The results of the high-tech CT scan, released March 8, raised one new possibility: It appears King Tut badly broke his left thigh -- the bone puncturing his skin -- just days before his death, the CT scan suggested, and that could have caused an infection.

But the Egyptian-led team that pored over 1,700 CT images of Tut's body was split over that theory, with some saying the fracture came when the mummy was discovered in 1922 in Luxor's Valley of the Kings.

Still the CT results provided the most revealing insight yet into the life of ancient Egypt's most famous king, who ruled 3,300 years ago.

Tutankhamen was a well-fed, healthy 19-year-old, standing 170 cm tall at the time of his death, the results suggested. It was the first time his age at death has been established.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 19, 2005
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