30 June,2010 01:32 PM IST | | Agencies
Tutankhamun's penis could have been stolen because the Egyptian boy king was allegedly less-than-endowed.
According to Time magazine, a report in The New Scientist presents the possibility of an anatomical conspiracy.
However, what happened to Tut's member isn't the only mystery enshrouding the 19-year-old royal.
Scientists are still debating the cause of his death, with some attributing it to a bone disorder or malaria.
But earlier this month German researchers ruled out this theory, saying Tut was suffering from sickle cell anaemia, which could have led to organ failure.
And now new evidence suggests that Tut may have had a genetic mutation that causes weird physical effects like elongated skulls and under developed genitals.
While Egypt's chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass says Tut was well developed, even he cannot ignore the fact that the king's member is no longer attached to the mummy.
The mummy was intact at its first unwrapping in 1922. The penis was said to be missing in 1968 but a CT scan later showed that it was hidden by sand surrounding the mummy, reports The New York Daily News.
Some scientists believe the penis may have been swiped at some point after the body was embalmed, raising the possibility that it could have been a conspiracy to spare Tut, in the afterlife, the 'locker room' variety of embarrassment.
