Tut's Skeleton

Tut: Theory Of His Death

Tut could have been murdered. As Tut grew older he had an increasing desire to handle his own affairs and make his own decisions without Aye's help. Aye, being pushed into the background, decided that he wanted to be the new Pharaoh, so he arranged it so that a hired killer could slip past palace security and into the King's quarters and strike him down as he slept. Only a few people, including Aye, would have had the authority to arrange that with the guards. So sure he was of his plan's success, he even had himself painted wearing the Pharaoh's headdress during Tutankhamen's funeral as pictured on the wall of the Tutankhamen's tomb before the king was interred. With Tut out of the way and leaving no heir, Aye was in a position to put pressure on the King's widow to marry him, so that he could become Pharaoh. Ankhensenpaaten, who was not yet 20 years old, would have resented being forced to marry a man as old as Aye (who was about the same age as her grandfather). When she tried to do an end run around him by offering marriage to a foreign prince, he had the prince murdered before he ever arrived at the palace. Ultimately Aye was able to force the Queen to marry him and after the wedding she disappeared. Was this another murder?

Tut's Face

Tut's Face Revealed

Artifacts in Tut's Tomb

King Tut

This is what an artist believes Tut used to look like.

Tut's Tomb

Tut: His Tomb

In November 1922, Carter had discovered not just an unknown ancient Egyptian tomb, but one that had lain nearly undisturbed for over 3,000 years. Howard Carter had worked in Egypt for 31 years before he found King Tut's tomb. Carter was searching for a tomb he didn't even know existed. Work feverishly continued on the afternoon of November 4th through the following morning. By late afternoon on November 5th, 12 stairs were revealed; and in front of them, stood the upper portion of a blocked entrance. Carter searched the plastered door for a name but of the seals that could be read, he found only the impressions of the royal necropolis.The small tomb contained hundreds of objects (now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo), many richly decorated and covered in gold, that would be needed by the king in his afterlife. Over 3,000 treasures were placed in the tomb to help Tutankhamen in his afterlife, and the walls of the burial chamber were painted with scenes of his voyage to the after-world. His tomb is the most intact tomb for Egyptians. Legend has it, anyone who dares to open the tomb will suffer the wrath of the mummy.