King Tut and the Golden Age: The U.S. Tour
By Hannah N., Tan Team & Reyna V., Green Team

King Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, is studied around the world, but what makes him so special?

King Tut was the 12th and last ruler of Egypt during the 18th dynasty. At this time, Egypt had an organized government, and agriculture was the main industry. King Tut is commonly referred to as The Boy King because he became the pharaoh in 1334BC, when he was just nine years old. He did not rule for very long, he died in 1325BC at the age of nineteen.

His premature death has raised questions as to why he died. Tut's skull showed evidence of a blow to the head which lead historians to believe his was murdered by someone able to get very close to the pharaoh.

However, new evidence from CT scans suggest King Tut was not murdered, but that a fracture to his femur developed an infection that proved fatal. Old X-Rays showed bone fragments in Tut's skull, but more scans have shown fragments in the cranial cavity. These fragments are not from the skull, but rather the first vertebra.

Scientists believed the damage occur post mortem, thousands of years post mortem. They blame rough handling of the mummy in an attempt to remove the gold mask, not bludgeoning.

Although the pharaoh died in 1325BC, his tomb was not found until 1922, by Howard Carter in The Valley of the Kings. Artifacts from the tomb are on a world tour to many cities in countries all over the globe. They are currently at The Franklin Institute of Science in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania making up an exhibition known as “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.”

The 130 artifacts 50 if which have been exhumed from King Tut's tomb will be there between February 3, 2007 and September 30, 2007. Antiques from King Tut and five other Pharaohs' tombs are displayed, everything from Tut's royal diadem to coffinettes that had contained his organs.

For more information: www.ticketmaster.com/artist/956142 or call, 1-877-TUT-TKTS.