tinyurl.com/bbwku -> www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=ZKWH3MRJUVU3TQFIQMGSM54AVCBQWJVC?xml=/news/2005/05/11/ntut11.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/11/ixhome.html
Contact us The boy behind the mask: how scientists built the face of Tutankhamun By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent (Filed: 11/05/2005) The face of Tutankhamun, the Egyptian boy king whose early death sparked an historical murder mystery, was revealed yesterday. Archaeologists working with forensic specialists and artists have created reconstructions of the pharaoh's head using information from a computed tomography (CT) scan carried out on his mummified body earlier this yea r The face of Tutankhamun Computer generated image of the face of Tutankhamun The cause of Tutankhamun's death around 1325BC has long been a matter of historical controversy. Speculation about royal intrigue, plots and cold -blooded assassination were bolstered by the discovery of skull fragment s in X-rays carried out in 1968 by anatomists from Liverpool University. However, archaeologists who carried out the scan in January this year rec ently concluded that there was no evidence of foul play and that the kin g might have died from infections to a leg wound. Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquit ies, yesterday revealed the results of three attempts to create models o f Tutankhamun's face. He said: "In my opinion, the shape of the face and skull are remarkably similar to a famous image of Tutankhamun as a chil d, where he is shown as the sun god at dawn rising from a lotus blossom. " Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter, the British archaeolo gist, in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor in 1922. More than 1,700 high-resolution images were captured during a 15-minute C T scan for the scientific teams this year. They concluded that Tutankham un was about 19 years old when he died, 5ft 6in tall and well fed. There were no signs of a blow to the head or any other evidence of foul play. However, the scan revealed a fractured left thigh bone and evidence of po ssible fractures to the right kneecap and right lower leg. Embalming flu id was found inside the wound, suggesting that it might have happened sh ortly before death. Three different teams of scientists and artists, French, American and Egy ptian, used modern forensic methods to reconstruct Tutankhamun's face. Jean-Noel Vignal, a French forensic anthropologist who creates models of crime victims for the police, determined the mummy's sex, age, racial pr ofile and the basic facial measurements. Elisabeth Daynes, a leading anthropological sculptor, made a silicone cas t from a clay model, and, after checking archaeological records, added g lass eyes, hair, and colour to the skin and lips. The results of the thr ee teams are very similar in the size, basic shape of the face, setting of the eyes, and proportions of the skull. A documentary, King Tut's Curse, to be shown on the National Geographic C hannel at 9pm on Sunday, will reveal details of the CT scans and reconst ruction efforts.
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