King Tut probably died from a broken leg, scientists say, possibly closing one of history's most famous cold cases.

A CT scan of King Tutankhamun's mummy has disproved a popular theory that the Egyptian pharaoh was murdered by a blow to the head more than 3,300 years ago.

Instead the most likely explanation for the boy king's death at 19 is a thigh fracture that became infected and ultimately fatal, according to an international team of scientists.

The team presented its results this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, Illinois.

"I think it is the end of the investigation. … We can now close this file," said team leader Ashraf Selim, a radiologist at Kasr Eleini