Ancient Autopsy Season 01 Episode 04

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00:00I've spent my career investigating the mysteries of the past,

00:03but now I'm travelling thousands of years back in time

00:06to investigate how some of the greatest figures of the ancient world met their end.

00:11From Tutankhamun to Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan to Cleopatra,

00:16I'll be searching for clues in the archaeology, in artefacts and in ancient texts.

00:22This is the first time we see a story of his death where he is castrated.

00:29Helping me to unpick fact from fiction

00:32is world-leading forensic pathologist Dr. Richard Shepard.

00:36Using a cutting-edge digital autopsy table,

00:39he will shed light on the impact of disease, injury

00:42and possible foul play on our famous figures.

00:46It causes shock, the blood pressure falls, the heart rate goes up.

00:50This was not the clean death that is so often described in the history books.

00:55I'll be meeting experts at my investigation hub

00:58and getting truly hands-on out in the field.

01:02That's great. Look at that.

01:05This very taint's a violent.

01:07I'll unearth the latest revelations about these titans of antiquity.

01:12This is a perfect surface to smear some poison.

01:16Leading me closer to revealing just how they died.

01:20Tutankhamun is one of the most recognisable figures of ancient Egypt.

01:35He was one of the last of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom,

01:39some of the most powerful and celebrated pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

01:43And he was also Egypt's youngest king.

01:46He was nine years old when he came to the throne in 1333 BCE.

01:55Tutankhamun was the likely son of a pharaoh called Akhenaten,

01:59and he acceded to the throne following the death of his father.

02:03He was in all likelihood unprepared to rule,

02:06and much of the day-to-day ruling was properly done

02:08by a body of viziers and governors and advisers.

02:14But after ten years, his rule came to an abrupt end.

02:19The young pharaoh was just 19 years old when he died suddenly,

02:23without leaving an heir to his kingdom.

02:27As his reign was so short, he was forgotten about,

02:31until Howard Carter and his team discovered his glorious tomb

02:35in the Valley of the Kings in 1922.

02:38Carter's discovery included the mummified remains of the pharaoh himself,

02:49propelling Tutankhamun into the public imagination.

02:53The glorious array of treasures buried with the young king

02:56sparked global tut mania.

03:02In death, Tutankhamun became one of the most famed of Egypt's rulers.

03:06But thousands of years later,

03:09we are yet to unravel one of the ancient world's biggest mysteries.

03:15The question remains,

03:17why did he die at such a young age?

03:23Today, the mummified remains of Tutankhamun

03:26still lie inside his tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

03:30These hold tantalising clues that something was amiss

03:34in the death of the young pharaoh,

03:36leading some to suggest that he may have been brutally murdered.

03:47Tutankhamun was not buried with as much time or as much care

03:52as might be expected of your regular pharaoh.

03:54A lot of evidence seems to suggest that Tutankhamun's death

03:58was sudden, or at the very least, unexpected,

04:01and that the embalmers and the tombmakers

04:03weren't quite ready for it.

04:07In the 1920s,

04:09Howard Carter's team carried out the first,

04:11rather crude, autopsy on the mummy,

04:14stunning the world with the revelation

04:15that the pharaoh died in his teens.

04:18But without more advanced techniques,

04:21it explained little about what could have killed him.

04:24At the time, there was no real evidence

04:26towards any cause of death.

04:29It wasn't until a CT scan of the body in the 1960s,

04:33when loose fragments of bone were found in the back of the skull,

04:36that ideas around murder began to circulate.

04:40To examine these injuries in detail,

04:43we're turning to medical expert Dr Richard Shepard.

04:48He's a world-leading forensic pathologist

04:52who has carried out over 23,000 post-mortems.

04:57Using a digital anatomy table,

04:59he can dissect virtual human bodies,

05:02peeling back layers of tissue, muscle, and bone

05:05to examine how someone has died.

05:11Applying this to what we know of Tutankhamun's death

05:14can bring us closer to the possible cause.

05:18In 1968 and 1978,

05:21two groups x-rayed King Tut's mummy,

05:24and they found two free-floating fragments of bone

05:29within the skull.

05:31Combined with Tut's young aide at death,

05:34these bone fragments added fuel to the theories

05:37that he had been murdered by a blow to the back of the head.

05:41Blunt force trauma is a very common finding

05:46in accident and emergency departments

05:48and in forensic pathology,

05:50and the amount of damage that is caused to the head and the brain

05:54depends on the amount of force that's been used.

05:59The greater the force,

06:01the greater the damage to the skull,

06:04the brain, and the chance of death.

06:05Now, in Tut's case,

06:08the injury to his head

06:09was believed to be to the back,

06:11this occipital bone at the back of a head.

06:14Beneath that is the cerebellum

06:16and the occipital poles of the brain

06:18which control sight and hearing

06:20and all of those important features.

06:23And so a blow here,

06:24if it had been delivered,

06:26could well have caused his death.

06:28But who might have wanted to kill the young pharaoh

06:32and why?

06:37Could archaeological evidence reveal the answer?

06:43Dr. Elizabeth Frude has invited me

06:46to view original records

06:47from the tomb's discovery in 1922.

06:52Hello.

06:53Hi, Susie.

06:54Welcome to the archive of the Griffith Institute.

06:56Well, it's a real pleasure to be here.

06:59Howard Carter is sitting directly above us,

07:02somewhat looming over us, I think.

07:04And he, of course,

07:05is the lead excavator of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

07:09Directly in front of us is his journal

07:11written by him

07:13talking about the detailed process

07:16of the discovery and the excavation.

07:20And then we have some photographs

07:21of Tutankhamun himself.

07:24Very beautiful, staged photograph

07:27showing the inner coffin.

07:31So the journal, let me have a little look.

07:34It's just amazing.

07:35So with the light of the electric torch

07:37as well as an additional candle,

07:38we looked in.

07:40As soon as our eyes became accustomed

07:42in the glimmer of light,

07:44the interior of the chamber

07:45gradually leaned before me

07:46with its strange and wonderful medley

07:49of extraordinary and beautiful objects.

07:53It says,

07:54When Carnarvon said to me,

07:56Can you see anything?

07:57I replied to him,

07:59Yes.

08:00It is wonderful.

08:01Carter and his team

08:10documented their discovery

08:11in great detail,

08:13recording over 5,000 objects

08:15that had been buried

08:16with Tutankhamun.

08:18Can these accounts shed any light

08:20on the theory of murder?

08:23Is there a sense

08:25that maybe the burial

08:26was somewhat rushed?

08:27Yes, when you see

08:30the images and the plans,

08:32it gives the impression

08:33in some spaces

08:34of being quite artfully laid out,

08:37but in some places

08:38quite jumbled.

08:40There are certainly objects

08:41that have been repurposed.

08:43So objects that belonged

08:44to one member of the family

08:46and then get changed

08:48and his name is put on

08:50the object instead.

08:52Some scholars think

08:54that the tomb itself,

08:55its size,

08:56means that it was never

08:58intended for a royal burial

08:59in the first place.

09:01But from that time period,

09:02there is no parallel

09:03for another tomb like this.

09:06So maybe this does have

09:07everything that's proper place.

09:08Given that he's young

09:10and this is unexpected,

09:13is there evidence

09:15that suggests foul play?

09:18I don't think we can find that

09:22in the tomb materials.

09:25That said,

09:26this is a tumultuous period

09:28of history

09:28and there were certainly

09:30powerful individuals

09:32in the court

09:33who may have been jostling

09:36for position,

09:37may have seen an opportunity.

09:39You have his probable father,

09:42Akhenaten,

09:43who had changed

09:44Egyptian religion.

09:46To many people,

09:46that was probably

09:48deeply, deeply problematic.

09:54Famously,

09:55Egyptian religion

09:56was composed of

09:57a vast suite of gods.

10:00Tutankhamun's father,

10:01Akhenaten,

10:02promoted a new

10:03monotheistic religion

10:04based all around worship

10:06of the sun disc.

10:07Other gods were removed

10:08from the official canon.

10:10Egyptians of the time

10:11and immediately following

10:12seemed not to have

10:14followed his reforms

10:15and this period

10:16and many of the figures

10:17associated with it

10:18were stricken

10:19from the official record.

10:20And so,

10:21even if Tutankhamun

10:22was more popular

10:23than his father,

10:24he was still considered

10:25part of this heretical era.

10:27This was the catalyst

10:28potentially for theories

10:29that murder

10:30was the reason

10:31Tutankhamun died.

10:34With speculation,

10:36about political intrigue

10:37providing a possible motive,

10:39another aspect

10:40of Carter's discovery

10:41also contributed

10:42to the idea

10:43that the young king

10:44was murdered.

10:46A media frenzy

10:47stoked by images

10:48and news reports

10:49from the dig site

10:50and the fate

10:51of Lord Carnarvon,

10:52the financial backer

10:53of Carter's excavation.

10:56The so-called curse

10:58of the tomb

10:58of Tutankhamun

10:59was a story

11:01that erupted

11:03after the death

11:04of Lord Carnarvon.

11:06So,

11:06Lord Carnarvon

11:07had a mosquito bite,

11:09it got infected

11:10and he died of sepsis

11:12soon after the burial chamber

11:14had been opened.

11:16Of course,

11:17there is no such thing

11:18as the curse.

11:20You would have thought

11:20that the discovery

11:22of such a tomb

11:23and all these items

11:24obviously is going

11:26to completely enrich

11:27the knowledge

11:28of Egyptologists,

11:29archaeologists,

11:31but there's a sense

11:32that perhaps

11:34the discovery

11:34actually complicated

11:35Tutankhamun's history.

11:37Absolutely,

11:38you're right.

11:39The archaeological evidence

11:41uncovered by Howard Carter

11:42seems to offer

11:43little support

11:44to rumours of murder.

11:46An alternative explanation

11:48is that the excavation

11:50itself might have

11:51played a role

11:51in the traumatic injuries

11:53seen on the mummy.

11:55When the king's body

11:56was found

11:56and the sarcophagus opened,

11:59resin and pitch

12:00had been used

12:01as part of the mummification

12:02and the body

12:03had become physically stuck

12:04to the coffin itself.

12:06So,

12:06the excavators

12:07had to physically

12:08chisel the body loose

12:10in order to remove

12:11the burial mask

12:12in their haste to do so,

12:14in their excitement,

12:15the king's head

12:15was pulled from the body.

12:17As part of the autopsy itself,

12:19the limbs

12:20were physically dismembered.

12:22By the time

12:23that the king

12:24was put back in sand

12:26and stored away

12:26after the autopsy,

12:27he had been treated

12:28more like an animal carcass

12:30than a human body.

12:33Another look

12:34at the pathology

12:35supports alternative explanations

12:37for Tutankhamun's

12:38broken skull.

12:41It's enticing

12:42and dramatic

12:43to think that

12:45Egypt's most famous pharaoh

12:47was the victim

12:49of some salacious plot.

12:50But in forensic pathology,

12:53I have to work

12:53with science

12:54and with facts.

12:57CT scans

12:59showed that

13:00the fragments of bone

13:01came from

13:02the uppermost vertebrae

13:04and from areas

13:07at the base

13:08of the skull.

13:09But we can also see

13:10patterns of injury

13:12looking at the bone

13:13and the brain

13:14that give us a clue

13:16to what caused

13:18the damage

13:19in the first place.

13:20If they had come

13:21from blows

13:22before death

13:24that killed him,

13:25they'd have been lying

13:26within the embalming

13:28material.

13:30If there was damage

13:32to Tutankhamun's bones

13:33before mummification,

13:35any free-floating shards

13:37would have been bound together

13:38by the sticky materials

13:40like wax and resin

13:41that were used

13:42in the process.

13:44If shards remain loose

13:45without a trace

13:47of embalming liquids,

13:48then the damage

13:49must have occurred

13:50after the mummy

13:51was laid to rest.

13:53The fragments of bone

13:55were lying free

13:57within the skull.

13:59And so it's most unlikely

14:02that Tutankhamun

14:03was murdered

14:04by a blow

14:05to the head

14:06at least.

14:06So it's probable

14:11that the broken skull

14:12occurred either

14:13as a result

14:14of Tutankhamun's

14:15hasty burial

14:15or in the handling

14:17of his body

14:18in the years

14:18since it was discovered.

14:21Howard Carter's

14:22archival records

14:23and pictures

14:24are illuminating,

14:25but they certainly

14:26don't confirm

14:26the idea

14:27of foul play.

14:29Yes,

14:30Tutankhamun died young

14:31and unexpectedly.

14:33He was the son

14:34of a problematic king

14:35with a divisive legacy

14:37and there are signs

14:38that his burial

14:39was rushed.

14:41But vitally,

14:42the skull damage

14:43was likely caused

14:44post-mortem,

14:46after death.

14:50It seems that

14:51Tutankhamun

14:52wasn't murdered

14:53by having his skull

14:54bashed in.

14:55So what else

14:57could have killed

14:57a king

14:58in the prime

14:59of his life?

15:05The mania

15:17that followed

15:18the discovery

15:18of Tutankhamun's tomb

15:20in 1922

15:21has lodged

15:22certain ideas

15:23in the public imagination.

15:25That Tut

15:25was a boy king,

15:27that his tomb

15:27was cursed

15:28and that he suffered

15:30from a violent blow

15:31to the head

15:31that led to his death.

15:33None of these things

15:34is true.

15:35The pathology shows

15:37that the bitter bone

15:38broken off in his skull

15:39was probably a result

15:40of the mummification

15:41or perhaps because

15:42of the abuse

15:43that his corpse

15:44suffered after the discovery.

15:46Perhaps the truth

15:47about Tutankhamun's death

15:49lies closer to home.

15:50In the 18th dynasty

16:03of ancient Egypt's

16:05new kingdom,

16:06the royal court

16:07was a place

16:07where practices

16:08we now frown upon

16:10were part

16:10of everyday life.

16:13Perhaps something

16:14the young pharaoh

16:15considered normal

16:16could have led

16:17to his death.

16:18There's a lot

16:20of evidence

16:21to suggest

16:21that Tutankhamun

16:22had physical

16:23and quite possibly

16:24developmental problems

16:25associated with

16:27close family inbreeding.

16:29Tutankhamun's family

16:30were not unique

16:31in this, however.

16:33As with a lot

16:34of other dynasties

16:35throughout history,

16:36marriage within the family

16:37was a way

16:38to secure power,

16:39especially after periods

16:41of upheaval.

16:42It was simply

16:42a way to prevent

16:44power being diluted

16:45and to establish

16:47and to legitimise

16:48one family's claim

16:49to the throne.

16:52Incest was common

16:53among Egyptian royalty,

16:55but we now know

16:56it can cause

16:57serious medical problems,

16:59some of them

16:59even fatal.

17:02But just how sure

17:04are we about

17:05Tutankhamun's

17:06own family tree?

17:08Professor Aidan Dodson,

17:10an Egyptologist

17:11from the University

17:11of Bristol,

17:12is an expert

17:13on the pharaoh's ancestry.

17:15Hello!

17:16Hello!

17:17Lovely to meet you.

17:18Lovely to meet you too.

17:21So, Aidan,

17:23I'm hoping you can

17:24help me solve

17:25a bit of a riddle.

17:27I know that we're

17:28uncertain

17:28about Tutankhamun's

17:30parentage.

17:31What do we know

17:32about his family?

17:33OK, the bit

17:34which we do know

17:35absolutely certainly

17:36is who his wife was.

17:39That's Ankhessunamun

17:40and that's Tutankhamun.

17:41This is a replica

17:43of a boxed lid

17:45which was found

17:45in the tomb.

17:46And here we've got

17:47the two of them

17:47and, yeah,

17:49we know that

17:50his wife,

17:51Ankhessunamun,

17:52is a daughter

17:52of Akhenaten,

17:54the famous

17:54heretic pharaoh,

17:56and his wife,

17:57Nefertiti.

17:57Can I have a little look?

17:58Yeah.

18:00It's very beautiful,

18:01isn't it?

18:01It's a gorgeous thing.

18:02The original actually

18:03is coloured,

18:04but that is a very,

18:05very good replica

18:06of the thing.

18:08So, we know

18:09her parentage,

18:10we're not sure

18:11about his.

18:12It's 99% certain

18:14that Tutankhamun's

18:15father was Akhenaten,

18:17and so therefore

18:18he's at least

18:18a half-brother

18:19of his wife.

18:21The big question

18:22has always been

18:23who his mother was.

18:24Now, in 2010,

18:26a DNA study

18:27of a number

18:28of mummies

18:28proclaimed that

18:29Tutankhamun

18:30was the offspring

18:31of Akhenaten

18:32and a sister,

18:35a full-blooded sister.

18:36However,

18:37there's a problem

18:38with this,

18:39because we have

18:40no sister wife

18:42of Akhenaten,

18:44but actually

18:44the same DNA

18:46signature

18:46into Tutankhamun's

18:48body would be

18:49produced if his

18:50parents had been

18:51first cousins,

18:53his grandparents

18:53had been first cousins,

18:55and great-grandparents.

18:56So, three generations

18:58of first-cousin marriages

18:59is exactly the same

19:01genetically

19:02as a brother-sister marriage.

19:05OK, so

19:06what we have

19:08is a tradition

19:10amongst the pharaohs

19:11of marrying

19:12within their family.

19:14So, sometimes

19:15it's brother-sister,

19:16and sometimes

19:17you're suggesting

19:18it's cousins,

19:19first cousins.

19:20Yeah, and certainly

19:21that sort of

19:22set of first-cousin marriages

19:24is far more credible

19:26than this

19:28completely unknown

19:29sister-wife.

19:31It's almost certain

19:33that Tutankhamun

19:34was the product

19:35of an incestuous

19:36relationship

19:37between either siblings

19:38or cousins.

19:40But what might this

19:41have meant

19:42for the young pharaoh

19:43medically?

19:46Analysis of the mummy

19:47has suggested

19:48a long list

19:49of genetic conditions

19:50that may have

19:51affected him.

19:52An overbite

19:53and cleft palate,

19:54wide hips

19:55and a club foot.

19:57But surely

19:57none of these

19:58were serious enough

19:59to be fatal.

20:02Using a 3D digital body,

20:05forensic pathologist

20:06Dr. Shepard

20:07can peel back the skin

20:09to try and give us

20:10an answer.

20:11Incest for many

20:13generations

20:13means that any diseases

20:15caused by recessive genes

20:16were much more likely

20:18to occur

20:19as the chances

20:20of two abnormal genes

20:22being present

20:22was greatly increased.

20:25And DNA analysis

20:26of King Tutankhamun

20:28showed that he suffered

20:29from one very rare

20:31genetic disease

20:33of the foot.

20:35Kohler's disease

20:36affects children.

20:37It's five times

20:38more prevalent

20:39in boys

20:39than in girls.

20:41And it affects

20:42the navicular bone,

20:43which is deep

20:43within the centre

20:44of the foot

20:45that extends

20:46between the ankle bone

20:48and the cuneiform,

20:50the main bones

20:51of the foot.

20:51Crucial to how we walk

20:53and it causes pain

20:55and it causes limping.

20:58The question is,

21:00could something

21:00like Kohler's disease

21:02caused by necrosis

21:03in the foot

21:04lead to death?

21:06Although Kohler's disease

21:07is interesting

21:08in giving us

21:09an insight

21:10into his incestuous origins

21:12and researchers

21:14linking Kohler's disease

21:15with inbreeding,

21:16it's not the smoking gun.

21:20It's unlikely

21:20that Kohler's disease

21:22would have killed

21:22Tutankhamun.

21:26But incestuous relationships

21:28can result

21:29in a myriad of issues

21:31such as a weakened

21:32immune system

21:33and increased risk

21:34of heart problems

21:35that are potentially lethal.

21:38Might another of these

21:39have caused Tut's death?

21:41Or is the inbreeding theory

21:43a red herring?

21:44This has been

21:46a quite controversial

21:48question

21:49because the mummy

21:50was comprehensively

21:51CAT scanned

21:52a few years ago

21:53and some of the people

21:55who examined

21:56those scans

21:57did come up

21:58with a whole list

21:59of possible things

22:00which were wrong

22:02with him.

22:02The trouble is

22:03that other experts

22:05have said,

22:06well, no,

22:06not at all.

22:08Some of them

22:08are actually

22:09more to do

22:10with clumsy embalmers

22:12and things like that.

22:14Well, if we find

22:15the physical evidence,

22:17the CAT scans,

22:18the other analyses

22:19producing different results,

22:22is there anything

22:22in the archaeological evidence

22:23that we could look to,

22:24artefacts or iconography

22:25in the tomb,

22:26things like this

22:27that might help us

22:29solve the question?

22:30On this here,

22:31he's got a walking stick there

22:33and there are a lot

22:34of walking sticks

22:34found in the tomb

22:35and people have then said,

22:38ooh, could that be

22:39because he has a degree

22:40of disability

22:41and therefore needs a stick?

22:43There are a couple

22:44of issues with that.

22:44First of all,

22:45staves, sticks

22:47were a sign of status

22:48in ancient Egypt

22:49and we have

22:51a number of tombs

22:52which have got

22:53a huge number

22:53of staves in them

22:55and there's no indication

22:57that the owner

22:57of that tomb

22:57was in any way disabled.

22:59Indeed,

23:00the actual sign

23:01for a noble

23:02is a man

23:03with a stick.

23:04Right.

23:05So, what you're saying

23:06is we can be

23:07completely misled

23:09if the iconography

23:10of a stick

23:10is actually about power

23:11but you put the two

23:12things together

23:13and you go off

23:13in completely

23:14the wrong direction.

23:14It's really dangerous

23:15sometimes for people

23:16to go, ooh,

23:18cherry pick all these

23:19things without

23:19recognising what

23:20the context

23:21of Egyptian

23:22iconography

23:23in general is.

23:28People interested

23:29in this period

23:30love to explore

23:32the idea

23:33of the inbreeding

23:34and the genetics.

23:35Partly,

23:36this is also fostered

23:37by the art style

23:38of the period.

23:39The royal body

23:40in particular

23:41was pictured

23:42as androgynous

23:44with wide hips

23:45and this has

23:46obviously been pointed

23:47to many times

23:48as evidence

23:49of his actual

23:50physical appearance

23:50and associated

23:52conditions.

23:53It's important

23:54to remember

23:55that Egyptian art

23:56isn't true to life.

23:58Egyptian art

23:59had always showed

24:00not how a person

24:01looked

24:01but how they

24:02wanted to be seen.

24:03It's unlikely

24:04that the art

24:06of the Amarna period

24:06and depictions

24:07of Tutankhamun's

24:09immediate family

24:09and art

24:10are indicative

24:11of physical appearance.

24:12What you're saying

24:16is this idea

24:17of Tutankhamun

24:19being the product

24:21of incest

24:21and that leading

24:22to his death

24:23is full of holes.

24:25Yeah.

24:26I think it's not impossible

24:27that the result

24:28of his ancestry,

24:29the way the genes

24:30had come together,

24:32made him less resistant

24:33to something or other.

24:34But I think

24:35they're just simply saying

24:35because he was the outcome

24:39of a number of generations

24:40of inbreeding

24:41caused his death.

24:42It might have been

24:43a contributor

24:44but I don't think

24:45there's any way

24:45it can actually be

24:46the cause.

24:55Strange as it might seem

24:56to us,

24:56marrying your sibling

24:57or your cousin

24:58was a perfectly normal

25:00ancient Egyptian practice.

25:02Designed to strengthen

25:03the bloodline

25:04it may have done

25:04the exact opposite.

25:07The pathological evidence

25:08points to necrosis

25:10in Tutankhamun's left foot.

25:12The archaeological evidence

25:13suggests that the walking sticks

25:15in his tomb,

25:16maybe he had an affliction,

25:18maybe walking was difficult

25:19for him and painful

25:21but on the other hand

25:23staves and canes

25:25could indicate status.

25:27So maybe he didn't have

25:28a disability at all

25:29and even if he did

25:31it wouldn't have killed him.

25:33So in the end

25:35I think we have to rule out

25:36incest

25:36as the cause of his death.

25:40But if inbreeding

25:42didn't kill Tutankhamun

25:43then what did?

25:45I am learning

25:59that when it comes

26:00to Tutankhamun's death

26:01that nothing can be said

26:02with any certainty.

26:04So far we've seen

26:05the theory of a blow

26:06to the young Thoreau's skull

26:07discredited

26:08and that the ancient

26:10Egyptian practice

26:10of inbreeding

26:11is unlikely to have been

26:12the main cause

26:13of his death.

26:14Neither theory really

26:15scratches the surface

26:16of the mystery.

26:18But there is one piece

26:18of pathology evidence

26:19I haven't yet considered.

26:24It is without question

26:26that the body

26:26of Tutankhamun

26:28bears numerous signs

26:29of physical damage.

26:31Everything from broken ribs

26:32to a missing heart

26:33leading to speculation

26:35that perhaps an accident

26:37could have killed him.

26:40More recent examinations

26:42of the body

26:42revealed one devastating injury

26:44that seems to support

26:46this theory.

26:48The fact that we have

26:49King Tut's body

26:50in this case

26:51is so illuminating.

26:52In 2005

26:54a CT scan

26:56showed the body

26:56was in poor condition

26:57but crucially

26:59it did confirm

27:00the presence

27:01of a fractured

27:02left femur.

27:03The femur

27:06is the biggest

27:07and strongest bone

27:08in the whole

27:09of the body.

27:10This particularly

27:11applies

27:12to a young

27:13adult male.

27:15It's a massive bone

27:16incredibly powerful

27:18and crucial

27:19obviously

27:20for walking

27:20and locomotion.

27:22To have a fractured

27:24femur

27:24without support

27:26would mean

27:26that the person

27:27could not move

27:28on their own.

27:30There are some diseases

27:31that can weaken it

27:32both genetic

27:33and acquired things

27:34like infection

27:35but we know

27:36from the x-rays

27:37that Tut has had

27:38that none of those

27:39apply

27:39so the damage

27:40to his femur

27:42must be due

27:44to trauma.

27:46To break the femur

27:48would have taken

27:48a huge amount

27:49of force

27:50so what might

27:51have caused this?

27:54Do the archaeological

27:55finds uncovered

27:57in his burial chamber

27:58offer any clues?

28:00There is much evidence

28:02in the tomb

28:02of the king's

28:03love of chariot racing

28:05and of hunting.

28:06There are six chariots

28:07in the tomb itself.

28:08Hunting, spearing, racing

28:10were considered

28:11religious demonstrations

28:13of power

28:14and control

28:15over the wild

28:17chaos of nature

28:18and so by ritualistically

28:20being shown hunting

28:21the king was

28:22maintaining order.

28:25Might riding a chariot

28:27but the very thing

28:28that symbolised

28:29Tutankhamun's status

28:30as pharaoh

28:31also have led

28:32to his downfall.

28:35To explore this theory

28:36I need to understand

28:38just how dangerous

28:39this royal pursuit

28:40could be.

28:43Now where I am

28:45might seem strange

28:46I am a long way

28:47from Egypt.

28:48I have come to Yorkshire

28:49to meet Mike Lodes

28:51who is a historian

28:52he's a master

28:53of historical reconstruction

28:54and he knows

28:56an awful lot

28:57about chariots.

29:04Ancient Egyptian

29:06chariots

29:06were the Ferraris

29:07of their day

29:08used since 1600 BCE

29:12by pharaohs

29:13and the elite of society

29:14for warfare,

29:16parades

29:16and hunting.

29:18By Tutankhamun's time

29:19chariots

29:20were so key

29:20to royal life

29:21that they were

29:22frequently exchanged

29:23as gifts

29:24from one king

29:24to another.

29:27It's likely

29:28that the young pharaoh

29:29began riding a chariot

29:30at around 16 years old.

29:35Come on, thank you!

29:37I think the horses

29:39need a rest.

29:41This chariot

29:42is this

29:43like something

29:44that Tutankhamun

29:45would have had?

29:46It is exactly like it.

29:48There were six chariots

29:49found in Tutankhamun's tomb

29:51and this is a replica

29:53of one of those

29:54and the style

29:55of chariots

29:56in Tutankhamun's tomb

29:57are hunting chariots

29:59like this.

30:00I'm really struck

30:01by the fact

30:01that the wheels

30:01are very narrow.

30:03Yeah, the whole thing

30:03is very slight

30:04and delicate looking,

30:06isn't it?

30:07That's because

30:08we have these small horses.

30:11They can't take

30:11a lot of weight.

30:13The way you get that

30:15is with this

30:16bentwood technology

30:17because the curve

30:18is stronger

30:20than a straight

30:21piece of wood.

30:21You look at the wheel here.

30:24You see how

30:25that comes like that?

30:26Yeah.

30:27There's a join

30:28inside there.

30:29That is one piece

30:30of wood

30:31and it's probably

30:32a grown bend

30:33so you get

30:34extraordinary strength

30:36with minimal spokes,

30:39minimal weight.

30:40The chariot

30:44was designed

30:45to be light,

30:46nimble and fast

30:47and now I have

30:48the chance

30:49to experience

30:49just how fast

30:51for myself.

30:52Wish me luck.

30:57Now this is

30:58certainly one way

30:59for a pharaoh

30:59to get his thrills.

31:03But hunting in them,

31:04travelling at speeds

31:05of 25 miles per hour

31:07was a challenging feat.

31:10And Mike believes

31:11there are certainly

31:12moments when

31:12accidents could happen.

31:16So I'm shooting

31:17a gazelle

31:19or an ostrich.

31:20Okay.

31:21And it changes sides.

31:23I can't come in front of you

31:25because you've got the reins.

31:26Right.

31:27So when I say change

31:28you scoot over here.

31:29Change.

31:31And we're the other side.

31:33You see?

31:33Change.

31:36And we're the other side.

31:37Yes, that takes a little bit

31:38of choreography I reckon.

31:40But that's the moment

31:41of vulnerability.

31:41It is the moment

31:42of vulnerability.

31:43And I'm also really struck

31:44by the fact

31:44when I was going around

31:45I was hanging on

31:45for dear life.

31:47And if you're moving

31:48around like that

31:49you're not hanging on at all.

31:50No, because of you're

31:51shooting a bow.

31:51You're shooting.

31:52You're shooting.

31:52If Tutankhamun had fallen out of the back

31:55of a chariot

31:56at a vulnerable moment like that

31:59and he'd fallen onto sand

32:00he surely couldn't have broken his thema.

32:03The desert in Egypt

32:05can be sand drifts

32:07but it's very often hard rock

32:10with potholes and rocks.

32:12So, change.

32:14If at that moment

32:15we went over a bump

32:17that's when

32:18I could have fallen down.

32:19Now, if I've fallen down

32:23a pharaoh doesn't hunt alone.

32:26A pharaoh has security

32:28a posse.

32:30There's a squadron of chariots

32:32he's fallen down

32:34he's just getting up

32:36and he either gets

32:37knocked by the wheel

32:39or he's just getting up

32:41gets knocked by this hub

32:42you can see how that gets by Neil.

32:45So, people trying to avoid him

32:47this is what will break the femur.

32:50Not running over you

32:51but just impact into it.

32:53I think it was a hunting accident.

33:01Mike may be convinced

33:03but I'm not certain

33:04we can be sure

33:05that Tutankhamun

33:06broke his leg in this way.

33:09That said

33:10there is compelling

33:11archaeological evidence

33:12for his love of hunting

33:14in a chariot.

33:16One stunning find

33:17from his tomb

33:18was an ostrich feather fan

33:20created after one of the pharaoh's

33:22many hunting expeditions.

33:25The ostrich fan

33:26is delightful

33:27because it's personal.

33:29It originally had feathers in it

33:30from an ostrich

33:31that Tutankhamun himself

33:33hunted on a chariot

33:35like this one.

33:37What I've just learned

33:38is that acquiring those feathers

33:40involved something

33:41so dangerous

33:42that it could have been

33:43one of the only things

33:44that could have broken

33:45his femur.

33:47But does the pathology

33:49support the idea

33:50that a broken leg bone

33:51could have been serious enough

33:53to kill him?

33:55There were two key pieces

33:57of evidence

33:58of the femur.

33:59The recent fracture

34:01did not show

34:03any changes

34:04associated with healing

34:05and embalming fluid

34:07and embalming fluid

34:07could be seen

34:08covering the entire site.

34:12Ancient Egyptian

34:13funeral practices

34:14mean that Tutankhamun's

34:16embalming

34:16would have taken place

34:17very shortly

34:18after his death.

34:19So any fresh injuries

34:21to the pharaoh's body

34:23would have been coated

34:24with the embalming liquids.

34:25He must have died

34:28very close

34:30to the time

34:31that he received

34:32this injury.

34:33And in pre-antibiotic Egypt

34:36a fracture

34:37of this severity

34:38in this bone

34:39is very likely

34:41to have proved fatal.

34:44Thousands of years ago

34:46the significant amount

34:47of blood loss

34:48from an injury

34:49on this scale

34:50the shock to the body

34:51and even infection

34:53of the wound

34:53could all be

34:54life-threatening.

35:03Tutankhamun

35:04losing his life

35:05in a chariot crash

35:07is certainly

35:07a thrilling image.

35:09That he sustained

35:10an injury

35:11that hadn't healed

35:12by the time he died

35:13does raise

35:14some intriguing possibilities.

35:17But am I making

35:18too much

35:18of one broken bone?

35:20Is it a leap

35:21too far

35:22to pin

35:23the pharaoh's death

35:24on this alone?

35:26There's one

35:27final piece of evidence

35:28that needs examining.

35:46So far I've learnt

35:47that when it comes

35:48to Tutankhamun's death

35:49murder is unlikely

35:51the theory of incest

35:53is misleading

35:54and the broken femur

35:56from a chariot crash

35:57that hadn't healed

35:58by the time

35:59of his death

35:59is compelling

36:00but perhaps

36:02not sufficient.

36:03Is this something

36:04that I'm missing?

36:10Throughout my exploration

36:11of the death

36:12of Tutankhamun

36:13one unusual

36:15and unique

36:16piece of evidence

36:17has been key.

36:18the body

36:19the body

36:19of the pharaoh

36:20himself.

36:21I think

36:22it's worth

36:23revisiting

36:23the mummified remains

36:25to see

36:25if there's anything

36:26I've overlooked.

36:28Egyptologist

36:29Dr Chris Naughton

36:30is an expert

36:31in the ancient

36:32practice

36:33of mummification.

36:36Hello.

36:37Hello.

36:39We're very fortunate

36:41to have his mummy

36:42and the mummy

36:44allows us to

36:45to some extent

36:46see aspects

36:47of the condition

36:48of his health.

36:49What does

36:50mummification

36:51normally involve?

36:53A very small

36:53incision

36:54could be made

36:54in the sort of

36:55lower left

36:56torso area

36:58and from this

36:59they extract

37:00the liver,

37:01lungs,

37:01intestines

37:02and stomach.

37:04Those are then

37:04wrapped and mummified

37:05separately.

37:06The body is then

37:07embalmed

37:08and then

37:08wrapped in

37:09linen bandages

37:11but

37:12although

37:13the mummy

37:13has survived

37:14we can see

37:15telltale signs

37:16that in his case

37:17things were not

37:18done quite

37:20as they should

37:20have been.

37:21And what is that?

37:22It seems like

37:23a botch job.

37:24The embalming

37:24scar's in the wrong

37:25place,

37:26it's too big,

37:27the heart

37:28which is not

37:29one of those organs

37:30that should have

37:30been removed

37:31is missing.

37:33One possibility

37:34is that

37:35he was nowhere

37:36near

37:36a decent

37:38environment

37:39could he have

37:40been away

37:41from the Nile Valley?

37:42Could he have

37:42been outside

37:43Egypt?

37:44It's all kind

37:45of speculation

37:46but if we're

37:48looking for a

37:49cause of death

37:49you can't

37:50ignore the fact

37:51that his mummy

37:52is a bit

37:54strange.

37:58Perhaps then

37:58the physical

37:59state of the mummy

38:00can't always be

38:01trusted when it

38:02comes to the

38:03cause of

38:03Tutankhamun's

38:04death.

38:05But the fact

38:06that it still

38:07exists

38:07has allowed

38:08us to apply

38:09the latest

38:09developments

38:10in medical

38:11science

38:11to examine

38:12the young

38:13pharaoh's

38:13general health.

38:15And one

38:16of these,

38:16the same

38:17DNA study

38:18that suggested

38:19his incestuous

38:20origins

38:20did reveal

38:21something else

38:22that might

38:23have been

38:23responsible

38:24for his

38:24death.

38:27Tutankhamun's

38:28body suggested

38:29quite heavily

38:30prominence

38:31of malaria.

38:31malaria.

38:34We don't

38:34know if the

38:35ancient Egyptians

38:36would have

38:36recognised what

38:38malaria was or

38:39what caused it

38:40but there's

38:41certainly a lot

38:41of evidence

38:42that malaria

38:43was rife in

38:44ancient Egypt.

38:45It was a

38:46civilisation along

38:47a water where

38:48there were

38:48mosquitoes.

38:49It would have

38:50been a real

38:51and ever-present

38:52concern.

38:52It's a disease

38:56that still affects

38:57people around

38:57the world today

38:58but just how

39:00serious could it

39:01have been for

39:01the young king?

39:04By looking

39:05beneath the skin

39:06to examine the

39:07vital organs

39:08of a 3D

39:08digital body

39:09might forensic

39:11pathologist

39:11Dr. Shepard

39:12be able to

39:13shed some

39:14more light?

39:17Malaria is

39:18one of the

39:18oldest diseases

39:19and yet it

39:20still kills

39:21half a million

39:22people globally

39:23every year.

39:25It's affected

39:26and infected

39:27the human

39:28population since

39:29the beginning

39:29of time.

39:31The malaria

39:31parasite affects

39:32mainly the red

39:33blood cells in

39:34the body but

39:35that in turn

39:35causes damage

39:37to many organs

39:38as those red

39:39cells move

39:40around.

39:41In particular

39:42it causes damage

39:43to the spleen

39:44tucked under the

39:45ribs on the

39:46left-hand side.

39:49When the person

39:50is infected by

39:50malaria the spleen

39:51gets bigger and

39:53bigger and bigger

39:54and may actually

39:55rupture causing

39:56sudden hemorrhage

39:57into the abdominal

39:58cavity, collapse

40:00and death.

40:03So the pathology

40:05confirms that malaria

40:06if left untreated

40:08can have deadly

40:09consequences.

40:10illnesses.

40:13But what do we know

40:14about Tutankhamun's

40:15experience of this

40:16illness in day-to-day

40:18life in ancient

40:19Egypt?

40:21It's very

40:22crisp that Tutankhamun

40:23had malaria.

40:24Was it endemic?

40:26And what was the

40:27sort of state of

40:28ancient Egyptian

40:29medical knowledge?

40:30Did they have ways

40:31of dealing with it?

40:31It does seem likely

40:33that malaria was

40:34a constant problem

40:35that affected all

40:37levels of society.

40:39We know that the

40:41Egyptians were

40:42certainly aware of

40:44a whole variety of

40:45conditions affecting

40:47all kinds of

40:47different parts of the

40:48body.

40:49They're remedies

40:50which we know

40:52about mostly from

40:54documents, papyrus

40:56documents.

40:56They're mostly

40:57herbal, magical in

41:00some cases as well.

41:01There's quite a lot

41:01of overlap between

41:02magic and medicine

41:03for the Egyptians.

41:05By the time these

41:05papyri were written

41:07they had had an

41:09awful lot of

41:09experience of

41:10observing conditions

41:11treating them in

41:12various ways

41:13probably with some

41:14success.

41:15So it may well be

41:16that had Tutankhamun

41:17been suffering from

41:17malaria they might

41:18have known exactly

41:19what it was,

41:20exactly what caused

41:20it and how to

41:21treat it and it

41:22might not have been

41:22an issue for them

41:23really at all.

41:24It's interesting

41:25isn't it because

41:25we come across this

41:27mixture of

41:28incantation

41:29and science

41:31herbal remedies

41:34maybe some of

41:35those things

41:35are not quite so

41:37contradictory as

41:38we might previously

41:39have thought.

41:39Yeah absolutely

41:40I think it's

41:41difficult to get

41:43into the mindset

41:44of an ancient

41:45culture.

41:46Religion for

41:46everybody in

41:48ancient Egypt

41:48is the world

41:49it's not a thing

41:50that you can

41:50step outside of

41:51while it might

41:53be useful to

41:54apply a rub

41:56of palms

41:57crushed up

41:58or something

41:58like that

41:59if you can

42:00also do that

42:01with the right

42:02words to invoke

42:03the right spirits

42:04or the right gods

42:04at the same time

42:05then it's going

42:05to be more

42:06effective.

42:07The Egyptians

42:08do seem to

42:09have been

42:09observing

42:11and experimenting

42:13and applying

42:14these things

42:15and presumably

42:16noting success

42:17as well

42:17so I think

42:19we have to

42:19give them

42:19some credit.

42:20Surviving documents

42:21such as the

42:22Ebers papyrus

42:23written in 1550 BCE

42:25show that

42:27ancient Egyptians

42:27were very used

42:28to the threat

42:29of malaria.

42:33They were able

42:34to manage

42:35symptoms with

42:36herbal remedies

42:36such as garlic

42:38and other plants

42:39with anti-fever

42:40properties

42:40or with practices

42:42like enemas

42:42to try and flush

42:43illness from the body.

42:46Perhaps then

42:47malaria isn't

42:49the definitive

42:49culprit in this

42:50case.

42:53So Chris

42:54do you think

42:55the most likely

42:56cause of

42:57Juden Karmyn's

42:58death was

42:59that he had

43:00malaria?

43:01I'm not sure

43:02it's the most

43:03likely cause.

43:05There's good

43:06evidence to

43:06suggest that

43:07he was suffering

43:08from malaria

43:09sure.

43:10Were it not

43:10for something else

43:11he might well

43:11have survived

43:12got over it

43:12maybe it didn't

43:13affect him that

43:14badly.

43:15I think we also

43:15need to consider

43:16to what extent

43:17malaria was

43:18unusual in the

43:20population or

43:21whether this was

43:22something that

43:22was endemic that

43:23wasn't killing

43:24everybody off but

43:26was carried by

43:27people.

43:27It's an intriguing

43:28possibility but we

43:30can't conclude that

43:32that is how he came

43:34to die.

43:38Historical and

43:39archaeological

43:40evidence of how

43:41the ancient

43:41Egyptians dealt

43:42with diseases

43:43including malaria

43:44cast doubt on the

43:46theory that it was

43:47the sole cause of

43:48the young king's

43:49death.

43:50But could it have

43:51been a contributing

43:52factor?

43:54Can we find the

43:55answer in the

43:56pathological evidence?

43:58So we know

43:59Toot must have had

44:01malaria many times

44:02even in his short

44:03life and those

44:04episodes of malaria

44:05would have weakened

44:06his immune system

44:07and possibly made him

44:08anemic as well by

44:09damaging his bone

44:10marrow.

44:10That would have made

44:14him more susceptible

44:15to other diseases

44:16particularly infections

44:18and that means that

44:21malaria itself whilst it

44:22didn't kill him is

44:24highly likely to have

44:26contributed to the

44:28cause of his death.

44:29So Tutankhamun's

44:34compromised immune system

44:36combined with other

44:37injuries, his broken

44:39thigh bone unhealed at

44:40the time of his death

44:41as an obvious

44:42candidate, could have

44:43proved fatal.

44:50As my exploration

44:52into the death of

44:53Tutankhamun draws to a

44:54close and after

44:56examining all the

44:57evidence, what can we

44:58conclude about its

45:00cause?

45:02The famed and

45:03fabulous curse of

45:04Tutankhamun has

45:05fomented the idea

45:06that the young

45:07pharaoh died as a

45:08result of murder.

45:10But the pathology

45:11doesn't support this.

45:13The genetic study was

45:14fascinating but didn't

45:15go far enough to

45:16explain his death.

45:17Having ridden in a

45:18chariot myself, I know

45:19how dangerous it could

45:20be.

45:21And he had a broken

45:23femur that hadn't

45:23healed properly by the

45:24time of his death.

45:25And then there's

45:26malaria.

45:27Maybe, just maybe,

45:29malaria and a break

45:31to the largest bone

45:32in his body were

45:32together enough to

45:34overwhelm his immune

45:35system.

45:36In an age before

45:37antibiotics and

45:38anti-malarials, it

45:39certainly would have

45:40been enough to kill

45:41him.

45:42I imagine that however

45:43much we poke and

45:44prod at his body,

45:45we'll never be able to

45:46be more definitive

45:47than that.

45:48more than that.

45:50I know it's still

45:51different.

45:51I know it's still

45:52that we're not

45:53going to be able to

45:54you know.

45:54I know it's still

45:55hard.

45:55I know it's still

45:56hard.

45:56I know it's still

45:57hard.

45:57I think it's still

45:58hard to go.

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