Random Facts We Just Learned About King Tut That Made Us Say 'Whoa' (13 items)

• (#12) Tut's Name Changed With The Gods

  From Redditor u/hypersite:

  TIL that Pharaoh Tutankhamun was not always called that. At the beginning of his reign, he was called Tutankhaton. Indeed, his parents during their reign worshiped the god Aton, hence the suffix but Tutankhamun during his reign restored the worship of the god Amun.

  Context: King Tut's official name at birth was actually Tutankhaten, named after the Sun god, Aten, as his father had previously transitioned away from the worshipping of many gods to only a single god. Tut changed his name after reversing his father's religious ruling to reflect the creator god, Amun. 
• (#1) His Innermost Coffin Was Solid Gold

  From Redditor u/waipugeraghty:

  TIL That King Tut's innermost coffin, (there were three) was made out of 110 kilos of solid gold and the scrap metal value alone is well over 5 million dollars.

  Context: While the absolute value of the smallest coffin is unknown, it was, in fact, made of solid gold. This is the coffin in which his body and famous death mask were kept.
• (#13) King Tut's Mask Beard Fell Off During Museum Cleaning And The Workers Were Seriously Investigated

  From Redditor u/Yajirobe404:

  TIL that the beard of Tutankhamun's golden mask fell off during the cleaning process in the Egyptian Museum in 2014. The workers used epoxy glue to reattach the beard, but since that was not the professional method and permanent damage was done to the mask they were prosecuted for this in 2016.

  Context: A curator came out and admitted that the beard of the famous mask had fallen off while workers adjusted the lighting and cleaning the unit. While the component had likely loosened over the 3,000 years since it was buried with King Tut's remains, the hasty repair job was completed with an epoxy not suited for the solid gold artifact. Eight men were investigated for negligence in not following the necessary protocol, potentially irreversibly damaging a priceless artifact. These employees faced heavy fines and some were suspended during the investigation.
• (#5) His Tomb Is One Of Few That Were Unopened And Intact

  From Redditor u/TheSilverBug:

  TIL that Tut Ankh Amun's tomb is the only tomb to date to be discovered intact and complete. All others were looted sometime during the years. This is the unbroken seal to the tomb's door since it was closed 3,341 years ago

  Context: Tut's tomb was in fact found nearly entirely intact, which was uncommon as most tombs were found after they had already been raided by thieves. It's likely his tomb was left untouched for over 3,000 years because the entrance was difficult to see. 
• (#4) 50% Of Men In Egypt Have DNA Similar To King Tut's

  From Redditor u/AggiePetroleum:

  TIL Half of European men share King Tut's DNA

  Context: New genetic testing has been done on the famous mummy, illustrating that he is part of the haplogroup R1b1a2 profile group. This particular pool of people includes more than 50% of the men in Western Europe. This means that all of those people technically share an ancestor - even older than King Tut himself.
• (#10) Tut Was Buried With His Deceased Children's Bodies

  From Redditor u/DilbusMcD:

  Tut married his half-sister, which resulted in two children, who were both stillborns. They were buried in Tut's tomb, and when the archaeologists found them, the foetuses were found to be horribly deformed as well.

  Context: While it is known that the King and his wife bore no children that survived, it's suspected that the two they did conceive were stillborn. Two fetuses were found mummified in his tomb, and at between 5 and 7 months gestation, they were both seemingly deformed.

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