What did Tutankhamun look like?

CAIRO – 6 November 2022: One hundred years ago, an archaeological team led by Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun and revealed many "wonderful objects" from ancient Egypt, including the mummy of the Boy King.

These discoveries provided a wealth of information on Tutankhamun, who ascended the throne at 9 years old and died when he was 19.

Although several studies examined his corpse, and attempted to reconstruct his face, the exact look of the pharaoh is still unknown.

A 2010 study of Tutankhamun and other mummies published in JAMA found that Tutankhamun was about 5 feet 6 inches (167 centimeters) tall, which indicates that Tutankhamun was rather on the shorter side.

Studies revealed that Tutankhamun had suffered from a number of diseases, such as malaria, which made him suffer during his short life from swollen feet and walking disabilities. He also suffered from necrosis and death of bodily tissues, which broke the bone in his left foot, something that may have contributed to his death.

"Tutankhamun looked like a physically ill person, he was limping and used a walking stick," Zahi Hawass, Egyptologist and co-author of the JAMA study, told Live Science.

“He loved to hunt wild animals and built a palace near the Sphinx for hunting. Despite his medical condition, he was active enough before he had an accident and injured his leg two days before his death,” explained Hawass.

Hutan Ashrafian, clinical lecturer at Imperial College London, said Tutankhamun could have walked with a limp, had a slightly longer-than-normal skull and was "relatively weak".