Scientists and special effects artists in the UK and in New
Zealand have used the same digital techniques used in
criminal investigations to reconstruct what the young
pharaoh known as King Tut looked like. A fiberglass bust of
King Tut is now on display in London's Science Museum.
Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered by British archaeologist
Howard Carter in 1922. King Tut ruled Egypt in the 14th
Century BC and died mysteriously at age 18. His golden
death mask was one of the many exquisite items removed
from the tomb, and this was used to reconstruct his image.
For comparison photos of Bell and Tut, click on full story.
There?s evidence that Tut had a rare genetic disorder of the
spine. Dr. Richard Boyer, who looked at X-rays of the
Egyptian mummy taken in 1968, says he had Klippel Feil
Syndrome, an abnormal curvature in the spine and fusion of
the upper vertebrae. "His head is like it's on a broomstick or
a poker," says Boyer. "So that if he fell backward or there
was a blow to the back of his head?a serious spinal cord
injury at that level could be fatal. This is a young man who
should have a nice, healthy looking cervical spine and this is
not a nice healthy looking cervical spine."
Researchers discovered Tut?s spinal problem while FBI
investigators were investigating the theory that he was
murdered. "He lived in very turbulent times and it does
seem likely from what the detectives have found out that he
was assassinated," says TV documentary producer Kate
Botting. "The big question is whether it was a political
assassination or someone from within his own tight circle
who killed him." If Tut was obviously deformed, he may have
been assassinated because he violated the god-like image of
the pharaoh.
We?ve noticed that the fiberglass sculpture of Tut has an
eerie resemblance to Coast-to-Coast host Art Bell, who also
has back trouble. Could Art be the reincarnation of Tut? Click
on the photo to enlarge it, and decide for yourself.
Some of our most popular guests on Dreamland have been
authors who have uncovered the secrets of the past. To find
out more, read ?Atlantis in America? by Ivar Zap and George
Erikson,click
here and ?Galactic Alignment? by John Major Jenkins,
click here.
For more information, click here.
