An unprecedented virtual autopsy has revealed that King Tut- the famed pharaoh often depicted as a handsome Egyptian youth- was no hottie.
Using over 2,000 CT scans and a DNA analysis of the deceased king's family, researchers found that King Tutankhamun was a weak, club-footed boy who could barely walk on his own, according to a new BBC One documentary. The results refute the widespread and glamorous theory that Tut, who ruled from 1332 B.C. until 1323 B.C., did not die in a chariot accident, The Independent reported.
The source of the king's physical suffering? Genetic deformities caused by the likelihood that his mother and father were sister and brother, which scientists concluded after analyzing his family's mummies.
"Inbreeding is not an advantage for biological or genetic fitness," Carsten Pusch, who worked on a previous study on Tut in 2010, told National Geographic. "Normally the health and immune system are reduced and malformations increase...He was not a very strong pharaoh. He was not riding chariots. Picture instead a frail, weak boy who had a bit of a club foot and who needed a cane to walk."
Scientist determined in 2010 that Tut most likely died from malaria related to an infection in a broken leg at the age of 19.
His tomb remained hidden to the outside world until it was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. Inside the tomb was the well-preserved body of the king hidden behind a gold mask- along with over 100 walking sticks.
Historians originally thought the sticks were placed there to represent his power, according to CNN. But the new autopsy results suggest they were probably placed in Tut's tomb with the idea he would use them to get around in the afterlife.
"We need further genetic analysis because that would give us more insight into his conditions," professor Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and Icemen in Italy, told The Independent.
The documentary titled "Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered" will play in the U.S. at the Smithsonian on Nov. 2.
