Tutankhamen (23 page)

The resin-hardened linen packing the chest cavity had prevented Derry from conducting a full examination of the upper torso. Harrison's X-rays therefore came as something of a shock: there was obvious and extensive damage in this region, and the sternum and part of the ribcage were missing. Clearly, Tutankhamen could not have been born without his breastbone. This damage must have occurred at or immediately prior to mummification, or, perhaps, during Derry's examination. Derry, however, makes no mention of removing the chest – it is difficult to understand why he would wish to do so – and it seems as if some at least of the ribs were broken in antiquity rather than cut during the autopsy. Harrison also noted that Tutankhamen's heart was absent: a curious omission given that the heart had important duties to perform in the afterlife. A black resin scarab, inscribed with
Book of the Dead
spell 29b, may have been intended as its replacement.

The heart was not the only body-part missing. Tutankhamen's penis was clearly visible in Burton's photographs, yet Harrison could not find it. For a long time the rumour circulated that it had been stolen as a ghoulish souvenir, probably during the Second World War when the tomb was not well guarded. This led to accusations of gross negligence – and a host of unfortunate puns regarding the lost ‘crown jewels' – which only subsided when in 2006 the Hawass team discovered the penis hidden in the loose sand of the tray. Dr Eduard Egarter Vigl, an expert in mummified members, has since been able to confirm that although the penis had shrunk during the mummification
process, and had been somewhat flattened by its bandages, the young king was ‘normally built'.
³⁶

Hawass's team confirmed that Tutankhamen's chest had suffered serious damage prior to mummification (or, less likely, during Derry's autopsy) and that his pelvic bones were almost entirely missing. They also noted that his left thigh had been broken at, or very close to, the time of death. Their work indicated that Tutankhamen may have suffered a whole host of health problems, including a left club-foot, diseased bones in his right foot, a cleft palate, scoliosis and malaria. Many of these conclusions have been challenged; in particular, the diagnosis of the congenital abnormality club-foot (
Talipes equinovarus
) is open to question, as it is not unknown for ‘club-foot' to be the result of warping caused by over-tight bandages.
³⁷
Was Tutankhamen a sickly king with mobility problems? His tomb included 130 walking sticks and canes, but the stick could also be a symbol of authority, a weapon and a piece of sporting equipment. Alongside the sticks there were armour, six chariots and an arsenal of bows and arrows, throwing sticks, slings, clubs, swords, shields and daggers. Images and artefacts from his tomb show Tutankhamen sitting to perform tasks – shooting, for example – where we might reasonably have expected him to stand, but they also show him standing to perform heroic deeds: the brave (or foolhardy?) Tutankhamen balances on a fragile papyrus boat to harpoon a hippopotamus in the marshes, or drives his chariot at speed as he chases ostriches across the desert. On his Painted Box he again stands triumphant in his chariot as he defeats his Syrian enemies. These images are conventional images of kingship. They conform to the centuries-old tradition which dictated that kings, whatever their actual appearance and character, should always appear physically perfect and brave. We have no understanding of the king behind this propaganda: we cannot state whether Tutankhamen was either brave or physically whole. Nor can we be certain that he ever tested himself on the battlefield. New kings traditionally reinforced their claim to the throne by provoking a fight with Egypt's traditional enemies, the Nubians to the south, and the Asiatics to the north-east. Fragmented references from the Karnak, Luxor and Medamud temples suggest that Tutankhamen's troops did campaign against both enemies, while images from the Memphite tomb of General Horemheb show Asiatics and Libyans suing for peace. However, the simple fact that the early 19th Dynasty Ramesside kings would be forced to spend many years restoring Egypt's northern border suggests that whatever their propaganda would have us believe, and whatever campaigns they actually undertook, Tutankhamen and his successors, Ay and Horemheb, were not great generals who enjoyed multiple victories.