THE REAL KING TUT
Dan Snow draws together all the evidence to shed new light on the mysteries of the king
He’s the most famous of all the pharaohs, but mystery still surrounds Tutankhamun more than 3,000 years after his death. Now Channel 5’s fascinating new three-part documentary Tutankhamun With Dan Snow attempts to shed more light on burning questions, such as what caused him to die at just 19, and why was his burial so rushed.
The iconic treasures from the tomb are now currently on display in London at the Saatchi Gallery. But as Dan discovers, the chamber they were buried in came close to not being found at all. Archaeologist Howard Carter, who’d been searching in vain for years, faced losing his financial support just before he found the burial chamber in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in November 1922.
‘Lord Carnarvon, his sponsor, told him there was no money left, and it was only in a meeting in June 1922 that Carter persuaded him to give it one more throw of the dice,’ says Dan, who examines documents that ensured the search continued.
There he sees the map on which Carter marked the likely site of Tutankhamun’s resting place, buried beneath ancient huts used by workers excavating another tomb.
Carter’s hunch proved correct, but other mysteries awaited once the tomb was opened. The cause of death, for example. Now, via a ‘virtual’ autopsy on Tutankhamun — created using data from CT scans of his mummified body — Dan can see the smashed thigh that probably cost him his life. ‘It was a very bad break, and he probably lost a lot of blood,’ says Dan. ‘The question is, what caused it? We find evidence Tutankhamun may have been a fighting man, so was he injured in battle?’
As for the hasty burial, a forensic examination of the tomb walls suggests the plaster hadn’t dried before the white paint was applied, and some of the drawings are missing key details. But why? ‘There was a power struggle,’ says Dan. ‘Egyptologist Dr Arto Belekdanian suggests in our documentary that Ay, Tutankhamun’s successor, may have wanted to claim the throne before his rival, army commander Horemheb, returned from battle.’
Dan’s co-presenters are archaeologist Raksha Dave and TV journalist and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant John Sergeant — who brings light relief by performing a dance from Tutankhamun’s funeral. Tim Oglethorpe n Tutankhamun With Dan Snow, Tues-Thursday, 9pm, Channel 5.