CSI: Mummy

Everyone loves a mysterious death. Particularly a royal mysterious death. So what if its of a teenage king from over three thousand years ago? Which is why the latest twist in the century-old investigation into the death of the pharaoh Tutankhamen made quite a splash. Young Tut,claims new research,was not,after all,done in. So the ambitious vizier who succeeded him might be off the hook. As are the religious fanatics angered that he had spurned his fathers chosen sun-worshipping,monotheistic,faith for the more traditional pantheon ruled by Amon-Ra.

Investigating the worlds most famous preserved corpse,researchers turned up several traumatic events: joint trouble,a leg fracture and a bout of malaria evidenced by the presence of DNA in Tuts mummy from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. An immune system weakened by the fracture probably succumbed to malaria,the researchers say. Other experts disagree,saying that the mere presence of the parasites DNA might be from an bout earlier in life. Of course,the biggest dispute remains over what looks like a blow to base of his skull: did it happen before or after he died? The palaeo-forensicists will continue to battle.

When Tuts tomb was discovered in the 1920s,the lavishness with which the boy-king had been buried caught the public imagination,and hasnt really let go since. But the cumulative research on his mummy paints a slightly more sobering picture. Malaria,a fracture,osteonecrosis. A massive overbite,reminiscent of his fathers. Possibly a severely curved spine,the condition known as scoliosis. Most shockingly,a cleft palate. You might be a god-king,and live and die surrounded by beautiful,golden things. But,three thousand years ago,that wouldnt even begin to protect you from a fracture being fatal,or from a cleft palate,fixed today by surgeons in 45 minutes. That dents the romance in a way palace intrigue and murder certainly does not.