King Tut’s death mask is one of the most iconic Egyptian relics, but researchers say it may not have been intended for the late pharaoh.
A team from the University of York in the UK says holes in the mask’s ears suggest it was actually intended for a high-status woman or child, possibly King Tut’s stepmother, whose body has never been found. .
They hypothesize that Tut’s sudden death at age 18 may have caused the shape of his face to be grafted onto that of the mask’s true owner.
Professor Joann Fletcher said: “This mask was not made for an adult pharaoh when the gold was compared, (they discovered) the face is made of a completely different gold to the rest.”
Researchers arrived at the new theory after reexamining historical records from the 1922 excavation, finding mentions of body modifications that did not align with ancient Egyptian tradition.
One document in particular caught Professor Fletcher’s attention, saying: “He focused on a long-overlooked feature…the decidedly pierced ears (on the death mask”).
While pharaohs wore earrings, the modifications did not carry over to the death mask. Piercings have only been performed on those made for the masks of queens and children.
Professor Fletcher made the revelations in a recently released History Hit documentary, saying she was sure the death mask was not designed specifically for King Tut.
King Tut’s death mask has pierced ears and is made of a type of gold that was not normally used for rulers.
The mask was probably made for someone else and was remodeled to look more like Tut. He was found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922.
The idea, however, was first proposed in 2015 by Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, who claimed that the golden face covering was originally made for Queen Nefertiti, the young king’s stepmother.
Nefertiti married Akhenaten, Tutankhamun’s father, but his tomb has not yet been discovered.
King Tut ascended the Egyptian throne at just nine years old and ruled from 1332 BC to 1323 BC
In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the mask in Tutankhamun’s lavish tomb in the Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile River.
A death mask was made for both the pharaohs and the common person to honor the deceased and establish a connection with the spirit world.
However, a pharaoh’s mask was made of gold or silver, while that of lesser people was made of wood or clay.
They were created in the likeness of the person’s face to help the soul of the deceased return to his body so that he could be judged by the Egyptian god Anubis.
In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the mask in Tutankhamun’s lavish tomb in the Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile River.
Tut’s mask featured a wide necklace made of semi-precious stones and colored beads embedded throughout, and Tut was given a false beard made of gold.
Professor Joann Fletcher examined King Tut’s burial records preserved by Carter to see if further discoveries could be made more than a century later.
The ear piercings immediately caught her attention, as she is an Egyptologist who has been studying ancient civilization for decades.
Famous pharaohs such as King Tut’s great-grandfather Amenhotep III and Ramses II were also found buried with death masks, but neither had modifications to their ears.
And none of his statues were found with piercings.
However, the location of the jewels has been found engraved on statues of queens, such as Nefertiti, and on the death mask of Sobekneferu.
Professor Fletcher suggested that clues on the mask meant that King Tut’s burial was rushed.
The young pharaoh was plagued with health problems due to Akhenaten marrying his sister, who gave birth to the boy king.
Black stains were found on the walls of the tomb, indicating that the paintings were rushed due to the pharaoh’s untimely death.
King Tut died at just 19 years old from an infection that researchers believe was caused by a broken leg.
Although it has not been proven, King Tut was believed to have clubfoot, cleft palate, bone disease, and scoliosis.
Some experts suspect he was murdered, while others believe health problems took their toll.
Not only are there clues on the death mask to a hasty burial, but archaeologists have documented paint stains on the wall that suggested it had not dried when the tomb was quickly sealed.
The size of the lavish burial was also much smaller than expected for a pharaoh of Tut’s stature.
“This is the tomb intended for Tutankhamun, the tomb of Ay,” Professor Fletcher explained.
“To deepen the puzzle, there are dark stains scattered across the walls of King Tut’s tomb, marks that dozens of experts point to as a sign that the paint was still wet when the tomb was sealed, hinting at the hasty nature of its completion.” .