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Tutankhamun was actually a warrior, not a sickly boy king

Tutankhamun’s famous mask
Tutankhamun’s famous mask

Tutankhamun has often been portrayed as a sickly boy king – but in reality he was a warrior, who led his men on the battlefield.

Specialist photography of armour unearthed in Tutankhamun’s tomb showed battle scars on the 3,000-year-old leather.

A University of Northampton researcher worked with a Channel 5 TV crew, using ‘Reflectance Transformation’ imaging to capture tiny scratches.

The technique involves merging several images photographed under different lighting conditions.

Lucy Skinner examines the leather

Researcher Lucy Skinner, said: ‘It was possible to see abrasion along the edges of the leather scales, meaning that the armour had seen considerable use.

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‘That suggests that Tutankhamun had worn it, and that perhaps he had even seen battle.

‘If this is true, it would be an amazing revelation, countering the idea that Tut was a weak and sickly boy-king.’