After Akhenaten’s death, traditional religious practice was gradually restored. Subsequent rulers brought back Egypt's pantheon of gods and tried to wipe out any evidence of his rule, dismantling his temples and monuments. Akhenaten remained unknown to historians until, in the 19th century, Amarna was discovered, the city that Akhenaten built for the Aten. His statues were found embedded in walls and foundations of later buildings, because they had simply been used as construction materials by later rulers.
The artwork and images found from Akhnaten’s time differ remarkably from other periods of Egyptian art. Common people, animals and plants seem to be depicted more naturally. By contrast, royals seem to be more stylised and unnatural in the images form Akhnaten’s time. They have elongated heads, protruding stomachs, heavy hips, thin arms and legs, and their facial features seem extreme.
Akhenaten himself is depicted in a bizarre, androgynous way. It is in many cases difficult to know if an image depicts Akhenaten himself or his wife Nefertiti. This is unusual, because in ancient Egypt there was a clear distinction between images and roles of a king and a queen. It has been suggested that Akhenaten was symbolic for Aten, the "mother and father" of all that is.
Scientists have tried to find a logical explanation for Akhenaten’s supposed deformities. They have named several diseases and genetic abnormalities that could have caused his unusual appearance. Yet Akhenaten seems to have lived a healthy life, producing several children.
Ufologists take a different view. What if Akhenaten’s appearance was a sign of a supernatural mutation? What if he was truly superhuman? A God? His long face seems to have a snake’s expression. The egg-shaped skull has a larger capacity than that of ordinary people. His fingers are like spiders’ legs.
Akhenaten’s genetic abnormalities – and maybe also his extraordinary religious convictions – could have been the result of experiments carried out by aliens. References to such events involving aliens from the vicinity of Sirius are found among the ancient Egyptians as well as other peoples like the Sumerians and Dogon.
No one is sure what killed Akhenaten, but there was a plague of some sort around the time of his death. Some Egyptologists believe a mummy found some 100 years ago in Luxor s that of Akhenaten. But genetic testing has not given any definite proof so far.
