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Tutankhamun stares at us through the millennia after scientists rebuilt his face and revealed a pharaoh who looks more like a “young student” than a king.
His facial features were brought to life by an international team of academics from Brazil, Australia and Italy using a digital model of his mummified skull.
The reconstruction reveals the youthful and ‘delicate’ face of a king who was still a teenager when he died more than three thousand years ago.
Brazilian graphics expert Cicero Moraes, co-author of the new study, said: “To me, he looks like a young man with a delicate face.
“When we look at him, we see more of a young student than a politician full of responsibilities, which makes the historical figure even more interesting.”
The famous “boy king” along with dozens of incredible treasures was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in November 1922 in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
Tutankhamun stares at us through the millennia after scientists rebuilt his face and revealed a pharaoh who looks more like a “young student” than a king. Above: The CGI image compared to the actual skull of the Pharaoh
Because the international team did not have direct access to the pharaoh’s skull, it was extremely difficult to complete the new model.
Fortunately, previous studies had already recorded the skull measurements and published reference images.
Mr Moraes said: ‘It was detective work, where traces of information were put together [linked together] to give us a three-dimensional model of the skull.
“With the proportion data and some key cephalometric measurements, it was possible to take a virtual donor’s digital skull and modify it to become Tutankhamun’s skull.”
From there, Mr. Moraes said, they created “the size of the lips, the position of the eyeballs, the height of the ears and the front of the nose.”
“All of these projections are based on statistical studies performed on CT scans of living individuals from different ancestries,” he said.
Markings were then made on the skull that indicated the thickness of soft tissues in various places, using data from modern Egyptians as a guide.
With these and other techniques, the face was gradually rebuilt into an objective reconstruction.
Subjective elements such as eye color were then added to further humanize the subject.
It’s not the first time scientists have tried to recreate the likeness of the young pharaoh – another attempt was made in 2005.
Michael Habicht, an Egyptologist and archaeologist at Flinders University in Australia who co-authored the new study, noted the surprising similarity between the two reconstructions.
He said: “Our reconstruction is astonishingly close to that of a French team a few years ago.
“It also agrees with the ancient images of Tutankhamen, especially with the head on the lotus flower from his burial treasure.”
Because the team didn’t have direct access to the pharaoh’s skull, it was extremely difficult to complete the new model. Above: Tutankhamun’s mummified head with the skull inside
The experts used previously available reference images and measurements to recreate the young king’s face and head. They also used the digital skull of a virtual donor and then modified it
The team said a lot of “detective work” was involved to create the incredible CGI rendering
Markings were made on the skull that indicated the thickness of soft tissues in various places, using data from modern Egyptians as a guide. With these and other techniques, the face was gradually rebuilt into an objective reconstruction
The project to recreate Tutankhamun’s face and head is progressing in a series of scans
An image of the young pharaoh as a child found in his tomb
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in November 1922 made headlines around the world. More than 5,000 items were found inside, including a solid gold coffin, face mask, thrones, furniture, food, and wine. Pictured: A colorized image of Howard Carter examining the Pharaoh’s coffin
Gold and lapis lazuli burial mask of Tutankhamun found in his tomb is on display
Mr. Moraes is convinced that they have created a good likeness of the Pharaoh in life.
He said: ‘Confronted with the studies we have developed using data from living people, comparing projections with actual measurements, we are confident that there is good compatibility with the real face in the overall structure.
“I entered as a person who appreciated ancient Egypt and now leave as a true fan of this impressive culture, full of determination to study more and uncover other pieces of its fantastic history.”
Tutankhamun, who was worshiped as a god during his lifetime, died in 1323 BC and was succeeded by his advisor, Ay.
Mr. Moraes, Dr. Habicht and their colleagues – Francesco Galassi, Elena Varotto and Thiago Beaini – publish their study in the Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology.
Howard Carter examines Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus in his tomb, which was more than 20 feet underground
Howard Carter is seen pointing down to the entrance to Tutankhamun’s tomb
Carter initially viewed Tutankhamun’s tomb through a small hole in masonry after two days of digging through a rubble-filled passageway.
He held up a candle, looked inside, and famously answered Carnarvon’s impatient question, “Can you see anything?”
“Yes,” he said. “Wonderful things.”
The tomb – which included four chambers – was filled with more than 5,000 royal treasures, including a dagger made from meteorite.
They had lain untouched for over 3,000 years.
The room also contained three coffins nestled inside each other, the innermost of which contained the Boy King’s body.
It’s not the first time scientists have tried to recreate the young pharaoh’s likeness – a new attempt was made in 2005 (above)