High-tech scan reveals true face of King Tut

The first facial reconstructions based on a CT scan of the mummified body of King Tutankhamun have produced images strikingly similar to the boy pharaoh's ancient portraits, with one model showing a baby-faced young man with chubby cheeks and his family's characteristic overbite.

That model, a photo of which was released on Tuesday, bears a strong resemblance to the gold mask of King Tut found in his tomb in 1922 by the British excavation led by Howard Carter.

The beardless youth depicted in the model, created by a French team, has soft features, a sloping nose and a weak chin - and the overbite, which archaeologists have long believed was a trait shared by other kings in Tut's 18th dynasty. His eyes are highlighted by thick eyeliner.

Three teams of forensic artists and scientists - from France, the United States and Egypt - each built a model of the boy pharaoh's face based on some 1,700 high-resolution photos from CT scans of his mummy to reveal what he looked like the day he died nearly 3,300 years ago.

"The shape of the face and skull are remarkably similar to a famous image of Tutankhamun as a child where he was shown as the sun god at dawn rising from a lotus blossom," said Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The three teams created their reconstructions separately. "The results of the three teams were identical or very similar in the basic shape of the face, the size, shape and setting of the eyes, and the proportion of the skull," Hawass said.

The tests were able to dismiss a long held theory that Tut, who died around 1323 BC, was murdered by a blow to his skull or killed in an accident that crushed his chest. It raised a new possibility for the cause of death: Some experts on the scanning team said it appeared Tut broke his left thigh severely - puncturing his skin - just days before his death, and the break could have caused an infection.