Thursday, August 26, 1999
Who killed King Tut? 'Mr. Mummy' might know
BY OWEN FINDSEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
If there were hieroglyphic newspapers 3,000 years ago the headline would have read “King dead at 19; foul play suspected.”
The Pharaoh Tutankhamen was forgotten to history after his death in 1323 B.C., but became famous again in 1922 when his treasure-filled tomb was discovered.
The story of his possible murder surfaced only last year when Bob Brier, a paleo-pathologist, published his book The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story (Putnam's, $24.95). Dr. Brier will present his case at 2 p.m. Sunday at Cincinnati Museum Center.
Several clues suggest murder: X-rays of Tut's skull, which indicate a severe blow to the back of the head, and a plea for help from Tut's wife Ankhesenamen, found on a clay tablet in Turkey. Dr. Brier believes paintings on the walls of Tut's tomb and in other tombs provide further evidence of murder.
“All of this evidence has been around for a while,” Dr. Brier says. “The head injury was noticed in the 1960s. The letter has been known for a long time, too.”
“My husband died. A son I have not,” Ankhesenamen wrote to the king of the Hittites. “But to thee, they say, thy sons are many. If thou would give me one son of thine, he would become my husband. Never shall I pick out a servant of mine and make him my husband. I am afraid!”
The Hittite king sent a son, but he was ambushed and killed.
So who killed Tut, and why?
“Tut lived in interesting times, and turbulent ones,” Dr. Brier says. The previous king was Akhenaten, who had discarded Egypt's old religion for the worship of a single god, Aten.
A struggle for power between the old priests and the new ones was going on while Tutankhamen was on the throne. After Tut's untimely death, the priest Aye, who would have been considered a servant by Tut's widow, married her and became Pharaoh. The body of evidence suggests that he killed the king.
“It's not the final word,” Dr. Brier says. “It fits all the pieces. I think it's the best explanation, but it's certainly not proof. I would like to do more work. Tutankhamen's internal organs are still there. The mummy still exists, and with very modern, scientific, non-destructive autopsy, I think we could learn more.
“I'm going to be making an application to the Egyptian Antiquities Service to see if we can get access to the body. We have an international panel we're getting together now.”
Dr. Brier is host of the program The Great Egyptians on the Learning Channel. He acquired the nickname Mr. Mummy after mummifying a modern day cadaver using ancient techniques for a National Geographic special. He is filming a series on mummies of the world.
“After I leave Cincinnati, I will be going to Moscow to examine Lenin's mummy,” he says.
Dr. Brier's lecture will take place in conjunction with the Museum Center's Mysteries of Egypt exhibition and Omnimax film. His lecture is free with any purchased ticket to Mysteries.
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