All language subtitles for Tut.A.Century.Of.Secrets.2022

For thousands of years,
King Tut was little more
than a footnote.

A minor pharaoh who died
before he could leave
his mark.

But today, the Boy King
reigned supreme.

In pop culture, he has become
virtually synonymous
with ancient Egypt,

eclipsing his far more
accomplished predecessors.

And that is largely thanks
to the 1922 discovery

of touch,
a treasure filled tomb.

While greater kings
had their burials plundered
right away.

Tut was so undervalued
that within a few years
of his death,

Tut was so undervalued
that within a few years
of his death,

he was all but forgotten.

But once his tomb was found,
a legend was born.

From the moment
they were first uncovered,

the treasures of King Tut
have captivated the world,

overshadowing Tut himself.

But what can the riches
he left behind

teach us about the Boy King?

Now on the 100th anniversary
of the discovery of his tomb,

touch treasures
are being transferred

to a state-of-the-art
new museum
in the shadow of the pyramids.

to a state-of-the-art
new museum
in the shadow of the pyramids.

But before they're moved,
famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass

has gained special access
to examine them
at the old Cairo Museum.

For Zahi,
this is a golden opportunity

to look for details
other experts
might have missed.

[Zahi] The burial
of Tutankhamun

contained 5398 objects.

It's like a story.

It gives us a lot about
the life of Tutankhamun.

It gives us a lot about
the life of Tutankhamun.

[Josh] So the race
is on to reexamine
these precious artifacts

and uncover new clues
about the life of King Tut,

along with answers
to some of history's
most persistent questions.

Why did he turn against
the religion of his father?

Was he a mere pawn
of his advisers

or a mighty king
in his own right?

And most mysteriously,
how did King Tut die?

To learn the truth,

Zahi will need to look
at more than Tut's treasures.

Zahi will need to look
at more than Tut's treasures.

He and his team will cast
their net across Egypt.

Investigating
spectacular temples,

lost palaces
and long forgotten tombs

that hold unexpected secrets
about the golden Boy King.

Finally, a full picture
of the man

behind the treasure
can be revealed

as we explore
100 years of myth

and unearth 3000 year old
secrets from the life
of Tutankhamun.

and unearth 3000 year old
secrets from the life
of Tutankhamun.

Since the discovery
of his tomb by Howard Carter
in November 1922,

the Boy King Tutankhamun
has been a mystery
that refuses to be solved.

[Sara] I think
a lot of people think

they know who Tutankhamun was,

but actually his backstory
is very mysterious
and very, very debated.

but actually his backstory
is very mysterious
and very, very debated.

[Josh] Most people believe Tut
was the incestuous offspring

of King Akhenaten
and one of his sisters.

This could explain
why Tut suffered
from multiple abnormalities,

including difficulty walking.

He died
under mysterious circumstances

around the age of 18 or 19.

And was buried in a tiny tomb

that nevertheless contained
a king's ransom in treasure.

[Sara] Here he was
with a beautiful gilded
golden mask

[Sara] Here he was
with a beautiful gilded
golden mask

that everyone looked at
and thought,

"This must have been someone
really, really important."

[Josh] This golden mask
is an exquisite piece
of craftsmanship.

But this face may be
all that people know

about the Golden Boy King.

But it is also a potent symbol
for the myth we have built
around King Tut.

The mask is a facade
beautiful, enigmatic,

The mask is a facade
beautiful, enigmatic,

but ultimately unreadable.

[Zahi] This is the most
beautiful object

ever seen in my life.

Look at the face.

The round chin,

the white eyes.

It is shining with the sun...

as if it's telling me now

hieroglyphic
"I'm the golden boy."

This is a public face

that everyone recognize.

But to know about Tutankhamen
as a boy,

as a man, as a king,
to know his personality,

we have to go
and see other objects
found in the tomb.

[Josh] These objects
are important

because the contents
of the tomb were found
completely intact

just as they were left
3300 years ago.

Most ancient Egyptian tombs,
when discovered,

are found empty
or maybe with just scraps left
in there.

They were robbed
in ancient times.

[Josh] Tut's tomb is regarded
as the only such burial
to have escaped plunder.

Or did it?

An examination
of the sealed doorways

found by Howard Carter
tells a different story.

[Aiden] As soon as Carter
looked at the sealed doorway

of the tomb, he realized
it had been opened and then
closed again in the past.

of the tomb, he realized
it had been opened and then
closed again in the past.

You can see the original
ceilings from the burial.

Then you can see
two further sets
of seal impressions

where the holes have
been blocked up
by the necropolis guards.

[Josh] When Howard Carter
saw those seals,

he knew he had found
something special.

But what exactly
did they tell him?

This is what I'm looking for.

The seals
that George Carter found

The seals
that George Carter found

at the entrance of the tomb.

To this all he read the name
Tutankhamen.

Then he was sure that he found
the tomb that was looking for.

Six years of research
and excavation.

The tomb is completely intact.

Big day.

[Josh] Those seals
also tell us

that the necropolis guards

responsible for protecting
the contents of Tut's tomb

responsible for protecting
the contents of Tut's tomb

stopped it from being robbed
not once, but twice.

Each time a seal was broken,

the Necropolis guards
resealed the chamber
to prevent looting.

Without those seals,

there would be no artifacts
left to discover

and no legend of King Tut
to explore.

The guards had done their job,

but now the tomb
was in the hands
of Howard Carter.

[Aiden] Carter then created
a hole in that sealed wall,

[Aiden] Carter then created
a hole in that sealed wall,

thinking when he looked
through, he'd just see a mess.

But as his eyes grew
accustomed to the light,

all he could see
was the glitter of gold.

And he was asked
over his shoulder,

"Can you see anything?"

And he says,
"Yes, I see wonderful things."

[Josh] Those wonderful things

are a window into not just
the young pharaoh,

but everyday life
in ancient Egypt.

That's because
to the Egyptians,

the afterlife was more than
just an abstract concept.

the afterlife was more than
just an abstract concept.

It's the reason their tombs
were packed full of treasures
in the first place.

[Arto] The ancient Egyptians
believed that

all the things you brought
in your tomb

you would have had
in the afterlife.

[Aiden] And that does imply
that there is
a belief

that you could take it
with you

that these things were there

to allow you to furnish
your home in the next world

in the way you'd furnished
yours in this world.

[Sara] Of course,
certain items could have been
just symbolic,

but there are some elements

but there are some elements

that most likely Tutankhamun

or in general ancient
Egyptian pharaoh would have
chosen for themselves.

[Arto] We have things in there

that he used in life
that he cherished,

and this can tell us
a lot about him
as a person

and how he lived.

[Josh] One item tucked away
in the antechamber

sheds new light
on Tut's personal life.

It has long been assumed
that Tut was forced
into an incestuous

It has long been assumed
that Tut was forced
into an incestuous

and loveless marriage
to his sister Ankhesenamun.

An alliance designed
to save a crumbling dynasty

by keeping
the royal bloodline pure.

This beautiful golden throne
tells a different story.

The crowds who flocked
to see it

may not even notice
the intimate code

engraved into its exquisite
artwork.

It's only up close
with the glass removed

that the true nature
of the couple's relationship
is revealed.

that the true nature
of the couple's relationship
is revealed.

[Zahi] I am going
to tell you a love story.

This love story happened
3,000 years ago

between a young king
and young queen,

Tutankhamun
and his beautiful queen,
Ankhesenamun.

Look the way
that Ankhesenamun

touching the shoulder
of the boy

was love and affection.

was love and affection.

She is offering him oil

maybe to make
his face beautiful.

This is love.

But the other important
evidence is unique.

On Tutankhamun's left leg,

there is one sandal only.

Nothing in the right one.

On the right leg of the queen,
there is one sandal.

This is actually a sign

that they are one person
and are in love.

that they are one person
and are in love.

[Josh] The symbols
of the couple's love
for one another

are not the only secrets
the throne hides
in plain sight.

For example, most people
only know Tut by one name

Tutankhamun,
but that's not the name
he was born with.

[Zahi] One of the most
important secrets
about this throne.

It proves it was made
on the first year

of the reign of Tutankhamun

because the name
in the cartouche Tutankhaten,

because the name
in the cartouche Tutankhaten,

the living image of Aten.

[Josh] Tutankhaten
is the name Tut had
when he took the throne.

A few years later, though,

the young king changed it
to Tutankhamun.

To uncover his motivation.

Egyptologist Aliaa Ismail

has traveled more
than 200 miles north of Luxor

to the remote region
of Amarna.

There she is searching
for a key piece of evidence

There she is searching
for a key piece of evidence

from the controversial reign
of Tut's father, Akhenaten.

One that might explain
why the Boy King
would go even further

than just changing his name
to betray his father
completely

and change Egypt forever.

On a temple wall in Abydos,

one of the oldest cities
in ancient Egypt.

There is a famous inscription
called the Kings List,

commissioned
by the 19th dynasty
pharaoh Seti I.

It honors 76 pharaohs
who ruled Egypt before him.

Going back over 1000 years.

But notably missing
from the list

are two of his predecessors,

King Tut and Tut's father,
Akhenaten.

Why? Why would
these two pharaohs
be excluded?

What could they have done
to be deliberately erased
from history?

What could they have done
to be deliberately erased
from history?

The answer lies in Amarna.

Wow.

This is the boundary
Stelae of Akhenaten.

He erected these stelae
as a boundary for the cities

that he's erecting
in his fifth year of reign.

[Josh] Akhenaten forced
a move of the capital city
from Thebes to here,

Amarna, a location
over 200 miles away.

Amarna, a location
over 200 miles away.

These inscribed
stones or stelae

describe Akhenaten's reasons
for choosing this area.

An upheaval which sparked
widespread outrage.

Thebes, known today as Luxor,

was then the center of worship
for Amun-Ra

considered the supreme God
in ancient Egypt,

representing both
fertility and war.

Akhenaten instead built
his new city

to exclusively worship
the Sun God Aten.

to exclusively worship
the Sun God Aten.

[Aiden] The Aten
started off its existence

well before Akhenaten's time
as simply

a word for the physical body
of the sun.

And then what Akhenaten does
is actually promotes the Aten

to being a full,
fully fledged God.

And not only that,

but the only God
he is prepared to worship.

[Josh] To most
ancient Egyptians,

this was little short
of heresy.

this was little short
of heresy.

It also upset the established
order of the God Amun-Ra,

whose priests now had
to lurk in the great temples
at Thebes,

waiting for Akhenaten
to die.

His edict enforcing
the exclusive worship
of the Aten

would have a profound effect
on young Tutankhamen,

who would begin his own reign
earlier than anyone expected.

Akhenaten died 17 years
into his tumultuous rule.

It's debated whether his wife,
Queen Nefertiti,
outlived him or not.

It's debated whether his wife,
Queen Nefertiti,
outlived him or not.

The latest known
image of her

is dated to five years
before his death.

Replacing them
as leader of Egypt

was Akhenaten's nine year old
son Tutankhamun.

Ultimately, the mummies
of both royals,

as well as their capital city,
disappeared from history.

But what happened
to Akhenaten and Nefertiti?

But what happened
to Akhenaten and Nefertiti?

Dr. Zahi Hawass has been
on the hunt for their mummies
for years.

In 2010, he turned
his attention to three mummies
from Tut's era,

the 18th dynasty found
in temporary tombs
in the Valley of the Kings.

Zahi speculated
that the skeleton
of a mummified male

from a tomb
referred to as KV 55,

which had its face violently
hacked off in ancient times,
could be Tut's father.

which had its face violently
hacked off in ancient times,
could be Tut's father.

To determine
any genetic connection
to Tutankhamun,

Zahi arranged for DNA tests
to be conducted

to compare the genomes
from these mummies

with that of both Tut
and his grandfather,
Amenhotep III.

Who is the father
of King Tut.

[Josh] Here, Zahi
receives the results
he's been waiting for.

We show you
who's the father of king Tut.

So, this DNA,
which is the label in blue,

So, this DNA,
which is the label in blue,

is transmitted
from the father to the son.

And they're all identical,
you know.

-KV55, the mummy of the...
-Is the father of Tutankhamun.

[Carsten] Yes, exactly.

[Zahi] I'm very happy.

[Josh] For Zahi,
the DNA test

proves that the badly
preserved male mummy

was none other
than Tut's father

and son of Amenhotep III,

the heretic pharaoh,
Akhenaten.

But not every scholar agrees
that the man found
in Tomb KV55, is Akhenaten.

But not every scholar agrees
that the man found
in Tomb KV55, is Akhenaten.

It's almost impossible
that he can be Akhenaten

for a number of reasons.

First of all, is
the age at death.

The vast majority
of anatomists
have examined the body,

have proclaimed him
to be in his 20s.

It's far too young
to be Akhenaten.

[Josh] The team working
with Zahi points
to other evidence.

They believe a close
examination of the bones

suggests an older age.

[Ashraf] With age,
the discs will lose
their height

[Ashraf] With age,
the discs will lose
their height

and then bones will react
with formation
of small speckles of bones,

what we call the osteophytes.

And it's quite apparent
in the spine here

that we have many
of these osteophytes.

For sure, it cannot be
at 20 or 20 something
age group.

[Josh] Those who dispute
Zahi's findings believe

that the mummy may be
an enigmatic royal
called Menkaure,

who reigned briefly
as a co-pharaoh

who reigned briefly
as a co-pharaoh

in the last years
of Akhenaten's rule.

[Arto] My view, and again
there are various views around

is that Menkaure
was Akhenaten's brother.

He died some years
prior to the end
of Akhenaten's reign,

having been co-region
for perhaps
only a year or two.

[Josh] If Menkaure
was the brother of Akhenaten,

then genetically he could
be the mummy in KV55.

They would share the same DNA,

so therefore it would make
a difference to the overall
DNA situation.

so therefore it would make
a difference to the overall
DNA situation.

[Josh] Others believe
Menkaure was a brother
not of Akhenaten,

but of Tut himself.

More evidence
is needed to find out

if Tut was the only male heir.

And to find that evidence,

more scrutiny is needed
at Amarna,

the capital city
Akhenaten founded.

We're at the small
Aten temple now,

and these Aten temples

were the reason
this city was erected
in the first place.

were the reason
this city was erected
in the first place.

For Akhenaten to show
the strong relationship

between himself
and the God Aten,

there would have been
a lot of depictions

of the royal family
through statuary
and through paintings.

[Josh] Despite the information
that survived on the city's
stone markers,

nothing here depicts
the entirety
of Akhenaten's family.

In an act of defiance
against his dead father,

he not only changed his name
from Tutankhamen,

he not only changed his name
from Tutankhamen,

stripping out
the Sun God Aten's name,

he restored the worship
of Amun-Ra,

an abandoned Amarna,
which was later destroyed.

Though some artifacts remain,
others must be sought.

[Aiden] When the whole atheist
experiment came to an end.

The buildings of the manor
were demolished

and the blocks taken
across the river to Ashmolean

to be used in the foundations
of structures constructed
by later kings.

[Josh] It was feared
that the blocks
would be lost forever

[Josh] It was feared
that the blocks
would be lost forever

until Zahi tracked one down
across the Nile from Amarna

in a warehouse beside
the ruins of Ashmolean.

What was written on it
was a revelation.

[Zahi speaking in
Ancient Egyptian]

[Josh] King son of his body,
his beloved Tutankhaten.

[Aiden] The king
on the Ashmolean blocks

is almost certainly going
to be Akhenaten,

is almost certainly going
to be Akhenaten,

but he's the only male king

who appears anywhere
on the blocks from Ashmolean.

[Zahi] This is very
important evidence

that King Tut is a son
of Akhenaten.

[Josh] It's certain that
this tableau was in one
of the Aten temples.

And crucially,
Tut is the only son mentioned

suggesting that he was indeed

the only male heir
to Akhenaten.

So, the desecration
of Akhenaten's face,

as well as the dismantling
of his religion

as well as the dismantling
of his religion

and the destruction
of his capital city,

may all have been the acts
of the young king

who changed his name
to Tutankhamun.

There is, however,
someone else

who was frequently
depicted with Akhenaten,

his now much more famous wife,
Nefertiti.

If Tut's father
can be confirmed

as the ragged mummy found
in the Valley of the Kings,

could the nearby female mummy
be his great royal wife,
Nefertiti?

And was Nefertiti
actually Tut's mother?

You may not have heard
of Akhenaten,

but you've certainly heard
of his powerful wife
Nefertiti.

An unfinished sculpture
of the Queen

has made her
the most famous face
of antiquity,

the ultimate icon
of ancient beauty.

The bust itself is also one
of the most hotly contested
artifacts in the world.

You see, Nefertiti
is no longer in Egypt.

Since 1924,
she's been housed in Germany,

where millions of visitors
to the Berlin Museum

have bought tickets
to see history's most
beautiful woman.

have bought tickets
to see history's most
beautiful woman.

She was taken underground
during World War II
for safekeeping.

And in the '70s came
to represent
national identities

on both sides
of the Berlin Wall.

She even appeared
on a postage stamp

in West Germany in 1989.

Yet, as Germany continues
to claim her,

Egyptian authorities have
been struggling for decades

to repatriate Nefertiti
back to her homeland.

So, the battle
for the Great Queen continues

with neither side appearing
to let up anytime soon.

In honor
of the 100th anniversary

of the discovery
of King Tut's tomb,

Zahi Hawass has again
gathered his DNA research team

to further investigate
the 18th Dynasty mummies

found in the Valley
of the Kings.

Could the mummy be
the famous queen, Nefertiti?

Dr. Yahia, the work
that you did is incredible,

and this is why...

[Josh] The investigation
reveals

that the mummy shares
the same DNA as Tut

that the mummy shares
the same DNA as Tut

and almost certainly
was his mother.

And considering
that Tut's father
was married to Nefertiti,

we're left
with two important questions.

Is Tut's mother, Nefertiti?

And could this be her mummy?

To understand that,

we have to dive deeper
into the mummy's DNA.

The genetic signature
from the mummy

indicates that along
with being Tut's mother,

she is also either the sister
of Tut's father
or his father's first cousin.

she is also either the sister
of Tut's father
or his father's first cousin.

Since historians widely hold
that Nefertiti
was Akhenaten's cousin.

This is an important
genetic mystery to solve.

With speculation swirling,

Zahi seeks further clarity
from his DNA team.

Dr. Yahya,
if there is any possible
circumstances

that we can think
that the younger lady in KV35
could be a cousin,

that we can think
that the younger lady in KV35
could be a cousin,

not a sister of Akhenaten.

A kinship analysis getting
a result with 99.99

negates the possibility
of being other than
the daughter of Queen T.

-And I'm...
-[Zahi] For sure?

-For sure.
-[Zahi] Yes. Okay.

[Josh] If this analysis
is correct,

it means that despite
Tut's father being married
to Nefertiti,

Tut himself is the incestuous
offspring of his father

and his father's
unnamed sister.

And depictions of Tut's
father with Nefertiti
and her children

do seem to support
this conclusion.

Nowhere
is a male child visible,

only six daughters.

In Tut's own tomb, no siblings
of any kind are represented.

If you look at all the art
at that time,

it seemed
that he was not depicted
with his sisters.

[Aiden] And in that it follows

thousands of years
of Egyptian precedent.

Because, again, when you show
the royal family,

Because, again, when you show
the royal family,

you never, ever show
royal princes.

[Josh] But Akhenaten
clearly had no problem
breaking with precedent.

He did, after all, include Tut
on the Amarna block
found in Ashmolean.

So why exclude Prince Tut
from the paintings?

God knows.
But that's the whole point.

It changes in the latter years
of Akhenaten.

He'd make the decision
to do something no pharaoh
has ever done before,

which is to put his son
on the temple wall.

[Aliaa] This leads you
to think that

[Aliaa] This leads you
to think that

he might have
not been a son of Nefertiti,

but from a secondary wife
of Akhenaten.

And that's why he wouldn't
have been depicted.

[Josh] So if Tut was not
one of Nefertiti's children,

then the identity
of his mother
remains a mystery.

According to Zahi,
since she doesn't appear
in any inscriptions,

it's likely
that she died early,
perhaps in childbirth.

To confirm this theory,

To confirm this theory,

Zahi travels across the Nile
from Amarna

to the burial fields
of Saqqara.

Here he enters a recently
opened tomb which

has been stabilized
with supports
to prevent collapse.

He's searching
for a unique piece of evidence

which could prove
that King Tut was raised

without any mother at all.

King Tut was buried
in the historic

Valley of the Kings.

But this royal cemetery
was only in use
for a few hundred years

during Egypt's new kingdom,
far older and populated

with far more mummies
is the necropolis of Saqqara.

I've been there many times,

and I have to say one
of my favorite sites
is the Serapeum,

because, well,
it's so unusual,
you have to love it.

It's a crypt
full of oversize coffins,

each one for a sacred bull.

High priest
of the atheist cult

that worshiped the God Ptah

that worshiped the God Ptah

would scour Egypt
looking for a bull

that had just the right
pattern of spots on its back.

Once found,
the bull was venerated.

And upon its death,
buried in the Serapeum.

Over the ages,
at least 70 coffins
were added.

You've got to wonder what went
through archeologist's minds

when they opened
the stone tombs,

expecting to find
a mountain of gold

instead gazing back at them
was a herd of mummified steer.

The lesson here,
when history gets weird,

you just have to embrace it.

you just have to embrace it.

Saqqara,
Egypt's City of the Dead.

Zahi Hawass has come
to visit a tomb

that may provide
further confirmation

that Tut's mother
was not Queen Nefertiti.

In fact, depictions here
show Tut raised
as a motherless child.

[Zahi] We are looking
at a unique scene for a lady.

Her name is Mia.

She had a unique title,

She had a unique title,

The Lady of the Harem.

And she was the one
who nursed the god.

And the god here means
Tutankhamun.

What is in the wall
to tell us?

The one who is
seated on the lap of Mia

is Tutankhamun
is the cartouche nebkheperure,

the throne name
of Tutankhamun.

[Josh] The tomb was damaged
in antiquity,

destroying half of the image.

destroying half of the image.

[Zahi] But we can imagine
3,000 years ago
how it looked like.

Very colorful.

This is a very unique image.

We never see a scene like this

with any king of dynasty
or the new kingdom in general.

It's shows that
they had no mother

and Mia became the mother
and the wet nurse
of the king

and Mia became the mother
and the wet nurse
of the king

because she's very proud
to say about herself.

I nursed the god,

and the god meant
Tutankhamun.

[Josh] The opulence
of this tomb shows that

Mia had an important place
in Tutankhamun's heart...

and perhaps she helped shape
the man he grew up to become.

[Zahi] I really believe
that Tutankhamun,

we can see from the scenes
of him and his queen.

we can see from the scenes
of him and his queen.

Love and affection.

Maybe the man did learn love
from Mia

because Mia, look at her face.

She's looking at him
with love,

her right hand touching him
with love.

And the Boy King
grow up with love.

[Josh] So, Tut grew up
with Queen Nefertiti,

not as his mother,
but his stepmother.

not as his mother,
but his stepmother.

She would share
responsibility for decisions
in his personal life

and one key to her
own personal safety,

his marriage
to one of her daughters.

[Aliaa] Tutankhamun later
on marries his sister
Ankhesenpaaten,

it seemed that Nefertiti
was trying to line up
the girls for the throne.

[Sara] You have a situation
where Akhenaten and Nefertiti

were left with no male heirs,

so not having a male heir
kind of puts Nefertiti

so not having a male heir
kind of puts Nefertiti

in a position
where she's thinking,

"How do I make sure
that we stay royal
in a situation

where Akhenaten
was behind this revolution,

suddenly has disappeared?"

So, it could have been
from a desire

to grant her and her daughters
more security,

but it could have been
also the most logical

and practical step to take.

[Josh] It would appear
that the Queen wished
to set up a rule

that would protect her

and continue the revolution
started by her husband.

and continue the revolution
started by her husband.

But Nefertiti would not be
the only influence
on Young Tut.

Egyptologist Aliaa Ismail
is in a remote region
of the Nile

at a town called Akhmim
to explore the tomb of a man

who may have directed
Young Tut to betray
his father's legacy.

Wow.

Finally, this tomb has been
carved out in the rock
in the middle of nowhere.

It would have been put up here

so that it's probably
out of reach.

And for sure, the individual
who owned this tomb

was very rich
and of high status

because he would afford

to have a tomb carved in stone
all the way up here.

It says that it belongs
to Overseer of Tutors,
Sennedjem.

It says that it belongs
to Overseer of Tutors,
Sennedjem.

And Overseer of Tutors
was no ordinary title.

It was actually
referring to him

being the highest rank
of tutors

and therefore
the tutor of the king.

[Josh] This is the forgotten
tomb of a man
called Sennedjem.

And as Aliaa is about
to discover,

Sennedjem had a uniquely
privileged position

which gave him
access to the king.

[Aliaa] If we look close
because it's a little
faded out,

we can see an image
of a king on a chariot.

we can see an image
of a king on a chariot.

And that king is probably
Tutankhamun.

But right in front
of the king's face,
we can see an arc.

And that arc represents a fan.

And if there is a fan,
there has to be someone

holding that fan
and fanning the king.

And in that case,
we're going to assume

that this person is Sennedjem.

But this is not just
a dull assumption.

This is referring to the title
that he actually
mentions on the lintel,

This is referring to the title
that he actually
mentions on the lintel,

which says fan
bearer to the king.

And being the fan bearer
of the king

means basically
you were stuck to the king.

And if you were stuck
to the king,

then you have the king's ear.

[Josh] This puts Sennedjem
in a very influential
situation.

[Aliaa] If the king
is learning from you,
he's looking up to you.

That means
you're spoon feeding him

what you want him to feel,
believe and know about Egypt.

[Josh] But would a tutor
be so bold

[Josh] But would a tutor
be so bold

as to manipulate
the entire future of Egypt,

or was he working
with other
more powerful forces?

King Tut was not yet 10
when he became Pharaoh,

a shockingly young age
to lead a nation.

But he's not the youngest
child to ascend to a throne.

Aisin-Gioro Puyi became
the last emperor of China
at age two,

and Mary, Queen of Scots
became a national leader

when she was just
six days old.

Both rulers lived
much longer lives than Tut,

but neither enjoyed
the same royal send off
at their deaths.

Mary was thrown into prison
by her rival Elizabeth I

and was beheaded at age 44.

and was beheaded at age 44.

Puyi was replaced
after four years

and lived a tumultuous life
in and out of power,

ultimately dying at age 61
as a commoner in 1967.

Quick movie plug here
for The Last Emperor,
by the way.

1987 Bernardo Bertolucci,
check it out.

You can thank me later.

Anyway, Tut's life span
was much shorter,

but ultimately
much more productive.

He changed a religion,
restored a capital city,

and today he's known
as the most famous pharaoh
of all time.

King Tut took the throne
under the name his father
gave him,

Tutankhaten, which honored
the God of the sun Aten.

But we know him
as Tutankhamun,

honoring the God of war
and fertility, Amun.

How quickly
after his ascension,

did this change of allegiance
take place?

One clue lies
in the Cairo museum

with one of the most
enigmatic depictions of Tut

to emerge from his tomb.

[Zahi] Beautiful face.

Look at the oval shape.

It's wonderful.

Something very elegant.

[Josh] Here, Tut is shown
as a young boy,

suggesting this statue
was made early in his reign.

A close look
at the shape of his crown

suggests that he may
have already switched
allegiance

from Aten to Amun
by this time.

[Zahi] Look at the hat.

It's rounded.

But also, it is a typical type

of a crown of the God Amun
that we see it everywhere.

If you take the cobra out,

you will think that
Tutankhamun united himself
was Amun.

[Josh] So, the hat itself
represents a switch

from the worship of Aten
to the worship of Amun.

And a reversal of everything

that Akhenaten would have
hoped his son Tut
would represent.

But the hat was the least
of his betrayal.

But the hat was the least
of his betrayal.

Back in Thebes,
Tut also returned
to the Temple of Karnak,

to the priesthood of Amun.

Here at the 10th
Pylon Gate of Karnak
is decisive evidence

that Tut completely
rejected his father,
Akhenaten and his legacy.

[Zahi] We are
in Pylon number ten,

which was built
by Amenhotep III

and you can see this avenue
of the sphinxes

is a part of the big avenue,
the sphinxes

is a part of the big avenue,
the sphinxes

that connecting
the Temple of Karnak
to the Temple of Luxor.

[Josh] For millennia,
a double line
of ram headed sphinxes

representing
the God Amun

flanked the route all the way
to the Luxor temple.

But in the time of the Aten,
all that changed.

When Akhenaten came to power,

he tore down the statues
representing Amun

and replaced them
with images of himself

and his great royal wife,
Nefertiti.

and his great royal wife,
Nefertiti.

The avenue of the sphinxes
became the avenue of the Aten

until Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun came
and took this head out

and put the head of Amun
as ram.

[Josh] Tut replaced
the head of his father

with the head of the God
whom Akhenaten had rejected.

It was a complete
betrayal of all that
Akhenaten had stood for

and an unmistakable
declaration from the new king.

and an unmistakable
declaration from the new king.

[Zahi] What we see everywhere
is trying to tell the people,

I'm worshiping Amun,

I'm restoring the country
to be back to power.

[Josh] But why would the boy
who was named for the Aten

turn his back on his father's
religion so quickly

and with such finality?

The answer lies back
in the crowded halls
of the Cairo Museum,

where a gigantic stone tablet
details the sins of Akhenaten

where a gigantic stone tablet
details the sins of Akhenaten

that a young Tut
set out to write.

[Zahi] The restoration stela
of Tutankhamun

is very important
for us to understand

the time and the life
of Tutankhamun.

This is telling us
what happened to the temples.

The temples were in ruins.

The gods of Egypt left Egypt.

The country collapsed.

What he did, he began
to restore the temples.

I gave statues of gold
to the Temple of Amun
at Karnak.

I gave statues of gold
to the Temple of Amun
at Karnak.

I gave the priests
all the wealth
that they need.

Means the country came
to power again under Amun.

And Tutankhamun
is declaring this
to all of us.

[Josh] This decision
changed the course
of Egyptian history,

but most experts believe
that Tut did not make it
on his own.

[Aiden] It's important
to recognize

that Tutankhamun probably
had very little to do

with any of the decisions
here.

with any of the decisions
here.

He was a child,
been subject to a regency,

and therefore he would have
had to go along

with what his regents
were telling him to do.

This approximately
ten year old child

who was in charge of one
of the most powerful
countries in the world

at a time when Egypt
was experiencing this
many difficulties

and perhaps a suggestion
of one of his courtiers,

maybe Ay
that may be all of this

is because of Akhenaten's
religious changes.

is because of Akhenaten's
religious changes.

[Josh] It seems likely that
at the start of his reign,

the young King Tut
was surrounded by adults

telling him what to do.

Key among them
was a family member named Ay,

who proclaimed himself
to be Tut's advisor.

[Zahi] Tutankhamun was a boy.

He cannot think,
to worship Aten or Amun,

but his advisor Ay was the one

who took him and advised him
to leave Amarna

who took him and advised him
to leave Amarna

and come to the Thebes
and return the image
of Amun again.

[Josh] Ay was a minor
member of the royal family
by marriage

and inserted himself as one
of the most prominent figures
in the Young King's court.

And he had a clear agenda
to have Tut bring back
the old religion.

Tut had another formidable
adviser, Horemheb,

the commander
of the king's army,

who had no royal blood.

who had no royal blood.

But it was Ay who was able
to exert the most influence

through his association
with Tut's tutor, Sennadjem.

[Aliaa] When this tomb
was erected,

Ay was the main advisor
of Tutankhamun.

So, Ay surrounded Tutankhamun
with people from his team.

So basically, Sennedjem

in this role as fan bearer
and Overseer of Tutors

was the voice of Ay
inside the king's ear.

was the voice of Ay
inside the king's ear.

And this is why the decision
was made in that time by Ay.

And he made this propaganda
to tell the Egyptians

that Amun power was back.

[Josh] Most historians believe
the return to worship of Amun

happened in the first years
of King Tut's reign.

But as is often the case
with ancient history,

contradictions
have been uncovered.

Zahi has special permission
to inspect the royal symbols

Zahi has special permission
to inspect the royal symbols

unique to Tut's reign,
known as crooks and flails.

You know,
that is six crooks and flails

found inside the tomb
of Tutankhamun.

But what's amazing,
if you look at this two,

one is a small one
and one is a big one.

When Tutankhamun
was a child in the year one

lived in Amarna,
he had this crook as a child.

lived in Amarna,
he had this crook as a child.

Why?

Because his name is written
as Tutankhaten

means the living image
of Aten.

But when he grew up
and he became a man,

he wanted to prove
to the Egyptians,
I am the power.

I am the king
of upper and lower Egypt.

And he changes his name here
to be Tutankhamun

means the living image
of Amun.

means the living image
of Amun.

[Arto] So, this tells us that

King Tutankhamun
would have made

this significant move
back to traditional religion

sometime in his early teens,

such that when he was
adult sized,

he had a normal size crook
and flail with the name
Tutankhamun.

[Josh] Whether or not
Tut changed his name
right away,

he appears to have embraced
the return to worship
of Amun completely.

he appears to have embraced
the return to worship
of Amun completely.

He not only restored
the Temple of Karnak in Luxor,

but the majestic
Luxor temple itself.

This center
of the cult of Amun

on the banks of the River Nile

had been stripped
of its power by Akhenaten.

But Tut embraced it

and would make
his support public

during one of the most
important religious
festivals of the year,

the Open Feast.

Luxor Temple and the avenue
of the sphinxes,

cult center
of the Egyptian god, Amun.

In November 2021,

the Egyptian authorities
put on a lavish spectacle

to mark the reopening
of the site.

But this was not
the first time

that such a procession had
marked the temple's renewal.

Similar celebrations
would have occurred here

Similar celebrations
would have occurred here

when Tut returned to Egypt
to the worship of Amun.

Now, Zahi has come here
to spotlight a remarkable
artifact

that details one
of the most important rituals

that returned
with Tut's great act.

[Zahi] We are actually
inside the temple Luxor

and the whole that contained
the 14 pillars.

But the most important,
it contains

the obituaries of Tutankhamun.

the obituaries of Tutankhamun.

[Josh] The Opet Feast
is a monumental wall carving

that runs the entire length
of the colonnaded hall

erected in the center of Luxor
by Tut's grandfather,
Amenhotep III.

It depicts
the Opet Feast of Amun,

a fertility festival
that featured

statues of the God Amun
and his family.

[Zahi] The Opet Feast
is a sacred feast

for the God Amun
and his wife Mut

and their son Khons.

and their son Khons.

To make a trip
from Karnak Temple to Luxor,

this happened once a year,

and this celebration continued
for about 11 days

during the reign
of Tutankhamun.

[Josh] The feast marked
the beginning of the flood
season on the Nile,

and its return under Tut

proves that he fully embraced
the worship of Amun.

[Zahi] The flood
for the Egyptian

meant good things
for Egypt, fertility

and therefore they're waiting
every year

and therefore they're waiting
every year

for that trip of Amun.

Without the Amun trip
from Karnak structure,

there is no flood.

[Josh] And because it was
a festival heralding floods,

the statues were transported
on sacred boats.

[Zahi] The priest will hold
the three boats of the gods,

Amun, Mut and Khons
on their shoulders
around them.

Singers, dancers, the king,
the queen, all the public.

Because this is the big feast
in the mind
of the ancient Egyptian.

Because this is the big feast
in the mind
of the ancient Egyptian.

[Josh] The boats were carried
in a grand procession

along the avenue
of the sphinxes

on a ceremonial journey
from Karnak Temple
to Luxor Temple.

At the time of Tutankhamun,

they would also sail
along the Nile.

This is a divine marriage
between Amun and Mut.

It means in the mind
of the Egyptian,

the flood will come
to Egypt and means
fertility to the land.

[Josh] This right of fertility

may have had
personal significance

to Tutankhamun
and his wife, Ankhesenamun,

who statues here watch
over the entrance
of the Opet colonnade.

A study of more items
found in Tut's tomb
sheds some light on why.

[Zahi] Tutankhamun
did not have children.

And we know that two fetuses
were found
inside the treasure room.

They died on birth.

[Josh] This is one of the most
poignant discoveries

[Josh] This is one of the most
poignant discoveries

from the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The mummified remains
of two miscarried fetuses.

So, the fertility rites
of the Opet festival

may have been especially
important to Tut
and his sister bride.

[Zahi] I really think
that the reason

they're depicted here

is since Amun is giving
fertility to the land,

Amun could also give them
fertility.

Amun could also give them
fertility.

So, we really
have to put ourselves
in Tutankhamun's shoes.

[Sara] Particularly
as he was trying to navigate

his transition from childhood
to adulthood, his marriage,

diplomacy,
his health condition,
everything.

It could have been easy
for Tutankhamen

to listen to his advisors,
to go back to the old ways.

[Arto] So, it might
very well be

that as a consequence of this

that Tutankhamun embraced

that Tutankhamun embraced

the return to traditional
religion so enthusiastically.

It's only human
that when we're facing

really, really
difficult times, then...

then we then try to find
a solution to that,

even if that means embracing
a new belief system.

[Josh] Tut and Ankhesenamun
miscarriages

likely were caused
by their incestuous ancestry.

[Arto] Intermarriage,
especially long term
over multiple generations,

[Arto] Intermarriage,
especially long term
over multiple generations,

can have extremely
adverse effects

on the new generation
being born.

Congenital diseases,
physical disabilities,

all kinds of things
you don't want.

[Josh] This also affected
Tut's own health.

[Sara] He had a cleft palate

and a lot of health
impairments as well,

due to the fact that
his parents were related
by blood.

[Josh] He also had problems
with his feet

caused by an inherited
syndrome called
Kohler's disease.

This was discovered
when Zahi and his team

This was discovered
when Zahi and his team

conducted a CT scan
of King Tut's mummy.

Now, armed
with the latest technology,

Zahi examines the many myths

that swirl around
Tutankhamun's
physical condition.

From what we saw
from the CT scan,
he was not healthy.

In the sense
he has some anomaly,

for example,
regarding his left foot.

It is something
a congenital malformation

that he was born with.

that he was born with.

The toes
are inclined inwards,

a deformity of the foot.

Because of that,
he cannot walk properly

and probably used
some walking canes.

[Zahi] This is why
he had 130 sticks in his tomb.

One of them he said
I made it by myself.

[Sara] Amongst
his 130 walking canes.

Some do have evidence of use.

They are a good example of us
having a sneak peek

They are a good example of us
having a sneak peek

of what he must have been
like in his life.

[Josh] Like so much about Tut,

the revelation
that he had disabilities
has sparked intense debate.

He is depicted
all over his tomb

as an active huntsmen
and charioteer.

But some dismiss the art
as mere propaganda.

[Aiden] One has to bear
in mind that Egyptian art
is very rarely original.

All the pictures we have
of Tutankhamun,

whether they are actively
hunting or in warfare,

whether they are actively
hunting or in warfare,

all have parallels
from earlier periods.

[Sara] Considering
Tutankhamun had cleft foot

and he was quite frail.

I think it's quite hard
to have a figure like that

participate in campaigns
and in hunting episodes.

[Josh] Many of the depictions
of King Tut riding into war

or on the hunt
are indeed quite formulaic.

But hidden within the shrines

that surrounded
his sarcophagus

was one uniquely personal item

that might completely shatter
our beliefs

that might completely shatter
our beliefs

about the physical abilities
of the Boy King.

One of the most prized
treasures in ancient Egypt

was not silver or gold,
but instead
the humble ostrich.

Not native to the Nile,
these huge birds

were often given
as a tribute to Egypt

by conquered lands
such as Nubia and Ethiopia.

Rare and exotic ostriches
were highly coveted
by the elite.

Women turned their eggs
into perfume holders
and jewelry.

Royal doctors ground them up
for medicine.

Priests placed feathers
on coffins

to help lift up mummies
and speed their journey
to the afterlife.

to help lift up mummies
and speed their journey
to the afterlife.

But only a pharaoh
could acquire enough plumes

to create
the greatest treasure of all,

a royal fan to keep him cool
in the hot Egyptian weather.

In the last ten years,

CT scans of King Tut's feet

have lent credence
to the theory

that the Boy King was so weak

and had such
significant disabilities

that he could not ride
a chariot to hunt
or go to war.

But back in 1922,

But back in 1922,

as Howard Carter began
dismantling the shrines

nested around
the sarcophagus
in King Tut's burial chamber,

he discovered a telltale item

that suggests that Tut
might have been much stronger

than modern scholars
give him credit for.

[Arto] There's this
fascinating, very long fan,

the kind that you see
in movies and things

where there's people
fanning the king.

It's topped
with ostrich feathers.

And at the top
you have a scene

of the king hunting ostriches.

of the king hunting ostriches.

And it gets better.

There's an inscription on it

that says feathers
of ostriches brought
by His Majesty

when he was hunting ostriches.

So, we have here
this fascinating inscription

that's telling us that
Tutankhamen, in fact,
hunted ostriches.

It shows him hunting.

Tools inside the tombs,
shows him hunting.

Even with all what he suffered
of physical problems,

Even with all what he suffered
of physical problems,

he still... he loved hunting.

[Josh] In Giza,
more evidence lies
in the shadow of the Sphinx

at one of the most popular
tourist sites in Egypt.

Near the stalls of a bazaar
below the Sphinx
is a pile of dried mud.

Unremarkable, except
that it houses
an extraordinary secret.

[Zahi] This mud brick,
it's nothing to the public.

But for us it's very important

But for us it's very important

because this can make us
to reconstruct history.

This is the remains
of the hunting lodge
of Tutankhamun.

We call it Palace
because it's royal.

When this was excavated,

they found the cartouche
of Tutankhamun on it

and the cartouche
of Aten and Amun.

[Josh] In truth, this palace
of Tut and his queen

is a modest mud brick building

and hard to distinguish
because so little of it
remains.

and hard to distinguish
because so little of it
remains.

[Zahi] I close my eyes.

We can imagine a palace
for the King and the Queen.

And they depicted scenes
of Tutankhamun

and the cartouches
of Tutankhamun
and Ankhesenamun.

I think from a window
he could be looking

at the pyramid
of Khafre.

That palace
could be beautiful,

shining in the shadow
of the pyramids
and the Sphinx.

shining in the shadow
of the pyramids
and the Sphinx.

I really believe that
the existence of this palace

is an important evidence

that actually Tutankhamun
hunted wild animals.

[Josh] It's a dramatic image.

The young pharaoh riding
his chariot across the valley,

indulging in the sport
of kings.

These depictions show
that in ancient times,

physical limitations
did not stop Tut
from enjoying his life.

physical limitations
did not stop Tut
from enjoying his life.

[Aiden] I don't think
one should go
into the whole thing

of being a disabled person

and all the negative sides
of that,

particularly nowadays
with Paralympians,

we now recognize
that in no way does it mean

you're going to have
a less active life

if you don't want
to have a less active life?

Exactly, because
Egyptians knew

that to be sick was part
of being normal.

[Aiden] Tutankhamun
is a teenager.

If he's been an active hunter
all his life,

If he's been an active hunter
all his life,

he's not going
to not be an active hunter

for as long
as he possibly can do.

[Josh] Back
at the Cairo Museum,

Zahi has spotted
an ornamental box

that may suggest
how Tut was able to maintain
his active life.

By making sure to rest.

[Zahi] This box tells us
about Tutankhamun's health.

His seated shooting arrow
and his queen down

His seated shooting arrow
and his queen down

also was love and affection,
giving him an arrow.

To my knowledge,
as an Egyptologist,

I have never seen
any scene of a king

seated while hunting at all.

It confirms to me

why Tutankhamun had 130 sticks
in his tomb.

It was really keen to hold
the stick and walk with it.

It was very important
for him that stick

It was very important
for him that stick

because he was not healthy.

[Josh] This could even
explain the existence
of the hunting lodge

in the first place.

[Sara] I think it's not always

so straightforward
of Tutankhamun

about how much he was
physically capable of doing,

but the hunting lodge
indicates that

there could have been
an attempt at him

actually partaking
in these activities.

He is the only king

that built hunting lodge
because he needs rest.

All the kings at Aten,
they did not do that
except him

All the kings at Aten,
they did not do that
except him

because he had
some physical problems.

He needs to rest.

[Josh] The very presence
of the hunting lodge

could prove that
Tutankhamun went hunting

despite having problems
with his mobility.

[Sara] It could be
also trying really hard

to show that Tutankhamen
was physically capable

of ruling Egypt
through being a huntsman.

[Josh] Or perhaps
his physical challenges

[Josh] Or perhaps
his physical challenges

did not interfere
with his movements

as much as has been suggested.

Zahi's bone expert,
Dr. Ashraf,

believes he may have
spotted something

that suggests that by the time
Tut was going hunting,

he was no longer in pain.

By the time of King Tut
in the new kingdom,

hunting was an activity
reserved for the king
and his entourage

as a way to display
strength and valor.

For the elite, game reserves
were set up

to chase lions from chariots
or kill crocodiles in swamps.

But for this great
spectacle of bravery,
the Egyptian nobles,

well, there's no nice way
of putting it, they cheated.

To ensure the humans prevailed

extremely unsporting measures
were taken.

The animal's legs
were often tied together

to make them easy targets.

to make them easy targets.

There's even a papyrus
from the time that suggests

that dead animals were moved
across the swamp by servants,

ringers to ensure
a successful hunt.

On the other hand,
for farmers and laborers,

wild game was expensive
and hard to find,

so it was rarely
on the menu.

Instead, they lived
mostly off of bread,
vegetables, dried fish

and the world's first
known recipe, beer.

The CT scans
of Tutankhamun's feet

contain an often
overlooked detail,

contain an often
overlooked detail,

which might explain
how Tut could have been
an active hunter

despite suffering
from various ailments.

Dr. Ashraf shares his insight
with Zahi Hawass.

[Ashraf] Okay.

Now we have here
the CTs of the feet,

and you can see
that the acquired disease

is this tiny little piece
of bone.

Some people call it
Freiburg's disease.

This happens
when the blood supply
is diminished to this area.

This happens
when the blood supply
is diminished to this area.

So, this piece of bone
becomes dead.

Usually this is a teenage...

-[Zahi] A teenager?
-...disease.

Yes, maybe 12 or 13 years,
up to 19 years.

Sometimes it's great pain.

He couldn't do anything,
even walking on his foot.

[Josh] This suggests
that Tut would have started

to experience symptoms
a few years

after he ascended
to the throne

around the same time
that he changed his name

around the same time
that he changed his name

and turned against
the religion of his father.

[Ashraf]
This is a self-limiting
disease,

meaning it takes
maybe one or two years

till it becomes pain free

and well, that he can walk
again on this foot.

[Josh] So, if the onset
of the disease was at age 12,

Tut could have been free
of pain by the time he was 14,

leaving him able to hunt
and run for the next
five years until his death.

But what then caused
his premature death
at just 19 years of age?

The state
of Tutankhamun's mummy

has prompted many theories
about how he died.

[Aiden] First of all,
they're appeared to be a patch

at the back of the skull,

which seemed consistent
with him

having had a blow to the back
of the head.

And there
are all these theories
about the fact

that he was murdered

or that he had been killed
in battle.

[Aiden] The whole front
of the chest of the mummy,

[Aiden] The whole front
of the chest of the mummy,

including the heart,
was missing,

which led to various theories

that he might have died
from some kind of crushing
injury to the chest.

Gored by hippopotamus,

kicked by a horse,
run over by chariot.

A whole range of possibilities
have been put
in the literature.

[Josh] But an examination
of Tut's mummy by Zahi's team

offers a surprisingly
simple explanation

for the mutilated condition
of his remains,

one that traces back
not to the time
of Tut's death,

but to Howard Carter's
discovery of the tomb.

but to Howard Carter's
discovery of the tomb.

When Carter opened up
the burial chamber,

he discovered that the body
of Tutankhamun

was encased
within three magnificent
golden coffins,

sealed within the sarcophagus
at its center.

[Zahi] Each one
was inside the other one,

and therefore
he had to do the police

and take one coffin
by one coffin.

These photographs
that we see of Howard Carter

These photographs
that we see of Howard Carter

taking the three coffins out

show how hard work
it was for him to open
the burial chamber.

It was really a difficult job.

The whole process of going
from opening the sarcophagus

until actually getting
to the mummy

is something like two years.

Although a part of that
is taken up with his dealings
with the courts.

[Josh] And in 1924,
halfway through the process

of removing Tut
from his coffin,

the Egyptian court locked
Howard Carter out of the tomb.

the Egyptian court locked
Howard Carter out of the tomb.

The trouble was that
Sir Carter had always
been a prickly individual

and this culminated
with a major falling out
with the Egyptian authorities.

It was over
something quite minor,

but there was a major blow up

and he effectively decided
to close the tomb

and say, "Just get on with it.
I've had it."

[Josh] Carter walked out
of the tomb,

leaving the coffins
still hanging
above the sarcophagus.

[Zahi] This was February
in 1924.

And after that,
he went to the States
to give lectures.

And after that,
he went to the States
to give lectures.

I think that
the Carter's rather rash
flouncing away from the tomb,

played into the hands of those
who were against him.

[Josh] The next year
found Carter embroiled
in legal suits

and countersuits
with the Egyptian government
to regain access.

He was not allowed back
into the tomb
until January of 1925,

and it wasn't until October

that he was ready
to lift the lid

on Tutankhamun's final coffin.

on Tutankhamun's final coffin.

When he opens
the innermost coffin,

what he finds in front of him
is a black mass,

relieved by a brilliant
golden mask.

[Zahi] Now George Carter
try to take the mask out.

He couldn't.

Because when the Egyptian
buried King Tut quickly,

they put in resin,

and the resins made the mask
stuck to the mummy.

and the resins made the mask
stuck to the mummy.

[Aiden] So, it had
to be fairly brutal,
shall we say,

about removing it, including
cutting the body in half

across the thorax and then
gradually removing the body
piecemeal effectively.

And he damaged the mummy
to 18 pieces.

I don't think
Carter had any other option.

It was either leave
the mummy exactly where it was

or pull the wrappings off

and then leave
the whole thing stuck in.

Or take the...
take the drastic approach.

Or take the...
take the drastic approach.

[Zahi] Now, me
as an archeologist,

I imagined myself
as George Carter
and I found this mask.

Am I going to leave the mask
on the mummy

or I will do
what George Carter did?

Honestly, I will do

what George Carter did.

[Josh] The damage done
to the mummy by Carter

led many to believe that
Tutankhamun had been murdered.

led many to believe that
Tutankhamun had been murdered.

But Zahi Hawass' CT scans
tell the full story.

[Ashraf] They could see
a loose bone inside the skull.

So, they assumed
that this was the cause
of his death,

murdered by a blow
to the head.

And a depressed bone
just get inside the skull.

-Is it true?
-[Ashraf] No, on the contrary.

Because this piece
of bone came

when they tried to remove
the golden mask.

They broke it,
and this piece of bone

They broke it,
and this piece of bone

just got inside the skull

because of what Carter
did to the mummy.

Not before he died.

Because if this piece of bone
was there

before embalming
or before mummification,

it would have been stuck
to the resin inside the skull.

Can we say, now we are sure

that Tutankhamun
was not murdered?

Yes.

[Josh] But if that's true,
why did Tutankhamun die

[Josh] But if that's true,
why did Tutankhamun die

at such an early age?

And what could have killed
the Boy King?

Over 3,000 years
since his burial

and 100 years
since the discovery
of his tomb,

questions remain
about the exact cause
of King Tut's death.

Now, in their studies
of Tut's mummy,

Dr. Zahi Hawass team

believes they've found
the answer
in a surprising location,

a compound fracture
above Tut's left knee.

[Ashraf] What made
this fracture peculiar

is that we noticed
two things.

There was a big wound
at the site of the fracture

There was a big wound
at the site of the fracture

so that when they did
the mummification process,

the resin is liquid,
went inside the wound

and get into the edges
of the bone.

All the other fractures
were induced by Howard Carter.

[Josh] The ancient wound seems
to have been infected.

[Ashraf] He might have
developed infection

that reached the blood.

We call it septicemia.

And septicemia might be one
of the causes of his death.

[Josh] On its own,
this infection might not have
killed King Tut,

[Josh] On its own,
this infection might not have
killed King Tut,

but it does not appear
to be his only affliction.

During their studies,
Zahi's team discovers
the markers

for a virulent disease
lurking in Tut's body.

He had malaria.

In the presence
of high inbreeding

and malaria and weak health.

It might predispose him
to infection that can kill him
with septicemia.

[Josh] So, after
all the outrageous theories,

[Josh] So, after
all the outrageous theories,

the simple truth may be that
Tutankhamun died of malaria

complicated by blood poisoning
due to a leg fracture.

But what caused the fracture?

Is it possible that
Tutankhamun had an accident?

Maybe he was riding a chariot.

[Ashraf] Of course.
Any type of accident
might be the cause. Of course.

Now it has to be a speed
because of the big wound.

So, if he is riding a chariot,

this makes more sense
than just falling down
on the ground.

this makes more sense
than just falling down
on the ground.

[Josh] Though impossible
to prove,

Zahi would like to believe
that the Young King Tut died

trying to show he could ride
a chariot once again.

I really think that
he was riding a chariot
in the desert of Memphis.

I'm sure that he died
in an accident
in the Valley of Giza.

[Josh] The exact cause
of Tut's death

may never truly be known,

but we do know that his court
was surprised by it.

Few could have been prepared
for the Young King to die

Few could have been prepared
for the Young King to die

just ten years into his reign.

The small size of his tomb,
seemingly not built
for a king,

suggests he was placed there
in haste.

But the cramped space
was still packed

with more than
5,000 artifacts.

Some of the most beautiful
were stored in the treasury

behind the burial chamber,

guarded by the Jackal God,
Anubis.

guarded by the Jackal God,
Anubis.

Among them was a magnificent
alabaster cabinet

containing the canopic jars

that held King Tut's
internal organs.

This is considered to be
one of the most beautiful
objects from the tomb.

Nestled inside
were four miniature coffinets,

each holding
one of Tut's organs.

But hidden within them
is a secret that shows

But hidden within them
is a secret that shows

just how unprepared
his people were

for Tutankhamun's
untimely death.

Zahi has gained permission
to open one
of these fragile treasures

to study what's inside.

[Zahi] This is another
beautiful object.

It is a small version
of the coffins
of the big ones.

Look, the vulture
and the cobra,

the frail and the cloak
and the beautiful inscription.

Nebkheperure, the third name
of Tutankhamun.

Nebkheperure, the third name
of Tutankhamun.

But what's important here,
look at the faces

are not faces of a boy.

They are faces of a woman.

Not really for Tutankhamun
at all.

It has to be for someone else.

My proof!

If I open this,

you will see how the name
Tutankhamun

was put instead of another
name Kheperkheperure

which I believe could be
the name of Queen Nefertiti
or Neferneferuaten.

which I believe could be
the name of Queen Nefertiti
or Neferneferuaten.

[Josh] It does appear that
Tut's cartouche was placed
on top of another one.

But these coffins that
were clearly made for a ruler

as only pharaohs were depicted
with the double crown

and crook and flail
included here.

And the only known woman

who could have held that
status is Nefertiti.

The identification
Neferneferuaten remained
a certain amount of debate.

The identification
Neferneferuaten remained
a certain amount of debate.

I think the majority
would argue it's Nefertiti

because Nefertiti's full name
was Neferneferuaten Nefertiti.

[Josh] The Luxor temple
holds another clue

that supports the theory
that Nefertiti was a pharaoh.

A pair of blocks
bear a very telling image.

We can see here
a unique scene for Nefertiti.

She's smiting an enemy.

She's smiting an enemy
in ancient Egypt

She's smiting an enemy
in ancient Egypt

was actually the task
of a kingship,

not the task of a queenship.

I do believe it strongly,
based on this scene

that the Nefertiti
ruled after Akhenaten

and she became a king.

[Josh] Whether or not
she was Nefertiti,

the mysterious Neferneferuaten
did not take her treasures
with her to the afterlife.

And Nefertiti herself
soon disappeared
from the historical record.

Her death and burial remaining
a mystery to this day.

Her death and burial remaining
a mystery to this day.

Whoever the pharaoh was,

her Canopic jars, coffin
and other ritual items

were usurped by Tutankhamun.

It also seems almost certain
that the tomb

in which Tut was laid to rest
was never intended
to house a pharaoh.

To understand why,

Zahi is visiting
a very different tomb
next door.

Zahi is visiting
a very different tomb
next door.

Just a few yards away
from the tomb of Tutankhamun

in the Valley of the Kings
lies the tomb of Ramesses II,

one of the greatest pharaohs
in all of Egyptian history.

This tomb has been
under renovation
for the last two years.

It's a monumental task,
so to speak.

That's because the tomb
was flooded in antiquity.

When we came
to excavate this tomb,

we found that the flood

that entered
the inside actually brought

stone rubble
and sand everywhere.

All the scenes
were completely damaged.

We had to take more
than 700,000 square feet

of stone rubble and sand

away and make major important
conservation and restoration

away and make major important
conservation and restoration

to the scenes
that we discovered.

The restoration team have
to start cleaning the wall.

They use chemical material
to make the scene stable.

You have to be very careful
in looking at every piece

because
if you are not careful,

you can lose a part
of the scene.

This is the first time,
actually,

that any camera
for a documentary
entered inside this tomb.

[Josh] The vast size
of the tomb

[Josh] The vast size
of the tomb

makes the restoration job
especially challenging.

The Tomb of Ramesses II
is the largest tomb

in the Valley of the Kings.

And we can see this
in the burial chamber.

This is huge.

It's hundreds of times bigger
than the tomb of Tutankhamun.

And it has also rooms
on the sides
for the furniture.

And it has also rooms
on the sides
for the furniture.

[Josh]
This is the grand scale

on which
an Egyptian royal tomb
is meant to be built.

So why is Tut's so tiny?

Egyptologist Aliaa Ismail
is inspecting the paintings
on the walls

of the pharaoh
Tutankhamun's tomb.

[Aliaa] Tut's tomb
is very tiny

because probably
it was unfinished.

Why else would he be buried
in such a small tomb?

[Josh] Aliaa is part
of the Factum Foundation

working to record the paint
work in several key tombs
in the Valley of the Kings

so that replicas of them
can be produced.

They use sophisticated
3-D scanning to capture
the images on the walls.

They use sophisticated
3-D scanning to capture
the images on the walls.

3-D scanning allows you
to get all the intricate
details of the surface,

getting out the cracks
and every little detail

that one would not be able
to recognize
with their own eyes.

[Josh] Aliaa's work
is so detailed

that the replicas it helps
create look identical
to the real thing.

Like the tomb
she's standing in now.

Actually, this is a facsimile.

Actually, this is a facsimile.

[Josh] This isn't the real
tomb of Tutankhamun.

It's a replica built next
to Howard Carter's house

outside
the Valley of the Kings.

The duplicate was built
to reduce the foot traffic

that's wearing away
the real tomb.

Tourists can visit
and appreciate the art

without harming
the actual tomb.

[Josh] In the process
of 3-D scanning Tut's tomb
for replication,

Aliaa found something
unexpected.

Looking here at the head
of the boy king,

Looking here at the head
of the boy king,

and now we go to 3-D.

So we're looking at a render,

looking at the brush marks

that we see here,

we are very positive

that the plaster was still wet
when the paint went on it.

That shows that
it has been done in a rush.

[Josh] But to Zahi Hawass,

Tut's burial chamber tells
a darker story

than mere haste,
one of greed and rivalry.

than mere haste,
one of greed and rivalry.

No. How it can be a rush?

You have 70 days
to make this mummy.

They were not rushing
the mummification,

and therefore, I think 70 days
were enough to make
the burial of a king.

[Josh] So if it took more
than two months to prepare
Tut's mummy for burial,

why wasn't his tomb ready
when it was time for him
to be laid to rest?

Another tomb a few miles away

in the West Valley
of the Kings offers insight.

Strikingly, it bears a strong
similarity to the tomb

in which Tut was buried.

This is the tomb that was used
for the burial of King Ay,

who came to the throne
after Tutankhamun.

[Josh] Ay, although
only a minor member
of the royal family,

was one of Tut's
primary advisors,

and his tomb is eerily similar
to Tutankhamun's.

and his tomb is eerily similar
to Tutankhamun's.

Look at the niches

that exactly isn't the tomb
of Tutankhamun.

Look at the scene.

The good snoot
in front of eye.

She's giving him
a ritual called Ni Li.

It's exactly the same scene
in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

And finally, if the scene
of the first hour of the night

of the book called
Am-Tuat.

of the book called
Am-Tuat.

We can distinguish
12 baboons

that represent that
12 hours of the night,

looking south six of them
and other six
are looking north.

This scene is an exact copy
in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

I really think
the conclusion is very clear.

These two tombs are similar,
and this is why I do believe

100 percent, that this tomb
was mainly made
for Tutankhamun.

100 percent, that this tomb
was mainly made
for Tutankhamun.

[Josh] Zahi's theory
is that when Tut died
unexpectedly,

the larger tomb meant for him
was nowhere near ready.

And therefore, in 70 days,
they need to prepare
this tomb.

[Josh] The only tomb
that could be ready in time

appears to have been
a small burial site
for a royal advisor

being constructed
in the Valley of the Kings.

So whose tomb
did Tut take over?

It would have to be someone
with a royal connection.

The most likely candidate
is Ay.

Back at Tut's tomb,
Zahi explains more.

I really believe that
the tomb in the West Valley
of the Kings

was originally
the tomb of Tutankhamun.

And this tomb was originally
was the tomb of Ay.

[Josh] To fit all
of Tutankhamun's treasures,

the tomb had to be enlarged,

and on the back wall
of the burial chamber
is a clue,

and on the back wall
of the burial chamber
is a clue,

which could explain
why Ay might want
to do this in a hurry.

Here Ay is depicted
performing a key ritual

known as the opening
of the mouth,

which ushered the dead pharaoh
into the afterlife.

We don't really understand

what the full mechanics
were becoming a pharaoh.

So as far as we can tell,
it was by doing that.

But Ay became
legitimate pharaoh.

Ay wants to show to the public

Ay wants to show to the public

that Tutankhamen
gave me the privilege

to take him to the afterlife.

And therefore,
with this scene,

Ay is telling the public
and the king

who came to the throne after
the death of Tutankhamun.

[Josh] But according
to texts from the time

the heir to Tutankhamun

was actually supposed
to be Ay's non-royal rival,

the General Horemheb.

So what happened?

So what happened?

The reason why Ay
got the succession
rather than Horemheb

may well-be because
he was in the right place
at the right time.

We know there's military
issues going on at the time
of Tutankhamun's death.

It might have been
that Horemheb was
out of the country.

So Ay, King Ay
was a bit sneaky

because he knew
that his position

and Horemheb's position
was sort of equal.

So they were rivals
for this position

of being successor
to the throne.

So for him, in order
to get there and do it first,

So for him, in order
to get there and do it first,

he had to rush just before
Horemheb arrived

and can object to anything.

[Josh] Horemheb
had no power to seize
the throne from Ay.

So he waited for his turn,

which came four years later
at Ay's death.

Ay may have gotten
the grand tomb,

but his legacy was not well
respected by his successors.

Look at this tomb

and see the destruction
of the cartouche
of Ay everywhere

and see the destruction
of the cartouche
of Ay everywhere

because they hate it,

the people and the kings
of the Amarna period.

By this time, Akhenaten
has already been
written out of history.

Ay has now become
persona non grata

just leaving
Tutankhamun this island
in the middle of all this.

The wrath of Horemheb
should have been directed
only at Ay and Akhenaten.

[Josh] After all,
Tutankhamun restored
the worship of Amun

to the temples
of Karnak and Luxor.

to the temples
of Karnak and Luxor.

But at the avenue
of the sphinxes,

one marking suggests
that he may have rejected Tut
as well.

Today, the avenue
of the sphinxes

is one of the city of Luxor's
most popular attractions.

It runs two miles long

and in its heyday displayed
over 1,350 ram-headed
sphinxes.

For centuries, though,
it lay buried and forgotten.

When the gods of Egypt
fell silent during
the Roman occupation,

the road was swallowed
by sand.

Then, over the centuries,

modern homes
and concrete streets
obscured it further.

Slowly, it sank
below the water table,

Slowly, it sank
below the water table,

making excavations difficult.

Today it has at last
been drained and restored

and visitors can stride down
the same road

that King Tut used
on the day he became king.

Tucked in a corner
of the avenue of the sphinxes

is a faded inscription
that hints at a seismic shift

in the story of Tutankhamun.

This is the cartouche
of Horemheb.

This is the cartouche
of Horemheb.

But it shows
that this originally

was the cartouche
of Tutankhamun.

Nebkheperure.

This is the name
of Tutankhamun,
the throne name.

Now, Horemheb came

and he put his name

above that cartouche.

And you can see the signs
of Horemheb is clear here.

[Josh] Though, Horemheb
was commander of Egypt's
military under Tut.

[Josh] Though, Horemheb
was commander of Egypt's
military under Tut.

It appears that he intended
to obscure Tut's name

from all of the major
monuments that represented
his reign.

Why?

The answer could be linked
to the worship
of the God Amun.

People can say that
Horemheb wanted to remove
the name of Tutankhamun.

I say the opposite.

I think that
the two cartouches can tell us

that the two kings wanted
to be united with Amun.

Horemheb's decision must have
been quite difficult

because he had no royal blood.

because he had no royal blood.

He was simply a commoner.

He knew that
he couldn't pass himself

as belonging to a royal family

because there was
no royal blood there.

And so he says
that he was the one
who influenced Tutankhamun

to restore the old system.

Horemheb wanted
to show the Egyptians,

"I am demolishing
anything connected

with the Amarna kings

and I am restoring
the image of Egypt.

and I am restoring
the image of Egypt.

I am the one who is returning
the power of Egypt back.

I am Horemheb."

[Josh] While it may not
have been his intention,

Horemheb's removal
of Tut's name
from monuments

contributed to his near
erasure from Egyptian history

by the time
of the Ramesses dynasty.

But it may also
have been the reason

Tut's treasure survived
the tomb raiders of antiquity.

Mother Nature
and some good luck
played a role as well.

Mother Nature
and some good luck
played a role as well.

A few months after the burial,

a flash flood came
through the valley

and put a thick layer
above the tomb.

[Josh] 200 years
after Tut's death,

the tomb of Ramesses VI

was built on the slope
above Tut's tomb.

Rubble from its construction
slid down the hill

to further obscure
Tut's burial.

Therefore, by the time
you get to the time
of the tomb robbers,

the whole thing,
it's so deeply buried.

It's not where a tomb,
I would think, to look.

It's not where a tomb,
I would think, to look.

[Josh] And because
he was forgotten,

King Tut's treasures lay
waiting for history
to find them once again.

I think
the very ironic thing is that

Ay and Horemheb tried so hard

to eradicate Akhenaten,
Nefertiti and Tutankhamun

from ancient Egyptian history
that it backfired

and they became
the most well-known
ancient Egyptian figures

and they became
the most well-known
ancient Egyptian figures

and one of the most
sensational finds
of the 20th century.

[Josh] We've come
a long way in the 100 years

since Howard Carter
discovered Tutankhamun.

We've used science to reveal
the nature of his birth,

as well as the secrets
of his tomb
and the frailty of his body.

The years of investigation

have generated
as many questions as answers

and created new assumptions
about the life
of the boy king.

and created new assumptions
about the life
of the boy king.

But drawing
on his unique experience,

Zahi has been able
to lay some of these to rest,

searching for clues that
may be hidden in plain sight.

While the drama
of religious upheavals

and the splendor of gold
in Tut's tomb are captivating,

the humanity of the little boy
who took the throne
cannot be overlooked.

When you think about the fact
that Tutankhamen ascended
the throne at the age of nine,

surrounded
by all these different adults

surrounded
by all these different adults

who had their own agendas,

it must have been very hard,

especially as a young child

who had a lot
of health impairments.

During the reign
of Tutankhamun,

there was a lot happening,

most of it not good.

On a personal level,
we know, for example,

Tutankhamun
had two stillborn children.

Sometimes on a human level,

I think that
Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun

were probably collateral
damage in this whole upheaval.

were probably collateral
damage in this whole upheaval.

It must have been really
challenging to grow up
in that environment,

and that could have made
them latch onto each
other psychologically.

[Josh] The man
who made them famous,
Howard Carter,

died in 1939.

On his gravestone
is a quotation

from the Wishing Cup
of Tutankhamun.

"May your life force ka live,

"May your life force ka live,

may your past live
one million years,

one who loves Thebes
and dwells in it...

your face see the good place."

The man loved the Thebes,

this why God rewarded him
with this great discovery.

[Josh] And Zahi believes
that even greater discoveries

are still out there
waiting to be found.

are still out there
waiting to be found.

[Zahi] I'm a very
lucky archeologist.

In my career,
I made major discoveries.

I'm looking right now
in the Valley of the Kings

for missing tombs,

such as the tomb
of Amenhotep I,

Thutmose II, Ramesses VIII,
all the queens in dynasty 18.

I feel in my heart
that before I end my career,

I'm going to discover
an intact tomb

in the Valley of the Kings.

Perhaps Zahi is right.

And there is another tomb
out there

forgotten by history
and hidden by nature.

But for the moment,
Tut's tomb remains alone.

Until another unspoiled
treasure is found,

Zahi's personal mission

is to solve the lingering
mysteries of Tut's tomb

and to continue to investigate

the many questions
still waiting to be answered

about the most famous pharaoh
in history,

the enigmatic
boy King Tutankhamun.