Tutankhamun, illustration

Illustration of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (c. 1341-c. 1323 BC). Tutankhamun ruled from 1333-1323 BC in the period of Ancient Egypt known as the New Kingdom. His father was the pharaoh Akhenaten and his mother was Akhenaten's sister. He died in his late teens and remained buried in the Valley of Kings for over 3300 years. He was discovered in November 1922 by British Egyptologist Howard Carter. Studies of his mummy show that he was 167 centimetres tall with a narrow waist and rounded hips. He had large front teeth and an overbite. He had a slight scoliosis (sideways curvature of the spine) and a deformed right foot caused by necrosis (death) of the bone, that necessitated the use of a cane, several of which were found in his tomb. Genetic testing indicated he had been infected with malaria multiple times. He was also found to have am unhealed fracture of the left thigh bone, which along with the malaria probably contributed to his death., by CLAUS LUNAU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY