Because of Egyptians' belief in certain deities, there are some anomalies surrounding the mummification of King Tutankhamun which a new study links to Osiris, the Egyptian god of the underworld.

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The connection would explain why King Tut's penis was mummified in an erect state at a 90-degree angle, his heart was removed and he was covered in black liquid that possibly was the reason why the corpse caught fire.

In a Channel 4 documentary aired in November, researchers theorised that the embalming oil that was applied liberally to the body of the dead monarch, when combined with oxygen and linen, led to a chemical reaction that burned the boy-ruler King Tut at high temperature.

The study, reported by The New York Post, discussed the research made by Egyptologist Salima Ikram, professor at the Cairo-based American University, published in the journal Etudes et Travaux.

The hard male reproductive organ reflects the regenerative power of Osiris. The removed vital organ recalls Osiris' heart which was taken out by his brother Seth and buried separately, while the black liquid was an attempt to make the dead king's skin colour similar to the god of the underworld.

The furious tries to mimic Osiris, Ms Ikram explained, was an attempt to reverse a religious revolution initiated by a pharaoh named Akhenaten, which the Eygptologist believes is the king's father. The pharaoh tried to make his subjects worship the sun disc called Arken. To achieve that goal, he destroyed images of the other traditional Egyptian deities, including Osiris.

British archeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut's mummy in 1922. He observed then that the Egyptian monarch was portrayed as the god of the underworld in comparison to other royal mummies he had seen. The mask of the 3,000-year-old mummy of King Tut, who died at the age of 19, is now on exhibit at the Cairo Museum.

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