SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL™ SPECIAL REVEALS STARTLING NEW PICTURE
OF ANCIENT EGYPT’S LEGENDARY BOY KING

KING TUT’S FINAL MYSTERY

PREMIERES SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2 AT 8 P.M. ET/PT

New Details Also Emerge About Tutankhamun’s Death In One-Hour Special

New York, October 22, 2014 – Tutankhamun’s story has captivated the entire world since archaeologists discovered the boy king’s spectacular tomb buried deep in the Egyptian desert in 1922. Why he died suddenly at age 19 remains one of history’s greatest unanswered questions. For years, scientists have tried to unravel the mysteries of the young pharaoh’s life and premature death, as well as exactly who his parents were. In KING TUT’S FINAL MYSTERY, premiering on Sunday, November 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Smithsonian Channel reveals new details of a young man whose real life was far from the glamorous image of his golden death mask.

In KING TUT’S FINAL MYSTERY scientists retrace a DNA study that showed Tutankhamun was the product of incest. The mummy of his father Akhenaten, lies just a few feet away from his mother, a mummy known as the Younger Lady, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

KING TUT’S FINAL MYSTERY also investigates what really killed King Tut. Using the latest forensic science equipment and stunning CGI, a new picture of Tutankhamun emerges as experts build a life-sized, three-dimensional full-body reconstruction of the king. As Smithsonian Channel reveals, Tutankhamun was a sickly, partially disabled king. Crippled and in chronic pain, the fragile young boy was charged with ruling one of the greatest nations on earth. Ultimately, he was destined to be the last of his dynasty.

Based on the physical features of the king, his ancestry, and the strange details of the pharaoh’s mummification, surgeon and medical researcher Hutan Ashrafian offers a new theory of how Tut died. He believes the boy king was not murdered, nor did he die of an accident, but rather of an inherited condition: temporal lobe epilepsy. An accident during an epileptic seizure could be the final solution to the mystery.

KING TUT’S FINAL MYSTERY is produced by STV Productions and Cream Production in association with Smithsonian Channel, BBC One and Discovery Canada.  Executive Producers for Smithsonian Channel are Charles Poe and David Royle.

Smithsonian Channel™, owned by Showtime Networks Inc. and the Smithsonian Institution, is where curiosity lives, inspiration strikes and wonders never cease. This is the place for awe-inspiring stories, powerful documentaries and amazing entertainment across multiple platforms.  Smithsonian Channel combines the storytelling prowess of SHOWTIME^® with the unmatched resources and rich traditions of the Smithsonian, to create award-winning programming that shines new light on popular genres such as air and space, history, science, nature, and pop culture. Among the network’s offerings are series including Aerial America, L.A. Frock Stars, Secrets, Mighty Ships, Mighty Planes and Air Disasters, as well as critically-acclaimed specials that include Civil War 360, 9/11: The Heartland Tapes; MLK: The Assassination Tapes and The Day Kennedy Died. Find out more at www.smithsonianchannel.com.

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