King Tuts infamous tomb likely wasnt his, new research reveals

Was Pharaoh Tutankhamun a “cast-off king”? Evidence shows that his shimmering golden death mask was made for someone else.The boy-king Tutankhamun is a relatively insignificant Pharaoh in Egypt’s 3000-year history.But he’s the most famous because his largely unlooted tomb revealed its wealth of golden artworks to a stunned world in 1922.Most famous among them all was his extraordinary death mask.“The penultimate scene was disclosed,” archaeologist Howard Carter wrote in his diary after opening the final layer of the nesting doll-like sarcophagi.“A very neatly wrapped mummy of the young king, with a golden mask of sad but tranquil expression … the mask bears God’s attributes, but the likeness is that of Tut.Ankh.

Amen — placid and beautiful, with the same features as we find upon his statues and coffins.”It’s 53.5cm tall and made from 10kg of solid gold inlaid with obsidian and quartz.The intense blue lapis lazuli of the headdress has been traced to some of the oldest known mines in the world – in Afghanistan.Its pristine sheen, intricate detail and lifelike features have fascinated millions of tourists ever since.But it’s probably not his.Archaeologists have been scratching their heads about several irreconcilable details of the mask and many precious objects intended to ease the boy-king’s afterlife.His tomb isn’t right.

Its design is reserved for queens, not kings.Some of his statues have breasts.Many items carry the name of his heretic stepmother, Nefertiti.Such anomalies in what would normally be a strictly formulaic and traditional funerary process have prompted University of York researchers to reassess his glittering legacy.Archaeologist Howard Carter’s discovery overwhelmed the archaeological world with its golden treasures.But Tutankhamun’s tomb also preserved a valuable insight into the royal family’s daily lives – with everything from tents to chariots, combs to cutlery and thrones to sceptres found among the sta...