Murder in the Valley of the Kings?

June 14, 2005 — -- Since the time his tomb was unearthed in the Valley of the Kings, scientists have wondered why King Tut died at the young age of 19.

Was it illness? An accident?

Or was it murder?

King Tut's chamber was first discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, more than 3,000 years after the Boy King's mysterious death. It was not until the 1960s that the body was X-rayed, revealing some kind of head injury and spurring speculation of a nefarious murder plot.

Now modern technology has shed new light on the subject.

Scientists removed the disintegrating mummy from its tomb and in a matter of hours, took 1,700 images, creating a 3-D view of the king.

They got an up-close look at the mysterious hole, and discovered pieces of bone in odd places in his skull, as well as what appeared to be a fracture.

Piecing together the evidence, scientists discovered that the hole in the skull was actually a post-mortem injury, most likely inflicted during the embalming process. If the injury had happened earlier, there would have been evidence of healing.

The pieces of bone were likely dislodged during the embalming process and the fracture was simply space between two skull bones that hadn't grown together yet, a reminder that Tut was only a teenager when he died.

"The CAT scan was very helpful for debunking the idea that Tut was murdered," said John Norman, president of Arts and Exhibitions International.

But scientists did discover clues about what really did happen to Tut. The images revealed a gash above his left knee and his kneecap was missing.

Scientist wondered if Tut was hurt falling from a chariot or attacked in battle. There were no antibiotics in 1300 B.C., so Tut could have died from an infection from a leg injury.