THE ancient egyptian The pharaoh who may be the father of King Tut has a new face, with real features and a serene expression shaped by digital reconstruction. Although this is the most accurate reconstruction of man to date, longstanding questions about his identity remain unanswered.
His remains were found in 1907 in the Valley of the Kings of Egypt in the KV 55 tomb, a few meters from the tomb of Tutankhamen. More than a century after the tomb was discovered, genetic analysis suggested that the skeleton inside belonged to King Tut’s biological father, and other clues in the tomb told archaeologists that the man was Akhenaton, who reigned from 1353 BC to 1335 BC and was the first king to introduce monotheism into Egypt. However, some experts have contested these conclusions, claiming that the individual’s true identity is still uncertain.
The reconstruction, which took months to be designed, was carried out by scientists from the Center for Research in Forensic Anthropology, Paleopathology and Bioarcheology (FAPAB) in Sicily. They worked closely with Cícero Moraes, a 3D forensic artist from Brazil who is known for his work on reconstructing faces from the distant past, representatives of FAPAB wrote on facebook. Unlike previous facial reconstructions of the KV 55, the new model omits hair, jewelry and other adornments, to “focus on that individual’s facial features”, according to the post.
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Scientists used a reconstruction process called the Manchester method to bring the KV 55’s face into the present “from the shadows of history,” said Francesco Galassi, director and co-founder of the FAPAB Research Center, associate professor of archeology at Flinders University, Australia and associate professor of forensic anthropology at the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy.
During this process, “the facial muscles and ligaments are modeled on the skull model according to the rules of anatomy,” Galassi told Live Science by email. “The skin is placed on top of that, and the thickness of the tissue are average values that have been scientifically determined.”
While building the reconstruction, the researchers referred to “an enormous amount of data” for the KV 55, including notes from previous physical examinations of the skull, detailed measurements, scaled photographs and X-rays of the skeleton, said Galassi.
A dark past
Akhenaton ascended the throne as Amenhotep IV and took on his new name, which means “the Servant of Aton” – an Egyptian god of the sun – at the beginning of his reign. He then began to dismantle the priesthood that served the Egyptian pantheon of deities in order to establish a monotheistic worship of Aton, according to The Ohio State University Department of History.
Archaeologists found the KV 55 in an undecorated tomb that contained bricks engraved with magic spells bearing the name Akhenaton. Other canopic coffins and pots – containers to hold mummified organs – contained the remains of a woman named Kiya, who was identified as Akhenaton’s concubine, according to FAPAB demonstration released on March 10.
The KV 55 had been mummified, but the preserved meat disintegrated in the hands of the diggers, leaving only the skeleton behind. Based on objects in the tomb and the sex of the skeleton, some archaeologists have concluded that it must represent Akhenaton. However, analysis of the teeth and bones revealed that the man was younger than expected. He was about 26 when he died – and possibly only 19 to 22, while records suggest that Akhenaton ruled for 17 years and had a daughter during the first year of his reign, said Galassi.
“Some archaeologists tend to assume that he started his reign as a young adult, and not as a child. For this reason, there have been continued attempts [to] consider KV 55 older than the actual anatomy indicates, “he said.
Other experts proposed that KV 55 could be Smenkhkare, Akhenaton’s younger brother, but there is little evidence that the brother existed, Galassi said. Today, Smenkhkare is most commonly considered to be not a real person, but an identity constructed for Queen Nefertiti, who may have assumed this name when she ascended the throne after Akhenaton’s death. This would effectively rule out the “little brother” hypothesis for the KV 55, said Galassi.
Genetic analysis suggested that KV 55 was the son of Amenhotep III and father of Tutankhamen, providing further evidence that he was Akhenaton, according to a study published in 2010 in the journal. JAMA. However, this conclusion is also controversial, as the genetic data of Egyptian mummies can be “complicated” by the fact that incest among siblings was common practice in royal dynasties, according to the statement.
A more detailed report on the reconstruction of the KV 55 will be published in 2021, FAPAB officials said.
Originally published on Live Science.