The remains of King Tutankhamen came crashing into the 21st century earlier this winter when they were subjected to a non-evasive CT (or CAT) scan which scientists say may have helped them answer a question that has long captured the public’s imagination: Was the boy king murdered?

After an extensive investigation, a group of scientists determined that there is no evidence suggesting King Tut met his end with foul play. Although Swiss and Italian scientists helped with the initial CT scans, an all-Egyptian team of radiologists and pathologists reviewed the 1,700 images of the mummy taken in a brief, 15-minute CT procedure in an attempt to answer some of the lingering mysteries about the ancient King’s lineage, health and untimely death.

“Before, everything was done by a foreign team, and I’m really proud that this finally happened by an Egyptian team,” says Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The examination, which took place on January 5, was the first in the (now almost) 80 years since the ancient mummy had been removed from its tomb in the Valley of the Kings. It was also the fourth time only that a team of scientists had accessed Tut’s mummy since its discovery. The mummy, which is now divided into 10 pieces, has been resting on a tray of sand on which it was placed by the team of Howard Carter, who first unearthed the tomb in 1922.

“The mummy is in bad condition,” says Hawass. “Carter, when he took the golden mask [now a star attraction of the Egyptian Museum in Downtown Cairo], he ruined the mummy completely.”

Tutankhamen ruled ancient Egypt from 1355-1346 B.C. His early death, which scientists now confirm was at age 19, has left Egyptologists longing to piece together clues that will map out Tut’s life and death. His life has sparked particular intrigue among Egyptologists since his tomb, unlike many others, survived millennia of deterioration, looting and destruction.

The results of the scan revealed that the king was not murdered, as previously suspected.

The original theory of murder developed after scientists noted early last century what looked like a crush wound to the back of Tutankhamen’s skull, suggesting he may have suffered a blow to the head. According to this winter’s report, the mummy’s skull is split into two pieces. This could not have been the result of an injury prior to his death.

The report reads: “[The two bone fragments] would have become stuck in the embalming material. The scientific team believes these were broken either during the embalming process or by Carter’s team.”

“We found out that for the blow to the back of the head, there is no indication that this is murder. It is a mummification hole,” Hawass explains. “Also, there is no evidence at all of a crush to the chest, as people [have] said.”

Currently, the king’s mummy actually has no chest. The sternum and a large percentage of the front ribs are missing. The bones are clean cut, however, and since Carter’s team makes no mention of missing ribs, scientists believe they removed it in order to collect the artifacts present.

The report noted a fracture of the left thighbone, which appeared to be different from the breaks believed to have been caused by Carter’s team. Scientists reached their conclusion after detecting two layers of embalming liquid inside the bone. The break could have happened during embalmment, or within days of Tutankhamen’s death.

In the absence of any corroborating testimony in the records of Tut’s day, examiners cannot be certain as to the cause of the break, but speculate that it probably happened prior to the boy’s death and could have led to a blood-born infection that led to his death.

The team also fleshed out the portrait of Tut’s appearance: It seems Tutankhamen had an overbite, a common characteristic of the kings in his family. He may also have had scoliosis, evident from a slight bend to his spine. This, however, could have resulted from his positioning during embalmment.

He was approximately 170 cm tall, with a slightly built physique. Scientists report that Tut was well-nourished, and there are no signs of infectious diseases during childhood. Finally, scientists report they believe they found Tutankhamen’s genitalia, loose in the sand around the king’s body. These had been reported missing in a 1968 examination, but were found with other missing parts, such as a thumb, other digits and pieces of vertebrae, in the CT scan.

Scientists also used the opportunity to learn more about ancient Egyptian health and the embalmment process. For instance, scientists not only learned of two methods for embalming the head, but they made note that Tutankhamen’s nasal septa were destroyed before the brain was extracted through the nasal cavity.

As for King Tut’s mummy, Hawass says it’s time to let the boy rest in peace at least for now. “I think that maybe after 50 years, if anything new will be discovered to do the scanning, then they can do it. But now, I don’t think anyone will be able to disturb him again.”

One thing definitely not on the agenda: mtDNA (or mitochondrial DNA) testing, a type of genetic test that would allow scientists to trace Tut’s maternal lineage by comparing it to samples from other mummies in the same royal family. Hawass has previsously declared that mtDNA testing on mummies of Tut’s age is too often inaccurate to be worthwhile.

Tut is not the only archaeological find to have been in the news of late. A team from the Polish Center for Mediterranean Archaeology recently announced the discovery of a Coptic trove buried in the ruins of a sixth-century monastery.

The team unveiled two papyri books of Coptic writings, a set of parchments (text on sheep’s skin) placed between two wooden labels, Coptic ostraca, pottery fragments and textiles. The manuscripts were hidden beneath a Middle Kingdom tomb in Luxor.

The SCA believes Christians fearing Roman persecution may have hidden the texts. According to Hawass, scientists will restore the manuscripts in an effort to learn more about early Christianity.

Meanwhile, Hawass tells of some new and exciting endeavors taking place in Egypt. Archaeologists have undertaken a project to unearth the non-royal mummies found across the country. These include servants, nobles and officials from ancient Egypt.

“They are everywhere, and they are neglected,” Hawass explains. “We will try to collect them in a store and try to really preserve them and try to find out about health and diseases in ancient Egypt and things like that.”

Hawass expects to focus research efforts on the non-royal mummies for the next two years. His announcement comes after investigators sifting through a tomb at Sakkara found a previously undiscovered hidden chamber that contained what Hawass says was the one of the “most well-preserved mummies ever found.”  et