|
The mystery behind the sudden death of Tutankhamun, the boy king who
ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, may have been finally solved by
scientists who believe that he fell from a fast-moving chariot while
out hunting in the desert.
Speculation
surrounding Tutankhamun's death has been rife since his tomb was broken
into in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter. X-rays of the mummy taken
in 1968 indicated a swelling at the base of the skull, suggesting "King
Tut" was killed by a blow to the head.
More recent studies using a CT medical scanner, however, revealed he
suffered a badly broken leg, just above his knee just before he died.
That in turn probably led to lethal blood poisoning. Now further
evidence has come to light suggesting that he suffered the fracture
while hunting game from a chariot.
The new findings are still circumstantial but one of Egypt's leading
experts on Tutankhamun will say in a television documentary to be
screened this week that he believes the case is now solved on how the
boy king met his sudden and unexpected end.
"He was not murdered as many people thought. He had an accident when
he was hunting in the desert. Falling from a chariot made this fracture
in his left leg and this really is in my opinion how he died," said
Zahi Hawass, general secretary of Egypt's Supreme Council of
Antiquities.
Until now, many historians had assumed that he was treated as a
rather fragile child who was cosseted and protected from physical
danger. However, Nadia Lokma of the Cairo Museum said that a recent
analysis of the chariots found in the tombs of the pharaohs indicated
that they were not merely ceremonial but show signs of wear and tear.
Hundreds of arrows recovered from the tomb also show evidence of having
been fired and recovered. "These chariots are hunting chariots, not war
chariots. You can see from the wear on them that they were actually
used in life," Dr Lokma said.
Full article
 |
Near-death experiences are usually dismissed as delusions by scientists but a pioneering group of British doctors claim that there is now so much evidence for an ‘afterlife’ that they have launched a study to discover whether there truly is “life after death”.
Supernatural frogs falling
from the sky, mysterious airships, spontaneous human combustion...
it all fascinated Charles Fort, whose appetite for the paranormal
lives on today in sci-fi, conspiracy theories and that quirky
chronicle of the unknown, the Fortean Times.
The spirit of Montague Keen watched helplessly as his body was loaded
into an ambulance. His wife, Veronica, stared blankly into the
distance, tears flooding down her face. Her friends whispered words of
hope, but in her heart she knew her husband was dead.
Ever wanted to lose weight permanently? Lorna Houldsworth appeared on Channel 4's Richard & Judy programme as a weight-loss guinea pig. Lorna was a depressed serial dieter who had never succeeded in losing weight. Here she describes how she managed to permanently lose weight and become a happier, more contented person.
Santanero the fighting bull fell to his knees. Blood poured from his
mouth, pooling in the dust. Vicious stab wounds scarred his chest and
every breath only caused him more agony.
Over the coming days tens of thousands of baby seals will be clubbed and hacked to death off Canada’s east coast. Hundreds of thousands more will be shot and left to die. The lucky ones will die swiftly. Many will suffer long lingering deaths….
'Cultural tradition' or the world's cruellest sport? Horse-fighting is big business in the Philippines and has a huge following. Here we reveal the true horror of horse-fighting.... 
Apple’s various iPods are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are capable
of producing wonderful sound quality but end up sounding like a bee
trapped in a jar because of the dreadful earphones they come bundled
with. 