Why Tutankhamun's Mummy Baffles Historians To This Day (And Its Dark History) | Our History

egypt 1323 bc a messenger runs through the desert he bears shocking news the young pharaoh tutankhamun is dead this is the story of one of the most famous tombs in history and a high-stakes race to succeed the pharaoh buried there the ancient egyptians took the burial of their kings very seriously the pharaoh must be mummified buried within an impressive sarcophagus and laid to rest with a full set of grave goods necessary for his journey to the afterlife this was crucial if the pharaoh was to take his rightful place amongst the gods [Music] if the pharaoh is not there seated next to those deities he cannot make known to them our needs or make known to us their wishes in other words if the pharaoh hasn't ascended into heaven properly the world as we know it comes to a grinding halt catastrophe may befall the kingdom it means that tomorrow morning the sun won't rise the moon will not wax and wane crops will fail life as we know it is gone we're dead it takes time and planning to get every stage of a pharaoh's burial right tradition dictates tut must be mummified in a 70-day process after which he must be buried tatsumami survives today [Music] salima ikram is one of the world's leading experts on the mummy in ancient egypt her close examination of x-rays of tut reveals the first clues that all was not right in the burial of the boy pharaoh titan harmon's mummy is very peculiar because i've looked at many other royal mummies in the 18th and 19th and tutankhamen's doesn't compare in any way it looks actually like a very bad quality mummification which is strange because all the accoutrements that he has in his grave goods are of such a high standard