Tut mystery revealed — almost
By: Brent Begin
SFExaminer
06/24/09
It’s a 3,000-year-old mystery that has eluded Egyptologists since the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb,
and now San Franciscans may be the first to know what really killed the Boy King.
Zahi Hawass, director of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and an authority on all things Tut,
told a crowd at the de Young Museum on Wednesday that he has developed a new theory as to how
Tutankhamun died.
Scholars recently said he died from gangrene after his leg was injured in a chariot accident. Previously,
researchers believed he was murdered from a blow to the head. But the debate has raged on.
“Actually, we found evidence now that he died of something else,” Hawass said, only revealing that it
had to do with 133 sticks found in the tomb.
The announcement will come in a matter of months and will not only reveal the latest theory on King Tut’s
death, but will include his never-before-seen DNA lineage. Hawass, who is also working on a laser scan of
the tomb in order to make an exact copy for research, said that seeing Tutankhamun for the first time
changed his life.
“It was the most beautiful moment of my life, meeting face to face with King Tut,” Hawass said.
Thirty years ago, a smaller exhibit drew massive crowds in San Francisco. But the money raised for that
tour went into the pockets of the organizers. This time, much of the proceeds will go to conserving
antiquities in Egypt, Hawass said.
Mayor Gavin Newsom remembered Wednesday how he waited in line as a child at the old de Young
Museum for the exhibit and was impacted by the experience.
“I think that’s incredibly important because I think that impact is a big part of the reason I am still here,”
Newsom said, recalling how he returned to The City after living in Marin County.
“Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” opens Saturday and runs till March 28.
bbegin@sfexaminer.com