EUROPE, NORWAY, WORLD

Mysterious Viking boat graves unearthed in central Norway

Mysterious Viking boat graves unearthed in central Norway

In Norway, archeologists discovered a particularly strange thing. They have found two Viking boats in one grave. 

Some 100 years after the first burial of the ship, the second burial was put into the tomb. A large number of grave goods were also recovered, and they are helping experts gain a greater understanding of the early years of the Viking Age.

The two people died apart for a century, raising questions as to why the couple was buried together. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) recently discovered the twin boat burial during road construction near the village of Vinjeøra. 

The oldest grave is from the 8th century. But why were they buried together? Illustration: Arkikon

The younger body belongs to a woman who died in the second half of the 9th century.

She was laid to rest in a dress with two shell-shaped brooches of gilded bronze and an Irish crucifix-shaped brooch and placed in a 7- to 8-meter-long (23-26-foot) boat. Along with her skeleton, the team found a trove of possessions, including a pearl necklace, scissors, a spindle whorl, and a cow skull. 

The oxen skull and spindle whorl found at the site.

Just below her remains lies a larger boat grave belonging to an 8th-century man buried with a spear, a shield, and a single-edged sword.

Although double boat graves have been discovered before, this situation is unique given the 100 years that separate the two people. 

The researchers can’t yet be certain, but they believe it’s a fairly safe bet that these two were from the same family. It’s hoped that further DNA and isotope analysis could prove this theory in the near future. 

“Family was very important in Viking Age society, both to mark status and power and to consolidate property rights.

The first legislation on allodial rights in the Middle Ages said you had to prove that your family had owned the land for five generations,” explained Raymond Sauvage, an archaeologist at the NTNU University Museum and project manager for the excavation.

Researcher excavating the site of the Viking boat burials.

“Against this backdrop, it’s reasonable to think that the two were buried together to mark the family’s ownership to the farm, in a society that for the most part didn’t write things down,” he added.

The Celtic brooch from Ireland.

Along with this unusual setup, the boat graves hold a bunch of fascinating attributes.

The crucifix-shaped brooch in the woman’s grave is believed to have been made out of a harness fitting from Ireland, based on its design. 

Vikings were prolific travelers who wreaked havoc on regions as far as Iceland, Greenland, North Africa, Asia, and even North America. In all likelihood, the brooch was worn by the woman after being brought back from a raid in Ireland.

She perhaps helped to organize the voyage or even took part in the raid. After all, it’s relatively well established that women were warriors in Viking culture.

“The Viking voyages – whether for raids, trading or other expeditions – were central in Norse society.

That meant it was important to participate in this activity, not only for the material goods but also to raise both your own and your family’s status,” said Aina Heen Pettersen at NTNU’s Department of Historical Studies.

“Using artifacts from Viking raids as jewellery signalled a clear difference between you and the rest of the community because you were part of the group that took part in the voyages.”

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Archaeologists Discover 3,000-Year-Old Megalithic Temple Used by a ‘Water Cult’

Archaeologists Discover 3,000-Year-Old Megalithic Temple Used by a ‘Water Cult’ in Peru

The ruins of an ancient mega temple in Peru, believed to have been built some 3,000 years ago, are uncovered in an archeological excavation.

It is believed that the temple was dedicated to water worship. It was concluded by experts on the basis of the location of altars, their shape, and their position.

In the archeological complex Huaca El Toro, in Oyotún district of Peru’s Lambayeque, old megalithic remains were discovered.

Walter Alva, director of the Sipan Museum Royal Tombs, stated that the Temple is situated near the junction of two ancient rivers, the Nanchoc River and the Udima River Sacred Place.

It is precisely there where an ancient culture chose to construct a massive temple.

Although temples are not a rarity in Peru, this is the only megalithic structure that has been discovered so far in Peru’s Lambayeque region.

To the surprise of archaeologists, excavations revealed that the ancient temple had been constructed entirely of supermassive stones. The facade, as well as the side wall s of the temple, were all built using massive granite blocks.

Some of the megalithic stones bear messages on their surfaces. The symbols suggest that the massive granite blocks were hauled from sacred places.

The temple was used as a center for the worship of water. In front of the megalithic construction are altars representing the cult of water. Water is thought to have been considered divine at the time.

The temple was surrounded by tiny wells or “pocitos” that the ancient people used to predict rainy seasons.

Based on archeological evidence the researchers concluded that from around 1,500 BC to around 292 AD, as many as three construction phases took place.

The oldest of the three construction phases saw the use of smaller conical adobes where its builder used stones of smaller dimensions. The second construction phase was an evolution in construction techniques where larger stones were used.

It was in the third construction phase that its builders opted for the use of megalithic stones.

The temple features a circular column where archeologists discovered evidence of sedimentation of rains and rituals.

The temple faces the mountain and experts argue the structure was used strictly for ceremonial practices. They discovered signs of burning rock at the site. The ancients may as well have used the site to perform rituals linked to fertility.

The discovery also features a tomb from the Final Formative period during which the temple is thought to have lost importance. The archaeologists also uncovered around 20 tombs that belonged to the Chimu-Inca culture, indicating the tombs were probably reused in later times.

All of the tombs feature pottery fragments as well as metal objects that were placed as offerings next to the tombs.

Archeologists explained that the site is regarded as the central water cult temple for the entire Zaña Valley.

Around 300 BC when the Chavin culture lost power, the temple lost its importance which coincides with the appearance of smaller theocratic societies, farmers and warriors.

To build this site, ancient people had to move stones from mountains around 1.86 miles (3 kilometers) away.
PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Nazca Line Discoveries in Peru Suggest the Mysterious Geoglyphs Are Pervasive

Nazca Line Discoveries in Peru Suggest the Mysterious Geoglyphs Are Pervasive

In Peru, the Nazca Lines are the most mysterious archeological geoglyphs. For nearly a century, these humanoid, geometric forms and animal glyphs have confused experts.

Scientists from Japan now claim that up to 143 new images have been found near the UNESCO World Heritage site. One was discovered using new artificial intelligence and it is believed that this technology could now reveal a flood of more glyphs.

The Nazca Lines have been studied since 2004 by a group from Yamagata University in Japan headed by Prof. Masato Sakais, a specialist in Andean archeology.

They suspected that there were new geoglyphs still to be discovered. This was “based on an on-site investigation begun in 2010 as well as aerial pictures” reports Asahi.com. The Nazca Lines are on a plateau on the pampa and are some 250 miles (80 kilometers) south of Lima the capital of Peru.

A press release from IBM Research describes the manmade phenomena as “shapes of varying complexity – from simple geometric shapes and plants to zoomorphic designs of animals — some several hundreds of meters in length, etched into the terrain”.

The lines date from anywhere between 500 BC to 500 AD and they were created by pre-Incan people. They were possibly used as solar calendars or more likely for ceremonial purposes and many can be considered to be ritual art.

Asahi.com reports that “until now, it was thought that 80 or so geoglyphs exist”. However, the team from Yamagata University used drones and 3D data to identify up to 143 new geoglyphs. According to a press release by Yamagata University, ‘these geoglyphs depicted people and many different animals (including birds, monkeys, fish, snakes, foxes, felines, and camelids). One of the new images “shows a two-headed snake that appears to be devouring two people”.

Two-headed snake geoglyph, approximately 98 feet (30 meters) long.

The geoglyphs are of two types, depending on how they were made. The first category comes from the Early Nazca Period and consists of images made by removing black topsoil to reveal white sand.

The second type which was created somewhat later was made by placing earth and stones on the surface. It seems that some of the first types were used for ceremonial purposes and the second type was “produced beside paths or on sloping inclines and are thought to have been used as way posts when traveling” according to Yamagata University.

However, the Japanese team was faced with a number of challenges. They could not manage all the data that they retrieved. So the team and their faculty entered into an academic partnership with IBM Japan Ltd to exploit the tech company’s “extensive initiatives to analyze and leverage large, complex data sets, such as remote sensing and geographical data, with AI” reports Yamagata University.

Strange humanoid image found in the Nazca Pampa.

Yamagata archaeologists collaborated closely with IBM researchers, after a feasibility study that demonstrated the company’s Watson Machine Learning Community Edition, could help in identifying glyphs.

They utilized IBM PAIRS Geoscope, when they surveyed the Nazca Pampa, recently. This is a cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that can analyze data from multiple datasets and is especially useful when it comes to geospatial evaluations.

The team used LiDAR, that uses lasers to make a 3D representation of the lines in the desert. They also used images from satellites and drones.

Data from on-the-ground geographical surveys were all collected. All this diverse data was inputted into PAIRS and its AI was able to integrate and evaluate the data in a matter of minutes where previously such an analysis would have taken months.

The researchers found a 15 foot (5 meters) long geoglyph of a humanoid figure. This figure appears to be “brandishing some form of the club” reports Fox News. Furthermore, “AI analysis of aerial footage indicated there are more than 500 other candidate sites” reports Ashai.com. One of these was subsequently proven to be a site of ritual art.

These finds are important in themselves but also demonstrated how AI could be used to speed up the process of identifying new Nazca Lines.

The new technology will be used along with fieldwork to further study the images that have been found. This will result in a map of the new geoglyphs and will help in the development of a comprehensive map for the entire location.

Not only can they help to locate new Nazca Lines, but IBMs technology can also help to preserve the UNESCO World Heritage site. “Professor Sakai and others have carried out activities to preserve this heritage site” in recent years report Yamagata University.

The mysterious glyphs are being threatened by the growth of nearby urban areas. It is hoped that AI technology can also play a part in determining the distribution of the lines so that they can be better protected.

EUROPE, WORLD

Rare Bronze Age Sword Found at Secret New Site in the Czech Republic

Rare Bronze Age Sword Found at Secret New Site in the Czech Republic

In the region of Richnov in northeast Bohemia, a bronze age Rare Sword was found in excellent condition.

The blade is intact with its hilt and the gravel of its decorative fine lines along its edge is clearly visible to the naked eye while the handle is long gone. It is still sharp in its cutting edge.

In recent decades it has been one of just five prehistoric swords found in the Czech Republic.

A Boy Monty and his owner in the region of Rychnov just last year have discovered a Bronze Age sickle hoard, but it’s been 130 years since a prehistoric sword was found around there and that was an iron antenna sword from the Early Iron Age.

The sword dates to around 1200 B.C. and was produced by the Lusatian culture, a Late Bronze Age agrarian society that ranged over what is now Poland, eastern Germany, and the western Czech Republic.

Lusatian artifacts are rich on the ground in eastern Bohemia, often found in hoards like Monty’s.

The sword find is unusual not only because so few of them have ever been discovered, but also because it was made at a location where no known Lusatian settlement or archaeological material has been recovered before.

It was found by a private individual who reported it to the Rychnov Museum on Saturday, November 2nd and handed it in the next morning.

He had no idea of its age or historic significance until a friend told him to alert the museum.

Archaeologists searched the find site and discovered rivets used to attach the sword’s handle. (The handle was made of organic material that has long since decomposed.) They also found a bronze spearhead from the same period.

Rychnov Museum archaeologist Martina Beková believes the sword was a ritual deposit, likely buried on its own as a votive offering to a deity.

The spearhead is from around the same period, but it does not appear to have been buried together with the sword.

The exact find site is being kept the secret to prevent looters from disturbing it before archaeologists are able to explore it thoroughly.

The artifacts will be conserved and stabilized for future display at the Rychnov Museum.

Since the only other prehistoric sword discovered in the area is now in the National Museum in Prague, this will be a centerpiece of the museum’s collection.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

7,000-Year-Old Ritual Site Unearthed in Poland

7,000-Year-Old Ritual Site Unearthed in Poland

The site of a mysterious 7,000-year-old ring structure believed to be used in semi-regular religious rituals has been excavated by researchers in Poland.

The site for the excavation is located near the small village of Nowe objezierz, about ten miles from the German border. the excavation site features a series of concentric circles dug into the countryside. For scale, the interior ring is roughly three times the size of the inner ring at Stonehenge.

In 2015, a Polish Stonehenge variant was discovered. It seems to be one of the oldest human structures in Europe, according to researchers digging up nearly 7,000 years old

The site was built around 4800 BC and is one of the oldest human structures in Europe. Scientists believe. The site was first discovered by a paraglider who noticed the strange patterns carved into the ground in 2015, according to Polish news site The First News. 

Looking like crop circles the remains of the ritual site were first spotted by a paraglider in 2015.

A year later, an archaeologist independently found the strange rings while looking at Google Maps.  A group of researchers from universities in Gdańsk, Szczecin, Warsaw, and Poznań began digging at the site in 2017. 

Excavations at the ritual site.

They have so far found hundreds of human bone fragments, pieces of ceramic, dyes, stone and flint objects, and more. Researchers believe the site was in active use for between 200 and 250 years in total, and that the rings were constructed over time and not all simultaneously. There are four rings in total, and researchers believe the trenches ranged between four to six feet deep. 

According to Gdańsk University researcher Lech Czerniak, ‘it seems important to establish that the four trenches surrounding the central square of the facility probably did not function simultaneously, but every few dozen years, a new ditch with a larger diameter was dug up.’ 

Researchers believe the Polish site, like Stonehenge (pictured above), was used for semi-regular religious rituals. Researchers have found the remains of human settlements in the landscape surrounding the rings, suggesting a group of inhabitants that lived nearby. 

They believe the Neolithic people that populated the region at the time would have celebrated religious holidays intermittently, as infrequently as every dozen or so years, suggesting the digging of new rings might have been a part of the ongoing ceremonies. 

‘The primary focus of the project are questions about the social aspects of the functioning operation of roundels, including what prompted the inhabitants of a given region to make a huge effort in building and maintaining the roundel, where the idea and knowledge necessary to build this object came from, and how often and for how long the object was used,’ Czerniak said.

So far, around 130 similar ringed enclosures have been found in Europe, most of which are in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, suggesting there might be some common culture expressed in them. 

What do we know about Neolithic Britain?

The Neolithic Revolution was the world’s first verifiable revolution in agriculture. It began in Britain between about 5000 BC and 4500 BC but spread across Europe from origins in Syria and Iraq between about 11000 BC and 9000 BC.

Avebury Stone Circle in Great Britain is an example of a roundel ritual site.

The period saw the widespread transition of many disparate human cultures from nomadic hunting and gathering practices to ones of farming and building small settlements.

Stonehenge, the most famous prehistoric structure in Europe, possibly the world, was built by Neolithic people, and later added to during the early Bronze Age

The revolution was responsible for turning small groups of travelers into settled communities who built villages and towns. Some cultures used irrigation and made forest clearings to better their farming techniques.

Others stored food for times of hunger, and farming eventually created different roles and divisions of labor in societies as well as trading economies. In the UK, the period was triggered by a huge migration or folk-movement from across the Channel.

The Neolithic Revolution saw humans in Britain move from groups of nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled communities. Some of the earliest monuments in Britain are Neolithic structures, including Silbury Hill in Wiltshire

Today, prehistoric monuments in the UK span from the time of the Neolithic farmers to the invasion of the Romans in AD 43. Many of them are looked after by English Heritage and range from standing stones to massive stone circles, and from burial mounds to hillforts.

Stonehenge, the most famous prehistoric structure in Europe, possibly the world, was built by Neolithic people, and later finished during the Bronze Age. Neolithic structures were typically used for ceremonies, religious feasts and as centers for trade and social gatherings.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

12,000-Year-Old Lake Destroyed in Treasure Hunt for Roman Gold

12,000-Year-Old Lake Destroyed in Treasure Hunt for Roman Gold

Dipsiz Lake, a 12,000-year-old glacial lake in Turkey’s north-east Gümüşhane province, had been desiccated by two men, including a ruling party official, who were looking for a treasure.

Fatih Sözen, district chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), is one of the two people who applied for a treasury search permit, the Turkish daily Hürriyet reported on Sunday.

The Culture and Tourism Board of Gümüşhane approved the permit for the excavation, which was carried out under the supervision of the director of the Gümüşhane Museums and officials of the provincial gendarme.

Lake Dipsiz in its former glory.

The lake was drained to search for treasure believed to have been left behind by one of the largest legions of the ancient Roman Empire in the Anatolian peninsula. Efforts ended after five days when no treasure was found.

Turkish law allows for permits to be issued to treasure hunters if the area to be searched does not have protected status and spans less than 100 square meters.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry issued a statement that said an inquiry had been launched into the matter and those responsible had been suspended.

“A primitive and unscientific treasure hunt approach has destroyed the lake,” Geophysics professor Ahmet Ercan told Hürriyet.

Upon public outcry, the Gümüşhane governorate announced efforts to rehabilitate the lake. Landscape architecture professor Ertan Düzgüneş said the lake ecosystem had evolved over 12 thousand years, and could not be artificially restored.

Chamber of Environmental Engineers Chairman Baran Bozoğlu called for new legislation on treasure hunting.

The Ice Age lake is now empty.

Hunting Lost Roman Treasure

It is known there were four Roman legions stationed in ancient Turkey.

In August last year, according to Hurriyet Daily News, a team of 25 archaeologists, including Bernard Van Daele of the Leuven University Archaeology Department, began archaeological excavations at the site of a  Roman legionary base in the ancient city of Satala, in the northern province of Gümüşhane’s Kelkit district.

Four great legion castles were built in Anatolia and Satala is located in the northeast in the plain areas.

This is where Apollinaris 15th legion protected the northeastern border of the Roman Empire along the Euphrates River.

The remains of the 15th Apollonar legion in Satala (Sadak) on the northeastern border of the Roman Empire, Satala, Kelkit, Gumushane, Turkey.

Gümüşhane was an area famous for the mining of silver and gold in ancient times and this is another reason why the 15th legion was positioned here, to protect both the border and the mines.

“What Ignorance”

While the Governor’s Office has not revealed any information as to the nature of the “Roman Treasure” it is likely the two excavators believed that the lake was “not” Ice Age, that it may have been caused by Roman gold mining, and was concealing the entrance to an ancient mine.

And as I am sure you can imagine, even though the governor granted permission for this treasure hunt, a tide of angered scientists are speaking out against this cultural outrage.

Coşkun Eruz, head of the Preservation of Natural and Historical Sites Association, told Hurriyet Daily News that legally official permission should be taken from “at least five state institutions” for such an excavation.

This system assures no fish, bird, or other animal species would be harmed and that no aspects of the ecosystem would be damaged. And furthermore, Eruz said that even though Gümüşhane was an area where important silver and gold mines existed in ancient times, it is not possible that any ancient treasure would be hidden in the lake: “What ignorance!”

SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Babies Buried Wearing ‘Helmets’ Made of Skulls of Other Children Discovered in Ecuador

Babies Buried Wearing ‘Helmets’ Made of Skulls of Other Children Discovered in Ecuador

While the head of humans is a powerful symbol in many cultures in South America, archeologists at a site in Ecuador were surprised to find that two babies buried with “helmet” made from the skulls of other kids. 

The Salango ritual complex on the central coast, dating back to approximately 100BC, was a site used as a funerary platform by a chiefdom culture called Guangala.

During the excavation between 2014 and 2016, 11 individuals buried with small artifacts, shells, and stone ancestor figurines. More notably, two infants were found with the modified skulls of others encasing their heads.

Infant discovered at Salango, Ecuador, with a skull “helmet.” Remains were excavated in collaboration with the local Salango community; shared with their permission and according to the standards of the Ecuadorian government.

The research team – composed of Sara Juengst and Abigail Bythell of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Richard Lunniss and Juan José Ortiz Aguilu of the Universidad Técnica de Manabí in Ecuador – explained this unusual burial ritual in a new article published in the journal Latin American Antiquity.

One burial was that of an infant who was about 18 months old when they died. In describing the image of this burial, Juengst and colleagues note that “the modified cranium of a second juvenile was placed in a helmet-like fashion around the head of the first, such that the primary individual’s face looked through and out of the cranial vault of the second.”

The human skull helmet came from another child between 4-12 years at death. The second infant was only about 6-9 months old at death, with a skull helmet made from a child who was between 2-12 years at death.

In studying both burials, the archaeologists noticed that there was very little space between the primary skeletons and their skull helmets, “suggesting the simultaneous burial of the primary individual and the additional cranium.”

While isolated skulls are often found in South American mortuary contexts, they are typically adults who are victims of war or are idolized ancestors.

Children’s heads are far less commonly found by archaeologists, causing Juengst and colleagues to suggest that this unusual or symbolic form of burial at Salango “may represent an attempt to ensure the protection of these ‘pre-social and wild’ souls.”

Surrounding the infants with stone ancestor figurines may have further empowered the heads, providing protective measures for these prematurely deceased individuals, they write.

“We’re still pretty shocked by the find,” “Not only is it unprecedented, but there are also still so many questions.” She is hoping that in-progress DNA and isotope analyses will contribute new information to understanding who the children were and whether they were related to the individuals who became their skull helmets.

Juengst says that there are “various possibilities for the origin of the extra crania, from potentially curated ancestor skulls to them being worn in life as well as in death, so we definitely have a lot of ideas to work with.”

Bioarchaeologist Sara Becker of the University of California Riverside calls this burial practice “pretty amazing – I’ve never heard of anything like it elsewhere in the Andes.”

In considering Juengst and colleagues’ findings, Becker suggests that it “makes me consider practices elsewhere where heads are buried in chests as if they are ‘seeds’ to help with agricultural productivity. I do wonder if it has something to do with rebirth, and if these children could have been important symbols of that.”

Sîan Halcrow of the University of Otago, an expert on ancient burials of children, also finds this new research study fascinating for its implications for the study of evidence of disease on children’s bodies.

Halcrow points out that Juengst and colleagues discovered evidence of anemia on the bones of both the two primary infants as well as the individuals who were used as helmets.

Lesions were found on the remains of both of the infants (a and d), suggesting the baby suffered some kind of bodily stress, perhaps from malnutrition. One of the skull helmets can be seen in photos b and c.

While “the authors state that this finding is unusual for the area and time period,” Halcrow thinks “this is likely due to the previous lack of interest of the study of infant disease in the region and development of new methods for identifying disease in this age group.” Further analysis of children’s skeletons is an ongoing research theme in the bioarchaeology of South America.

This unique Ecuadorian mortuary practice may seem strange, even within the context of ancient Andean cultures replete with the imagery and manipulation of heads, because of the young age of all of the children involved.

“Dealing with the death of young infants is always emotional,” Juengst concludes, “but in this case, it was strangely comforting that those who buried them took extra time and care to do it in a special place, perhaps accompanied by special people, in order to honor them.”

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

‘He was NOT murdered!’ Egypt expert solves Tutankhamun mystery after new DNA test

‘He was NOT murdered!’ Egypt expert solves Tutankhamun mystery after new DNA test

Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule at the end of the 19th Dynasty during the New Kingdom.

Known as “the boy king,” he inherited the throne at just nine years old and mysteriously died less than a decade later, with his legacy seemingly wiped from the face of the planet, leading many to claim he was murdered.

When Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings, it received worldwide interest as the pharaoh’s body was discovered alongside 5,000 artifacts in 1922.

One of the best-known Egyptologists believes that he has finally solved and the mystery of the death of Tutankhamun. He claims that the young pharaoh died after his leg became infected after an accident.

The expert claims that he has conclusive evidence that Tutankhamun was not murdered, a theory that is popular among some specialists.

He was the son of Akhenaten, the notorious heretic pharaoh, who married his own sister. As a result, Tutankhamun is believed to have been born with a number of deformities, including an elongated skull.

Tutankhamun died while he was very young. Because of damage to his mummified corpse, it has been very difficult to officially establish the cause of death, reports the Tutankhamun.com London website. There are several theories about the cause of death of the young monarch.

One theory holds that he was murdered, which was developed in the 1960s after a loose piece of bone was found in his skull. This was believed to have been the result of “a hard blow to the head” according to Tutankhamun.com London.

Close-up of King Tut’s head.

However, the theory that he was murdered has been challenged by Dr. Zahi Hawass, one of the most high-profile experts on ancient Egypt in the world. He long ago rejected the theory that King Tutankhamun was murdered.

The expert argues that the piece of loose bone fell from the skull of the pharaoh after death. A recent scan indicates that there are no traces or marks that would indicate that Tutankhamun received a blow to his head before he died.

The other widely accepted theory is that “a leg fracture suggests an accident may have led to his downfall” reports the Daily Star. Tests have shown that King Tut’s leg had a jagged fracture. This possibly became infected and ultimately led to his death.

The mummy of King Tut.

The Egyptologist now believes that he will soon prove that the pharaoh died as a result of this accident and was not murdered.

Zahi Hawass and his team have developed a ‘new machine’ that will confirm the theory, states The Daily Mail. This will finally prove that the pharaoh died from a leg wound claims Hawass.

The Egyptologist states that the new techniques will allow Tut’s leg to be scanned.

Dr. Hawass also told the Daily Star, “We know that he had a fracture on his left leg and that fracture was an accident that happened to him two days before he died”. This scan will determine if he died of an infection in his leg.

King Tut’s chariot.

In the ancient world, even relatively minor infections could prove fatal. Dr. Hawass has previously proven that Tut was suffering from malaria and as a result may have been too weak to fight off any infection.

The world-renowned Egyptologist told the Daily Star that “if he had an infection then this will confirm the idea that he died in an accident”.

This would have meant that he probably died after falling from a chariot, possibly during a hunt. However, it is likely that we may never know for certain how he fractured his leg.

An expert claims that King Tut died from injuries resulting from a chariot accident.

Dr. Hawass believes that he and his team will finally prove how King Tutankhamun died in the coming year. He also hinted that their tests may reveal more secrets about the famous boy king.

At present many of the treasures from King Tut’s tomb are on display at an exhibition, in London at the Saatchi Gallery, which runs until the summer of 2020.

All In One Magazine