SAN FRANCISCO – The cause of King Tut's death has baffled experts since his beautifully preserved tomb, filled with the golden riches necessary for a happy afterlife, was found by a British archaeologist in 1922.

We know that Tutankhamun took the throne in 1333 B.C. when he was 9 or 10, married his half-sister at age 12 and then died a few years later under mysterious circumstances. Some Egyptologists theorize that he was killed by Ay, his successor.

We may soon know for certain what killed the young Egyptian pharaoh.

"The most important thing I'm doing now is solving the mystery of King Tut," said Zahi Hawass on the eve of the opening of "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" at the M.H. de Young Museum.

Hawass, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, promised to return in two months with an announcement.

King Tut's mummy recently underwent a CT scan as part of an ambitious five-year research project to analyze all Egyptian mummies.

"He died at the age of 19," Hawass said of Tutankhamun, "and that hole in the back of the head was actually opened in Dynasty 18 to put in the liquid for mummification. We found this fracture in the left leg, and people thought three years ago that he died because of this. Actually, we found evidence now that he died of something else."

DNA technology also may reveal whether two fetuses found in tiny gold coffins in Tut's tomb were his daughters.

The girls' nested fetal coffinettes are among 130 glittering 3,000-year-old artifacts in "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," which opened Saturday and will continue through March 28, 2010.

This is the second exhibit of King Tut-related riches to visit San Francisco.

"The Treasures of Tutankhamun," a collection of 50 artifacts from his tomb, spent four months at the de Young in 1979, attracting more than 1.3 million visitors. The de Young charged $4.50 admission, which was the highest-priced ticket anywhere on the seven-city U.S. tour. (General admission tickets for the current exhibit are $27.50.)

Many artifacts on display now were in the original show 30 years ago. Museumgoers this time will see more than 80 different artifacts from the tombs of other 18th Dynasty royals who were related to King Tut.

Also new to "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" are four more treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb.

There is a small scarab bracelet made of gold, glass and precious stones that he likely wore as a child, and a pectoral, or pendant, of gold, silver, electrum and semiprecious stones that he wore to ward off evil. Included are the two coffins that possibly contained the fetuses of his daughters.

"After 30 years, the allure of the myth and legend of King Tut, and the objects and artifacts that surrounded him in death, have not waned one bit," said John Buchanan, director of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which includes the de Young and the Legion of Honor.

The journey that museum visitors will take to explore "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" begins in a darkened gallery where light shines on a statue of a young King Tut.

The pathway leads to artifacts from the tombs of other royals. Not to be missed is the gilded coffin of Tjuya, made of gold, calcite, glass and obsidian, and the canopic chest that held four jars of mummified internal organs.

Breathtaking for their beauty and significance are an exquisite calcite lotus blossom cup, a blue glass-and-gold headrest (it offered magical protection to the pharaoh), a small ivory-and-gold jewelry box that contained a mirror handle and broken pieces of jewelry, and a tiny game box that belonged to King Tut. Also on display are a few of the 35 model boats found in his tomb.

The deepest galleries in the museum hold some of the finest of 5,000 artifacts discovered in his tomb.

As British archaeologist Howard Carter said in November 1922, as he stepped into Tut's burial chamber, "… everywhere, the glint of gold."

Museumgoers will see what he saw: a pectoral in the shape of a falcon, made of sheet gold and gold wire, that Tut wore around his neck; a golden headdress and a golden dagger and sheath that were found close to his body.

What no one will see is the iconic golden mask, or death mask, that was part of the 1970s tour. Egyptian officials say it's too fragile to travel. King Tut's mummy and the inner sarcophagus remain in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings and have never traveled.

The official exhibition catalog, a 288-page hardcover book written by Hawass with photographs by Kenneth Garrett and a CD of the audio tour narrated by Omar Sharif, is $49.95.

Most of the money from this exhibition goes to Egypt for the restoration of its ancient treasures.

"I believe the monuments will be deteriorated in 100 years if we don't protect them," Hawass said.

IF YOU GO

TUTANKHAMUN AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE PHARAOHS

HOURS: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Sunday through Sept. 30, and then 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Mondays. Open till 8:45 p.m. Fridays. The exhibit ends March 28, 2010.

WHERE: M.H. de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park

COST: General admission is $27.50 Monday-Thursday, $32.50 Friday-Sunday and holidays; ages 65-plus are $25.50 Monday-Thursday, $30.50 Friday-Sunday and holidays; and ages 6–17 are $16.50 daily. Children 5 and younger admitted free. All tickets are timed and dated. Purchasing tickets in advance is advised. (877)888-8587, www.ticketmaster.com

YOU SHOULD KNOW: Photography and videotaping are not permitted. The exhibition will be closed July 13, Aug. 3, Aug. 31, and Thanksgiving and Christmas days. It will close early July 4, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.

INFORMATION: (415) 750-3600, www.deyoungmuseum.org

SEE KING TUT, AND STAY THE NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO

The de Young Museum has partnered with 21 San Francisco hotels to create King Tut-themed package deals for overnight guests. They all include VIP tickets that can be used any time, any day, and include expedited museum entry. These tickets are not available to the general public. Each VIP ticket-holder receives a Pharaohs Gold Card good for special offers from various Northern California businesses, restaurants and attractions. Most hotel packages are available through March 28, 2010, when the King Tut exhibition closes.

Room rates listed below are per night unless otherwise noted, and are subject to availability. For links to participating hotels and their Web sites: www.tutsanfrancisco. org/content/hotel-partners

Here are details on some participating hotels:

Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason St.; (415) 772-5000, toll-free (866) 540-4491

King Tut: Mummy & Me Package - Overnight stay, two VIP "King Tut" tickets, and drinks in the hotel's Laurel Court. From $249.

King Tut: Wake Like An Egyptian Package - Same as above (other than the drinks), plus complimentary hotel parking and breakfast for two in the Laurel Court. From $319.

Hilton San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf, 2620 Jones St.; (415-885-4700)

Golden Chariot Tut Package – Overnight stay, complimentary breakfast and parking, one VIP "King Tut" ticket per hotel guest. From $184.

Pharaoh Package – Same as above, but without complimentary breakfast or parking. From $154.

JW Marriott San Francisco, 500 Post St. (at Mason); (800) 228-9290

Luxury accommodations and two VIP tickets. $235-$325. Use promotional code E0Q for hotel reservation.

Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery St.; (866) 716-8116

Two VIP tickets and one night's stay, from $195. (Two nights, from $175.) Two VIP tickets, complimentary hotel parking and appetizers, from $215 per night.

Ritz-Carlton, 600 Stockton St. (at California); (415) 296-7465

Front-of-the-Line at King Tut Package – Deluxe Room accomodations and valet parking, and two VIP tickets. From $429.

W San Francisco, 181 Third St.; (415) 777-5300

Two VIP tickets and one night's stay, from $269 (two nights, from $245).

Premium Package – Two VIP tickets, one night room upgrade, complimentary hotel parking, two "Tutini" cocktails at the XYZ Bar, and a "mummified" treatment at Bliss Spa. From $450.

Other hotels participating in the King Tut promotion:

Cova Hotel

Hilton San Francisco

Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf/Holiday Inn Express

Hotel Palomar

Hyatt Regency San Francisco

Intercontinental

Intercontinental San Francisco

Joie de Vivre

JW Marriott San Francisco

Le Meridien

Omni San Francisco Hotel

Radisson Fisherman's Wharf

St. Regis

San Francisco Marriott

Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf

Westin St. Francis

Westin San Francisco Market Street

– Dixie Reid,Bee staff writer

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Call The Bee's Dixie Reid, (916) 321-1134.

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