Scientists find King Tutankhamun’s mummy ... and his entire family

12 April 2012

They are a rather unusual set of family photos, but scientists today released the first images of Tutankhamun's mother, grandmother and grandfather.

Researchers from Egypt, Italy and Germany used DNA testing to draw "the most plausible" family tree so far of Tutankhamun.

They analysed DNA taken from 11 mummies, including the boy king himself, and spent two years trying to determine if they were related.

Today it was revealed that several previously unidentified mummies have now been confirmed as Tiye, mother of the pharaoh Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun, and probably that of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun's father.

Another mummy, previously known as KV35YL, is likely to be Tutankhamun's mother.

The new images come a day after scientists revealed the boy king died from a combination of malaria and bone abnormalities.

The 19-year-old was the head of the 18th dynasty (circa 1550-1295 BC) of the New Kingdom, one of the most powerful royal houses of ancient Egypt.

The authors of the new report, led by Dr Zahi Hawass, also say that King Tut was unlikely to have the feminine look he had previously been given.

"It is unlikely that either Tutankhamun or Akhenaten actually displayed a significantly bizarre or feminine physique. Egyptian kings typically had themselves and their families represented in an idealised fashion," the researchers say.

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