Alongside the Pyramids, it is perhaps the most recognisable relic of Ancient Egypt: Tutankhamun’s death mask. The Boy King was one of the last pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, a period of significant change for the ancient empire.
Tutankhamun took the throne at the ripe age of nine yet ruled only for the next 10 years after dying suddenly.
His cause of death has long been a mystery, though experts believe that a disease spread through his body after he broke his leg and it became infected.
In Ancient Egyptian terms, Tut has been hailed as one of the greats. But his burial bears the signs of a pharaoh who wasn’t respected — at least that is what Egyptologists believe is the case after spotting an “overlooked” clue carved into his death mask.
The death mask, now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is one of many relics found by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
Professor Joann Fletcher, an Egyptologist and an honorary visiting professor in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, recently sifted through the burial records left by Mr Carter held at Oxford University’s Griffith Institute.
One, in particular, piqued her interest, a document which has in recent years been scrutinised and “honed in on one long-overlooked feature […] the decidedly pierced ears [on the death mask].”
Speaking during the History Hit documentary, The Valley Of Kings: The Egyptian Golden Age, she noted: “It has been suggested that this mask was originally made for someone else.
“Research suggests that Tutankhamun would not have worn earrings beyond childhood. So, by the age of 20, when he died, he would not have been portrayed with pierced ears.”
Prof Fletcher proposes that the mask may have been made for an altogether different pharaoh, and perhaps one not even closely related to Tutankhamun.
“This mask was not made for an adult male pharaoh – when the gold was compared, [they found] the face is made of completely different gold to the rest,” she said.
“Evidence of soldering is clearly visible on the mask. It now seems as if Tutankhamun’s own face was effectively grafted onto the mask of the previous ruler. They may have had pierced ears, they may have been a woman, it may well have been Nefertiti.”
Queen Nefertiti is one of the most mysterious figures in Ancient Egyptian lore, and though experts know she wielded significant influence over her portion of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
She was the royal wife of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun’s father, though wasn’t related to the Boy King by blood. Egyptologists found her bust during excavations at the site of Tell el-Amarna in 1912, but nothing else relating to the great queen has been found, including her tomb.
Rumours among Egyptology circles about her whereabouts abound, including one that states she is hidden somewhere in a secret passage inside Tutankhamun’s tomb.
But even the question of what tomb truly belongs to Tut remains. Researchers have long believed that his body was transported to a smaller, much simpler tomb shortly after his unexpected death and that his successor, Ay, snatched the grander tomb for himself.
Aliaa Ismail, an Egyptologist, told National Geographic’s documentary, ‘Lost Treasures of Egypt’, that there were several tell-tale signs that gave it away.
She said: “Both Tut and Ay opted for the same scene, almost like the same person chose what goes in each tomb,” and that, “it’s very similar to the tomb of Tutankhamun — the style, the artwork, the sarcophagus, but, it’s so much bigger.”
“Ay buried Tutankhamun in the smaller tomb, so he could have the bigger tomb for himself,” she added. “This is the tomb that was intended for Tutankhamun, the tomb of Ay.”
The presence of black spots on the walls of Tut’s tombs has only reinforced this theory. Experts say they are evidence of the paint still being wet when Tut’s tomb was sealed, proving that it was decorated in haste and at the last minute.
