Boy King
Photo: Cris Bouroncle/AFP/Getty
via Andrew Sullivan:
The face of Pharaoh Tutankhamen is displayed in a climate-controlled case at his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, close to Luxor, 500 kilometres south of Cairo, 04 November 2007. The true face of ancient Egypt's boy king Tutankhamun was revealed today to the public for the first time since he died in mysterious circumstances more than 3,000 years ago. The pharaoh's mummy was moved from its ornate sarcophagus in the tomb where its 1922 discovery caused an international sensation to a nearby climate-controlled case where experts say it will be better preserved.
1 comment:
As much as I love this -- I do travel to see Tut exhibits when available -- my imagination can't get past this part of the Wikipedia entry (I know, I know):
The body originally was inspected by Howard Carter’s team in the early 1920s, although they were primarily interested in recovering the jewelry and amulets from the body. To remove these objects from the body, which often were stuck fast by the hardened embalming resins used, Carter's team cut up the mummy into various pieces: the arms and legs were detached, the torso cut in half and the head was severed. Hot knives were used to remove it from the golden mask to which it was cemented by resin. Emphasis mine
I wonder how much reality we can infer from what we're being shown...
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