The name Tutankhamun conjures for many people the image of a glittering, golden representation of a pharaoh after death, laid to rest in a magnificent sarcophagus. So famous is the long-dead ruler that his coffin informs most of our ideas about what an Ancient Egyptian burial should look like. In the case of many mummies, though, precious metal and jewels came a close second to a mysterious jet-black covering that completely obscured those fine details. But now a team of British scientists has decoded the mystery of the sombre-looking caskets.