Why did Tutankhamun's tomb hold 130 walking sticks?
_(44795401425).jpg){kind=link}
TL;DR — A 2010 study counted 130 sticks and staves in Tutankhamun’s tomb, many showing wear, and read them as support for a walking impairment in his left foot.
Tutankhamun’s tomb held 130 sticks and staves, and a research team led by Zahi Hawass argued in 2010 that he needed them. Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Hawass and his colleagues stated that “Howard Carter discovered 130 whole and partial examples of sticks and staves in the king’s tomb, supporting the hypothesis of a walking impairment,” and that “traces of wear can be seen on a number of the sticks, demonstrating that they were used in the king’s lifetime.”
Quick facts
- When
- Studies from September 2007 to October 2009, published in JAMA in 2010; Tutankhamun died c. 1324 BC at 19
- Where
- Tomb KV62, Valley of the Kings; the King Tutankhamun Family Project, Egypt
- Who
- Zahi Hawass and colleagues; Tutankhamun
- Outcome
- The study read the sticks, many with signs of wear, as support for a walking impairment and named bone necrosis with malaria as the most likely cause of death
The King Tutankhamun Family Project
The study came out of a program of work on royal mummies. According to its abstract in the National Library of Medicine’s database, “from September 2007 to October 2009, royal mummies underwent detailed anthropological, radiological, and genetic studies as part of the King Tutankhamun Family Project.” The team examined 11 royal mummies of about 1410–1324 BC and five earlier ones.
For Tutankhamun himself the paper gives a short life: “He died in the ninth year of his reign, circa 1324 BC, at age 19 years.”
What the scans found in his feet
The paper’s table of findings lists, for the mummy from KV62, a “mild clubfoot left” and “pes planus right,” a flat right foot, among other conditions. In the left foot it reports “a juvenile aseptic bone necrosis of the left second and third metatarsals (Köhler disease II, Freiberg-Köhler syndrome),” a condition in which bone in the foot loses its blood supply.
The authors connect these findings to the sticks. “There is evidence that Tutankhamun may have had this impairment for quite some time,” they write. “The walking disability can be substantially aided by the use of a cane.” They add another kind of evidence: “a number of 2-dimensional images from Tutankhamun’s reign that show him seated” during activities in which a king would usually stand.
How many sticks, exactly
The figure of 130 is the study’s. The Griffith Institute at Oxford holds Howard Carter’s records of the tomb. A search of its handlist of objects for “stick” returns 125 entries, a count that includes items such as a candlestick, and a search for “staves” returns three. A text search catches other objects too, so it is only a rough check on the study’s count.
Malaria and the most likely cause of death
The same study tested for disease. “Genetic testing for STEVOR, AMA1, or MSP1 genes specific for Plasmodium falciparum revealed indications of malaria tropica in 4 mummies, including Tutankhamun’s.” From the combination it drew a cautious conclusion: “These results suggest avascular bone necrosis in conjunction with the malarial infection as the most likely cause of death in Tutankhamun.”
The phrase “most likely” matters. The study does not say the sticks prove anything alone, and it does not say how he died for certain. It puts a well-worn set of sticks in a king’s tomb beside a diseased foot and an infection, and reads them together.
Key facts
- Hawass and colleagues wrote in JAMA in 2010 that Carter found “130 whole and partial examples of sticks and staves” in the tomb, many with traces of wear (JAMA 2010).
- The King Tutankhamun Family Project studied royal mummies from September 2007 to October 2009 (JAMA 2010, abstract).
- The study lists a mild clubfoot of the left foot and Köhler disease II in the left second and third metatarsals (JAMA 2010).
- It found genetic indications of malaria tropica in four mummies, including Tutankhamun’s (JAMA 2010).
- It named bone necrosis together with malaria as “the most likely cause of death” (JAMA 2010).
- A search of the Griffith Institute’s handlist for “stick” returns 125 entries, including a candlestick; “staves” returns three (Griffith Institute).
FAQ
How many walking sticks were in Tutankhamun's tomb?
The 2010 JAMA study says Howard Carter found "130 whole and partial examples of sticks and staves." A search of the Griffith Institute's handlist of Carter's records for "stick" returns 125 entries, some of them other objects such as a candlestick.
Did Tutankhamun have a clubfoot?
The 2010 study lists a "mild clubfoot left" and a bone disease, Köhler disease II, in the left second and third metatarsals, and says the walking sticks support the idea of a walking impairment.
How did Tutankhamun die?
No one knows for certain. The 2010 study named "avascular bone necrosis in conjunction with the malarial infection as the most likely cause of death," after finding genetic traces of malaria tropica.
How old was Tutankhamun when he died?
About 19. The JAMA study says he "died in the ninth year of his reign, circa 1324 BC, at age 19 years."
Sources
Cite this article
- APA
- Song Letter. (2026, October 11). Why did Tutankhamun's tomb hold 130 walking sticks? Our Earth's History. https://ourearthshistory.com/africa/ancient/tutankhamun-130-walking-sticks/
- Chicago
- Song Letter. “Why did Tutankhamun's tomb hold 130 walking sticks?” Our Earth's History, October 11, 2026. https://ourearthshistory.com/africa/ancient/tutankhamun-130-walking-sticks/.
- MLA
- Song Letter. “Why did Tutankhamun's tomb hold 130 walking sticks?” Our Earth's History, 11 Oct. 2026, https://ourearthshistory.com/africa/ancient/tutankhamun-130-walking-sticks/.
Get the week in history
One email a week: the new articles, and what was happening elsewhere at the same moment. Free, no ads, unsubscribe any time. How we handle your email.
Text licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Found an error? Tell us.