Horny History: Was Tutankhamun buried with a boner?

Forget the golden mask. One of the strangest things about Tutankhamun’s mummy is that it is considerably further south.

Yes, you read that correctly: the famous Egyptian pharaoh was discovered with his penis mummified in an erect position.

So, was King Tut actually buried with a boner?

Technically, yes. But before you start imagining the boy king going out with one final ancient Egyptian middle finger, there is a much more fascinating explanation.

Tutankhamun’s mummy was discovered in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter’s team in 1922. When researchers examined the body, they found a number of unusual features. Among them was the penis, which had been deliberately positioned at roughly a 90-degree angle.

And according to Egyptologist Salima Ikram, it probably wasn't about sex at all.

Instead, the rather spectacular embalming decision may have been connected to Osiris, the Egyptian god associated with the underworld, death and regeneration.

In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was famously murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth. His wife, Isis, gathered his body back together, and the myth became closely associated with resurrection and fertility. The phallus therefore carried powerful symbolism connected to regeneration and the continuation of life.

Ikram has suggested that Tutankhamun's unusual mummification may have deliberately made him resemble Osiris — essentially turning the dead king into a physical representation of resurrection. The erect penis could therefore have symbolised regenerative power rather than sexual arousal.

There were other clues pointing in the same direction. Tutankhamun's body was covered in an unusually large quantity of black oils and resins. Black was associated with Osiris and the fertile soil of the Nile, while his missing heart has also been interpreted as potentially having symbolic connections to the Osiris myth.

The interpretation isn't universally proven, however. Ikram herself presented the Osiris explanation as speculative rather than established fact. What is established is that Tutankhamun's penis was preserved in an erect position — an unusual feature that has fascinated researchers for decades.

So, was King Tut buried with a boner?

In the most literal archaeological sense, yes.

But rather than being ancient Egypt's answer to a particularly horny funeral, it may have been a very serious statement about death, fertility and coming back to life.

Honestly, history really does have a filthy sense of humour.

By VavaViolet Magazine's Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Sophie Blackman