CT Scan done in 2005

On January 15, 2005, under the direction of Dr. Madeeha Khattab, the Dean of the School of Medicine at Cairo University, Tutankhamun was removed from the tomb and a CT scan (computerized tomography) was performed on the mummy. The scan allowed for accurate forensic reconstruction of Tut's body and face, as well as further evidence of his cause of death. Testing showed there was no traumatic injury to the head, he had a small cleft palate that went probably unnoticed, and the elongated shape of his skull was within the normal range and appeared to be a family trait after some studies were done on mummies that were believed to have been related to Tut. Based on bone maturity and his wisdom teeth, Tutankhamun was confirmed to be 19 years old at the time of his death. The CT scan proved Tut was in good health and did not show any signs of disease that would have affected his build. Study concluded Tut was not murdered from traumatic head injury, but a non-violent murder could still not be ruled out. There appeared to be no indication of any long-term disease.

X-rays done in 1968

In 1968, R. G. Harrison, a professor of anatomy, used a portable x-ray machine to get a better look at the internal structures of the mummy to better determine age and cause of death of Tutankhamun. One of the most abnormal findings was the sternum (breastbone) and most parts of the frontal ribs were missing. Removing these bones was not part of the normal mummification process, which lead Harrison to believe they might have been removed because they were badly damaged before his death. Harrison quickly discovered that Carter was not as careful as many of his personal notes had claimed. The mummy was not re-wrapped after 1926, which led to more deterioration due to the extremely hot external elements over the forty-two years. Also many of the limbs had been amputated in the body in order to remove some of the jewelry. Both hands were cut off, both legs were removed from the pelvis, and the head was severed from the body in order to get the mask off. Even more remarkable is that the king's right ear and penis were missing, but photographs from Carter show they were both present during his examination. Harrison believed the slight curve in the spine and small bone fragments might have been the result of the embalming process. The lesion on the left jaw showed signs of healing occurred before Tut's death and one of his legs had been broken, but it could not be determined if it happened naturally or as a result of the embalming or Carter's examination. The fact that skull fragments were discovered led many to assume the king was murdered by a blow to the head, but the x-ray could not support or discredit this theory.

Initial examination

On November 11–19, 1925 Dr. Douglas Derry and Dr. Saleh Bey Hamdi along with Carter and other members of the expedition team began to examine the mummy. It was initially very difficult for the team to unwrap the mummy because it appeared the anointing oils that were most likely used during the mummification ceremony had caused the mummy to stick to the tomb. Although the wrappings were in poor condition, it seemed they were of the same material that other kings from the period had been wrapped in. As each layer was removed, the team began to discover many fine objects were wrapped between the layers all over Tut's body. Some of these objects included gold jewelry, jumping castels, and pieces of armor. Once the layers had been removed and they could finally begin to examine the actual corpse, they began to take anatomical notes of the body. He was determined to be approximately 5 feet, 6 inches and have had a slight build. He had a slightly curved spine, small bone fragments were found from the skull, a lesion was discovered on his left side of the jaw, and because the chest cavity was filled with wrappings, no further studying was done on it.

Discovery of the mummy

Under the commission of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who is commonly called just Lord Carnarvon, Howard Carter and his team set out to Egypt in 1922 to discover the tomb of Tutankhamun, and because of other recent discoveries during that time in a particular area of the Valley of the Kings, Carter believed he had a good idea of where he would find it. Theodore M. Davis, a contemporary archeologist of Carter, discovered pottery with Tut's name a short distance from where Carter would on November 4, 1922 discover KV62.

The location at the Valley of the Kings was significant to the New Kingdom because it is where the pharaohs of the time and some other important people to the king were buried. The idea behind burying them there was that is was supposed to be a hidden location in a remote area since tomb robbing was a constant problem during Ancient Egyptian times. Unfortunately the location was not as secret as it was hoped to be, and most of the tombs were broken into and either stolen from or damaged. King Tut's tomb did suffer from some tomb robbing, but overall much of it was left intact and some areas including the burial chamber appeared to be left unscathed.

Tutankhamun was the last pharoah of Egypt.

Tutankhamun (alternately spelled with Tutenkh-, -amen, -amon) was an Egyptian pharaoh betwen 1341 BC – 1323 BC, of the 18th dynasty (ruled ca. 1332 BC – 1323 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. He is popularly referred to as King Tut. His original name, Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living Image of Amun". 

In hieroglyphs, the name Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a phrase to show appropriate reverence. He is possibly also the Nibhurrereya of the Amarna letters, and likely the 18th dynasty king Rathotis who, according to Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years — a figure which conforms with Flavius Josephus's version of Manetho's Epitome.

The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter and George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon of Tutankhamun's nearly intact tomb received worldwide press coverage. It sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's burial mask remains the popular symbol. Exhibits of artifacts from his tomb have toured the world. In February 2010, the results of DNA tests confirmed that he was the son of Akhenaten (mummy KV55) and his sister/wife (mummy KV35YL), whose name is unknown but whose remains are positively identified as "The Younger Lady" mummy found in KV35.
 

On February 12, 1924, English Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team removed the lid on the third and last sarcophagus of the burial chamber in tomb KV62 revealing the mummy of Tutankhamun. By February 1923, Carter had already discovered the Burial Chamber of Tutankhamun's tomb hidden in the Valley of the Kings.

Tutankhamun was the 11th pharaoh of Dynasty 18 of the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt, making his mummy over 3,300 years old. The discovery of the tomb as a whole was one of the most significant and famous archeological discoveries in modern times. There has been great speculation about the alleged Curse of the Pharaohs and also the actual cause of death of King Tutankhamun since very little data about the young king is known.

Although most Egyptologists agree that King Tutankhamun, or King Tut (as he is commonly referred to), was the 11th pharaoh during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, what is still not exactly clear is to the exact dates of Tut's reign. An educated estimate is that he ruled over Ancient Egypt from about 1346-1355 BCE. After an initial examination of the 3,300 year old mummy, it was estimated that Tut was a teenager of approximately 17–19 years of age when he died. Since it was believed that Tutankhamun became king as child no more than 10 years old, many refer to him as the "Boy-King" or "Child-King." A majority of his reign was devoted to restoring Egyptian culture, including religious and political policies because Tut's predecessor Akhenaten (recently proven to be Tut's father) had altered many Egyptian cultural aspects during his reign, and one of Tut's many restoration policies included changing the political capital from Akhenaten's Amarna back to Memphis.

Following the discovery of Tut's mummy, much debate has arisen as to his exact cause of death. This has led to numerous medical studies and procedures performed on his remains, including as recent as 2009. As medical technology advanced throughout the years, new techniques were utilized on the mummy to discover the true age, genealogy, and cause of death of the young pharaoh (is either a war battle wound or chariot fall) so some of the mysteries surrounding the "Boy-King" could finally be put to rest.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII Philopator, famously known as Cleopatra, was the last active Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt shortly succeeded by her son, Pharaoh Caesarion. The name Cleopatra is derived from the Greek name Kleopatra which means “Glory of the father”. Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later, with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she replaced and eventually became sole ruler. For taking advantage of Julius Caesar’s anger towards Ptolemy, Cleopatra secretly went to the palace of Caesar. Plutarch, in his “Life of Julius Caesar”, gives a detailed description of how she entered past Caesar’s guards rolled up in a carpet that the Sicilian Apollodorus was carrying. In 41 BC, Mark Antony, while in dispute with Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, over the succession to the Roman leadership, began both the political and romantic alliance with Cleopatra. They had two sons and a daughter. Cleopatra killed herself by inducing an Egyptian cobra to bite her. According to Strabo, who was alive at the time of the event, there are two stories. One says that she applied a toxic ointment, while the other says that she was bitten by an asp on her breast.

Egypt was full with mystical Pharaohs and Gods having partial body parts of animals. It is said that before the first dynasty of Egypt, the land was ruled by Demigods whose names are long forgotten. It had a humungous long period when the mystic desert beside Nile was ruled by the great Pharaohs. Egypt is ancient for the ancients. As a fact, the most famous female Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, Cleopatra, is closer to us according to chronology than the Pharaohs before her who built the great pyramids.

Nefertiti.

Nefertiti, also written as Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, was the Great Royal Wife or chief consort of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. She was the daughter of Ay. Scenes in the tombs of the nobles in Amarna mention the queen’s sister who is named Mutbenret. Nefertiti had many titles including “Hereditary Princess”, “Great of Praises”, ”Lady of Grace”, “Sweet of Love”, “Lady of The Two Lands” and “Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt”. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten or the Sun. Nefertiti ruled Egypt as Neferneferuaten after her husband’s death and before the accession of the Boy King, Tutankhamun. After Nefertiti had given birth to six daughters, her husband began taking other wives for a successor, including his own sister, with whom he fathered King Tutankhamun. Nefertiti disappears from the historical record around the 12th year of Akhenaten’s 17-year reign. She may have died at that time, but it is also claimed that she became her husband’s official co-regent under the name Neferneferuaten. Akhenaten was followed as Pharaoh by the name of Smenkhkare which some historians suggest was another name for Nefertiti.