Scientists reconstruct ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun's face

Documentaries and history books have told us about King Tutankhamun, who was one of the most prominent pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Now, scientists have reconstructed his face after 3,300 years, unveiling what he would have looked like during his reign. 

A new study published in the Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology mentioned that teams from Australia, Italy and Brazil utilised a digital model of his mummified skull and managed to re-create the face of King Tut. 

As quoted by reports, Brazilian graphics expert and co-author Cicero Moraes said, "He looks like a young man with a delicate face. Looking at him, we see more of a young student than a politician full of responsibilities, which makes the historical figure even more interesting." 

Moraes said that the team's lack of direct access to the former pharaoh's head made modelling extremely challenging. 

But fortunately, the researchers were able to access documents from prior studies that included references to skull measurements as well as photographs of King Tut. 

Moraes explained, "It was detective work, where traces of information were concatenated in order to provide us with a three-dimensional model of the skull." 

"With the proportion data and some important cephalometric measurements, it was possible to take the digital skull of a virtual donor and adjust it so that it became the skull of Tutankhamun," Moraes added. 

About King Tutankhamun's life 

Tutankhamun is a vital part of ancient Egyptian history. He accomplished  a lot in his short life after he ascended to the throne around the age of nine and reigned until his death around the age of 19. 

Tutankhamun (also known as Tutankhamon, Tutankhamen or, Tutankhaten) was the antepenultimate pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. 

Sarcophagus of Pharaoh Ramses II unveiled in Paris 

Last month, the sarcophagus of ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II was unveiled to reporters in Paris on Thursday following its rare journey outside of Egypt. The ornate coffin will be on show to the public in the French capital from April 7 to September 6. Benedicte Lhoyer, a scientific advisor to the exhibition, told AFP the "exceptional" loan was thanks to "an unprecedented cooperation between France and Egypt".

The Ramses II exhibition is on a tour that includes the United States and Australia, but only France is receiving the sarcophagus, in recognition of the assistance from French scientists who helped save the mummy from decay following a previous visit to Paris in 1976. The mummy itself has stayed behind this time, since Egyptian law now forbids transporting royal mummies abroad.

(With inputs from agencies) 

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