years and soon was forgotten by history.
Egyptologist David Silverman, who was in Grand Rapids this week for the Grand Rapids Public Museum's exhibition, "The Discovery of King Tut," answers the question most visitors wanted to know.
"How did he die?" Silverman said. "That seems to be the big question."
"I tell them what we know and what we don't know, and what we think is true and what may be true," said Silverman, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Pennsylvania.
King Tut was only about 19 years old when he died about 1324 B.C.
During the 70-day-long mummification process, all of his internal organs except the heart were removed. The stomach, intestines, lungs and liver all were preserved separately in canopic jars.
Information gathered from CT scans, X-rays and blood studies have ruled out murder or foul play.
A model of King Tut created by a French team in 2005 based on facial reconstructions from CT scans of King Tut's mummy. (AP photo) Most likely Tut died from complications coming from a fracture to his left leg that happened shortly before his death. Speculation includes a hunting accident or a fall from a chariot.
Modern tests also reveal Tut had malaria.
"If he did have malaria, he could have been in a weakened condition," Silverman said. "It's possible he died of blood poisoning."
Coincidentally, George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, the financial backer of archeologist Howard Carter, who discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922, died only five months after the discovery. Carnarvon suffered a severe mosquito bite infected by an accidental cut while shaving, which led to blood poisoning.
Carnarvon's death at age 56 sparked the story of the "Curse of Tutankhamun." Only recently has blood poisoning been attributed to King Tut as well.
"Some say that's the origin of the curse," Silverman said with a smile.
Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk covers arts and entertainment for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jkaczmarczyk@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
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