Cold Case Solved

Over the past ten years there have been a number of television shows devoted to investigators who solve old cases. In what has to be the coldest case yet, a mystery dating back to 1324 BC has finally been solved. Again.

Tutankhamun, or King Tut, is perhaps the best known of the Egyptian pharoahs, thanks to Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Unlike most of his peers' tombs, Tutankhamun's tomb was not looted and the undisturbed treasure trove dazzled the world. It also made the young king, who died at age 19, an international household name.

The pharoah's cause of death is a mystery that has intrigued people since the tomb was discovered. One popular theory that arose after the mummy was x-rayed in the 1960s argues that Tutankhamun was the victim of foul play, possibly by his advisors. A new film, however, argues that the pharoah was simply the victim of an accident. Noted Egyptologist Zahi Hawass believes that Tutankhamun died of complications from a fall from his hunting chariot.

Hawass will be making his case in a new documentary film Tutankhamun: Secrets of the Boy King that is scheduled to air on Britain's Channel Five at the end of the month. Something tells me, though, that the case will be solved again in the future.