Technology
Face of Ancient Egyptian pharaoh believed to be King Tut’s lost DAD revealed
THE long-lost face of an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh has been revealed – and it might by Tutankhamun’s father.
Scientists have painstakingly recreated what they believe the late Egyptian ruler may have looked like 3,300 years ago.
This may be the face of King Tutankhamun’s father[/caption]
The remains of the mystery figure were found in Egpyt’s Valley of the Kings in 1907.
It became known as tomb KV55, and was found very close to the tomb of Tutankhamun himself.
There are several theories about who the body inside the tomb belonged to.
But whoever it may be, scientists have now managed to recreate the ancient face of the mystery pharaoh.
The process took researchers at Sicily’s FAPAB centre and 3D forensic artist Cicero Moraes months to create.
They modelled muscles and ligaments onto the skull, then placed skin on top using computer-modelled values.
The skull was modelled and then used to create a lifelike face[/caption]
And it ultimately gives us a glimpse of a key figure in Egyptian history.
There is one primary theory regarding who the skeleton belonged to: King Tutankahumn’s biological father.
Genetic studies indicated that the body was the son of Amenhotep III, and ultimately Tutankhamun’s dad Akhenaten.
However, not all scientists are convinced by this, as incest among ancient Egyptian royals was common.
Computer modelling was used to create an anatomically accurate rendering of the KV55 body’s head[/caption]
Akhenaten reigned from 1351 to 1334BC, and was originally known as Amenhotep IV.
During his rule, Akhenaten abandoned Egypt’s polytheistic belief system to worship one god, Aten.
Aten was believed to be an aspect of Ra, the Sun deity.
This new monotheistic system has been called Atenism, and was the main official religion in Egypt for about 20 years.
Curse of the Pharaohs – who died after King Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened?
Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened on November 29, 1922. These are the deaths that followed…
- Lord Carnarvon (died April 5, 1923) – a financial backer of the excavation, he died from an infected mosquito bite
- George Jay Gould I (died May 16, 1923) – a tomb visitor who died from a fever following his visit
- Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey (died July 10, 1923) – an Egyptian prince who was shot and killed by his wife
- Colonel The Hon. Aubrey Herbert, MP (died September 26, 1923) – the half-brother of Lord Cardnarvon, he died from blood poisoning related to dental work
- Sir Archibald Douglas-Reid (died January 15, 1924) – the radiologist who X-Ray Tut’s tomb died from a mysterious illness
- Sir Lee Stack (died November 19, 1924) – the Governer-General of Sudan was assassinated driving through Egypt’s capital, Cairo
- A. C. Mace (died April 6, 1928) – a member of Howard Carter’s excavation team, he died from arsenic poisoning
- The Hon. Mervyn Herbert (died May 26, 1929) – another half-brother of Lord Carnarvon, he died from malarial pneumonia
- Captain The Hon. Richard Bethell (died November 15, 1929) – Howard Carter’s personal secretary, he died from a suspected smothering in a Mayfair club
- Richard Luttrell Pilkington Bethell (died February 20, 1930) – father of Richard Bethell, he supposedly threw himself off his seventh floor apartment
- Howard Carter (died February 16, 1923) – Carter opened Tut’s tomb, and died aged 64 from Hodgkin’s disease. His older brother William died the same year
The ruler proved so controversial that his monuments were dismantled after death, and his name was even excluded from some pharaohs’ later lists of rulers.
Akhenaten was largely lost to history until the 19th century, when a city named Amarna that he built to worship Aten was discovered.
This research was conducted by the Forensic Anthropology, Palaeopathology, Bioarchaeology Research Centre in Sicily.
Most read in Science
In other archaeology news, we took a look inside the secretive ‘Tutankhamun lab’ where his ‘cursed’ coffin and rare ancient treasures are locked away’.
We also took a sneak peak behind the scenes of the new Grand Egyptian Museum.
And, if you still haven’t had your ancient Egyptian fix, over 80 skeletons have been found in unusual ancient clay coffins in Egypt.
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