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King Tut Died from Malaria; Had Clubbed Foot and Cleft Palate

by Michael Small | February 16, 2010 at 12:46 pm

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King Tut died from Malaria, walked with a cane because of a clubbed foot and suffered from a cleft palate, says a study to be published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association

A two-year study utilizing modern genetic testing and CT scans was performed on the 3,300-year-old mummy.

They analyzed DNA taken from 11 mummies, including the boy king himself, and scanned all but one of the mummies to determine if they were related, look for evidence of genetic disorders and infectious diseases, and determine what killed Tutankhamun at the age of 19.

The study says that King Tutankhamun was likely a frail king who needed a cane to walk, and who had an assortment of physical disfigurements. They say a sudden leg injury, which caused a fracture, opened up the King to Malaria, which eventually took his life.

Like his father, Tutankhamun had a cleft palate. He also had a club foot and suffered from Kohler's disease in which lack of blood flow was slowly destroying the bones of his left foot - an often painful condition, the study said. It noted that 130 walking sticks and canes were discovered in Tut's tomb, some of them with trace of wear suggested they had been used.

The study also shed light on Tut's heritage, stating that he was conceived by a brother-sister union. It also suggests that Tut's father was Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to revolutionize ancient Egyptian religion.