Broken leg killed King Tut
2010-02-16 23:44
Cairo - A DNA study published in a US medical journal says Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria.
The study, published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is based on two years of DNA testing and CT scans of 16 mummies, including Tutankhamun's.
The study says that because of multiple disorders, the young Tut was likely a "frail king who needed canes to walk".
It says his death was likely from his broken leg, which developed into "a life threatening condition when a malaria infection occurred".
Tut, who became pharaoh at the age of 10 in 1333 BC, ruled for just nine years until his death.
- SAPA
