Tut Was No Beauty

Three different teams have computer scanned the Egyptianboy-king Tut’s mummy recently, and they’ve all come up withthe same conclusion: he was no beauty. He had anunusually elongated, narrow skull, big lips, buckteeth and a receding chin. Tut died in an accident (somethink he was murdered) at age 9 in 1325 BC. We’ve all heardof him because his was one of the few Egyptian tombs that,when it was discovered in 1922, was intact, and it wascrammed with relics made of gold, which have been exhibitedin museums around the world.

In order to create the facial reconstructions, over 17003-dimensional photos of the mummy were taken with CT scans(also known as CAT scans). They were then put together withthe help of a computer.

The face is actually the best preserved part of Tut’s mummy.In order not to unduly influence the three teams doing thereconstruction work?one French, one American and oneEgyptian?only the French and Egyptians were told the mummywas Tut’s; as a control, the U.S. team wasn’t told whosemummy it was. Nevertheless, they all came up with facialfeatures that look the same.

Archeologists say buck teeth ran in Tut’s family and so didhis oddly elongated skull, which his father, Akhenaten, hadas well. While some people looking at ancient carvings ofAkhenaten and his supposedly beautiful wife Nefertiti, whichshow them both with strangely shaped skulls and protuberantstomachs, have said they must have had some genetic disease,the current investigators say that the family’s elongatedskulls were normal, and not a sign of genetic disease.

The Cairo Museum is now planning to scan all the mummies inits collection and reconstruct their facial features.Eventually, this will be like having a scrapbook ofphotographs of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs and their families.

This is one more reason why Egypt isthegreatest show on Earth!

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