The Hole Where King Tut’s Heart Used to Be

One hundred years since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, archaeologists are still puzzling over the mysteries of his mummy. Why was he covered in “black goo” and buried without a heart? And how did his tomb remain hidden for so long? To answer these questions, we head to the National Geographic Museum’s King Tut exhibit with Archaeologist in Residence Fred Hiebert to hear his take on what happened to Egypt’s boy king and hear from mummy expert Salima Ikram about how recent excavations of the tomb are helping scientists get closer to the answers. 

For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard.

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King Tut’s tomb is one of the most significant archaeological sites ever discovered, but it was almost never found. To learn more about the discovery, take a look at our magazine cover story about the discovery.

Want to see National Geographic’s King Tut exhibit for yourself? Information and tickets can be found on the museum website.

Also explore:

Egyptologist Salima Ikram is one of the leading experts in mummification. Her website is a treasure trove of information.

Fred Hiebert once spent two nights in King Tut’s tomb with researchers searching for the mummy of Nefertiti. That story can be found here.  

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