How did King Tutankamun die?

Answer 1

Although a popular book by non-archaeologist Bob Brier has suggested King Tut was murdered, scientific evidence has proven otherwise. Leading Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass performed a CAT scan in 2005 on the pharaoh's mummy which uncovered no evidence of any blow to the head -- as suggested by Brier's book -- and no evidence of foul play. A small hole was found in the mummy's skull, but that was likely drilled by embalmers after the king's death.

An unhealed fracture seen in Tut's left thighbone led Hawass and his team to conclude that the pharaoh broke his leg before he died and his leg became severely infected. Scientific tests established the break was not caused by embalmers after death. That infection likely led to gangrine, which would be the ultimate cause of King Tut's death.

Answer 2

For years there were several theories that Tut may have been murdered by his advisors who succeeded him as pharoah, but recent evidence is showing otherwise.

There is a hole in the back of Tut's skull, but CT Scans have been done in the past few years which show that the hole was created post mortem, probably the result of poor mummification practices. But the CT scan also showed a deformity in Tut's legs which only occurs due to serious infections, which means he did not die of foul play, but instead of some type of infection. He also suffered from a severe bone defect which caused him to walk with a limp--several canes were found in his tomb. His father, Akhanatten, was shown to have the same defect, but this was probably not the cause of death.

Answer 3

No one really knows for sure. There was a theory that he was hit in the head, but further research has refuted that idea. A new idea is that he was injured while hunting and died later. He was 17 or 18 years old when he died, so his death is somewaht mysterious.

Answer 4

Possibly from an infection in his broken leg.