Carter and the boy king

'Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues' is about Tutankhamun, a teenage king of ancient Egypt. He died more than 3,300 years ago. He was the last of a powerful family that had ruled Egypt and its empire for centuries.

In 1922, the British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Unlike most royal tombs, which robbers had emptied long ago, it was almost complete, and full of gold: the richest royal tomb ever found.

Tut had been buried with treasures meant to secure his life after death: gold collars, bracelets and rings, a gold mask, and a coffin of solid gold. But he was also buried with everyday things he might need in the next world: board games, a bronze razor, linen undergarments, and food and wine.

Carter faced a problem. The ritual resins (sticky oils poured over the body at the burial) had hardened and glued the mummy to the bottom of its gold coffin. He put the coffin out in the hot sunshine, hoping the resins would soften, but that did not work. So his men used chisels to cut the mummy free, and cut it apart to remove the gold. Then they put the remains back together on a layer of sand in a wooden box.

Ever since, people have wondered: how old was Tut when he died, and how did he die? His body was examined again by X-ray in 1968, and by a CT scan in 2005.