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today's date  November 5, 2013

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TOPIC:

Tutankhamun's body spontaneously combusted after botched embalming, researchers say

 

2013-11-04

Published November 04, 2013

king tut death mask

King Tut's famous death mask. (AFP)

king tut skull

KING TUT SKULL

king tut women

Women look at one of the coffins of King Tutankhamun at the Egyptian museum in Cairo, Egypt.

(AP PHOTO/AMR NABI)

The face of the linen-wrapped mummy of King Tut is seen in his glass case in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt.(AP PHOTO/BEN CURTIS)

The life and death of Tutankhamun have intrigued researchers ever since the treasure trove of the boy king's tomb was first discovered in 1922 -- and a fresh examination of the famous pharaoh’s remains is only likely to add to the fascination after two sensational findings were revealed.

The first: that King Tut’s body may have spontaneously combusted when it was inside his sarcophagus after a botched mummification.

The second: that Tutankhamun may have died in battle after a chariot smashed into him while the warrior king was leading his army.

The latest research was carried out by Egyptologist Chris Nauton and revealed in a documentary for UK’s Channel 4.

Naunton, director of the Egypt Exploration Society, began investigating after he discovered references to the body’s burned condition in the records of Howard Carter, the archaeologist who first uncovered Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Carter’s discovery of the treasure trove, which included the famous golden death mask, prompted worldwide fascination with Tut. The allure of the mysterious boy king was only added to after rumors of a curse that was said to have claimed the life of Carter's sponsor Lord Carnarvon.

Naunton found that a post-mortem exam carried out in late 1960s using an X-ray and a scanning electron microscope showed the flesh was burnt.

Naunton’s research discovered that embalming oils combined with oxygen and linen may have caused a chemical reaction which literally "cooked" the king's body at high temperature.

“Despite all the attention Tut’s mummy has received over the years the full extent of its strange condition has largely been overlooked,” Nauton explained.

“The charring and possibility that a botched mummification led the body spontaneously combusting shortly after burial was entirely unexpected, something of a revelation in fact.”

Naunton research team also performed a "virtual autopsy" which revealed a pattern of injuries down one side of his body which they say were consistent with the theory that he died in a chariot accident.

Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign 1333–1324 BCE,  18th Dynasty
Predecessor Smenkhkare? or Neferneferuaten?
Successor Ay
Consort(s)
(Sister)    
Ankhesenamen (Ankhesenpaten)
Children 2 possibly, both female, names unknown
Father Akhenaton
Mother Kiya? she was a widow 
Nefertiti (stepmother)
Born 1341 BC
Died 1323 BC
Burial KV62

 

Tutankhamun (alternately spelled with Tutenkh-, -amen, -amon), Egyptian twt-n-ımn; tVwa:t-a:nəx-a ma:n(1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty (ruled 1333 BC – 1324 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. His original name, Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living Image of Amun". Often the name Tutankhamun was written Amen-tut-ankh, meaning "living image of Amun", due to scribal custom which most often placed the divine name at the beginning of the phrase in order to honor the divine being. [2] He is possibly also the Nibhurrereya of the Amarna letters. He was likely the 18th dynasty king 'Rathotis', who according to Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years — a figure which conforms with Flavius Josephus' version of Manetho's Epitome.[3]

The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun's intact tomb received worldwide press coverage and sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's burial mask remains the popular face.

Significance

Tutankhamun receives flowers fromAnkhesenamen

Tutankhamun was nine years old when he became pharaoh and reigned for approximately ten years. In historical terms, Tutankhamun's significance stems from his rejection of the radical religious innovations introduced by his predecessor Akhenaten[4] and that his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered by Carter almost completely intact — the most complete Ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found. As Tutankhamun began his reign at such an early age, his vizier and eventual successor Ay was probably making most of the important political decisions during Tutankhamun's reign.

Tutankhamun was one of the few kings worshiped as a god and honored with a cult-like following in his own lifetime.[5] A stela discovered at Karnak and dedicated to Amun-Re and Tutankhamun indicates that the king could be appealed to in his deified state for forgiveness and to free the petitioner from an ailment caused by wrongdoing. Temples of his cult were also built as far away as in Kawa and Faras in Nubia. The title of the sister of the Viceroy of Kush included a reference to the deified king indicative of the universality of his cult.[6]

Parentage

Tutankhamun's parentage is uncertain. An inscription calls him a king's son, but it is not clear which king was meant.

He was originally thought to be a son of Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife Queen Tiye. Later research claimed that he may have been a son of Amenhotep III, although not by Queen Tiye, since Tiye would have been more than fifty years old at the time of Tutankhamun's birth.

At present, the most common hypothesis holds that Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep IV, and his minor wife Queen Kiya. Queen Kiya's title was "Greatly Beloved Wife of Akhenaten" so it is possible that she could have borne him an heir. Supporting this theory, images on the tomb wall in the tomb of Akhenaten show a royal fan bearer standing next to Kiya's death bed, fanning someone who is either a princess or more likely, a wet nurse holding a baby, considered to be the wet nurse and the boy, king-to-be. Recently however Zahi Hawass has definitely confirmed that Tutankhamen is the biological son of Akhenatendue to the recovery of a part of a limestone block that identifies both him and his wife Ankhesenpaten as children of the king's body. Since Ankhesenpaten is known to be Akhenaten's daughter, Hawass concludes that Tutankhamun must be also. Whether his mother is indeed Nefertiti or Kiya is still to be determined.[7]

Professor James Allen argues that Tutankhamun was more likely to be a son of the short-lived kingSmenkhkare rather than Akhenaten. Allen argues that Akhenaten consciously chose a female co-regent named Neferneferuaten as his successor, rather than Tutankhamun, which would have been unlikely if the latter had been his son.[8][9] Smenkhkare appears when Akhenaten entered year 14 of his reign and it is thought that during this time Meritaten married Smenkhkare. Smenkhkare, as the father of Tutankhamun, needed at least a three year reign to bring Tutankhamun to the right age to have inherited the throne. However, if there had been lengthy co-regency between Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, Amenhotep definitely could be Tutankhamun's father.[9]

Reign

Cartouches of his birth and throne names are displayed between rampant Sekhmet lioness warrior images (perhaps with his head) crushing enemies of several ethnicities, while Nekhbet flies protectively above

Given his age, the king must have had very influential advisors, presumably including General Horemheb, the Vizier Ay and Maya the "Overseer of the Treasury". Horemheb records that the King appointed him Lord of the land as Hereditary Prince to maintain law and how he could also calm the young King when his temper flared in the palace.[10]

In his third regnal year, the king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun. Akhenaten's Amarnarevolution (Atenism) was now reversed. Akhenaten had attempted to supplant the traditional priesthood anddeities with a god, Aten, who until then was considered minor. The ban on the old pantheon of deities and their temples was lifted. The traditional privileges were restored to their priesthoods, and the capital was moved back to Thebes with the city of Akhenaten abandoned.[11]

The "Restoration Stela" erected in the temple at Karnak describes the pharaoh's perception of the changes brought about by Ahkenaten and the reasons for his reversals:

The temples of the gods and goddesses ... were in ruins. Their shrines were deserted and overgrown. Their sanctuaries were as non-existent and their courts were used as roads ... the gods turned their backs upon this land ... If anyone made a prayer to a god for advice he would never respond – and the same applied to a goddess.[12]

As part of his restoration process the king initiated building projects, in particular at Thebes and Karnak where he dedicated a temple to Amun. Many monuments were also erected, an inscription on his tomb door declaring that the king had "spent his life in fashioning the images of the gods". The traditional festivals were now celebrated again, including those related to the Apis Bull, Horemakhet and Opet. His Restoration Stela declares

Now the gods and goddesses of the land are rejoicing in their hearts...the provinces all rejoice and celebrate throughout this whole land because good has come back into existence.[13]

Pendant from Tutankhamun's tomb

The country was economically weak and in turmoil following the reign of Akhenaten. Diplomatic relations with other kingdoms had been neglected and Tutankhamun sought to restore them, in particular with theMitanni, and evidence of his success is witnessed by the gifts from various countries found in his tomb. Despite his efforts for improved relations battles with Nubians and Asiatics were recorded in his mortuary temple at Thebes. His tomb contained body armour and campaign folding stools but in view of his age there is speculation that he did not take part personally in these battles.[14]

When he became king, he married Ankhesenepatan who changed her name to Ankhesenamun when he changed his to Tutankhamun. They had no surviving offspring but two female babies were found in small coffins in the kings tomb, neither of whom had reached full gestation. The only name found on their coffins was "Osiris", a reference to rebirth in the next life.[15]

Burial

Tutankhamun was buried in small tomb relative to his status. His death may have occurred unexpectedly, before the completion of a grander royal tomb, so that his mummy was buried in a tomb intended for someone else, perhaps Ay. This would preserve the observance of the customary seventy days between death and burial.[16]

Name

Horus name
G5
 
 
E1
D40
t G43 t F31 s t G43 Z3
 
  Srxtail2.GIF
Kanakht Tutmesut
The strong bull, pleasing of birth
Nebti name
G16
 
nfr O4
p
G43 M40 Z3 s W11
r
V28 D36
N17
N17
N21
N21
 
 
wr aH pr Z1 i mn
nnb
r
Dr
r
A41
Neferhepusegerehtawy Werahamun Nebrdjer
One of perfect laws, who pacifies the two lands; Great of the palace of Amun; Lord of all[17]
Golden Horus name
G8
 
U39 N28
Z2
O34 R4
t p
R8A HqA q
Y1
mAat s
 
 
Htp
t p
R8A w T
z
U39 xa
Z2
i t
f
 
 
A41
f
C2 U39 xa
Z2
Tz
z
tA
tA
m
Wetjeskhausehetepnetjeru Heqamaatsehetepnetjeru Wetjeskhauitefre Wetjeskhautjestawyim
Who wears crowns and pleases the gods; Ruler of Truth, who pleases the gods; Who wears the crowns of his father, Re; Who wears crowns, and binds the two lands therein
Prenomen
M23 L2
 
Hiero Ca1.svg
 
N5 L1 Z2
nb
 
  Hiero Ca2.svg
 
Nebkheperure
Lord of the forms of Re
Son of Re
G39 N5
 
 
 
Hiero Ca1.svg
 
i mn
n
t G43 t S34 HqA iwn Sma
 
  Hiero Ca2.svg
 
Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema
Living Image of Amun, ruler of Upper 
Heliopolis

He is depicted only once as a prince, on a block from Hermopolis, where he is called Tutankwhaten (twt-n w-ỉtn),[18] but when his reign started, he was known as Tutankhaten (twt-n-ỉtn), which in Egyptian hieroglyphsis:

<
 
i t
n
ra
t
w
t
anx
 
>

At the reintroduction of traditional religious practice, his name changed. It is transliterated as twt-n-ỉmn q3-ỉwnw-šm, and often realized as Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema, meaning "Living image of Amun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis". On his ascension to the throne, Tutankhamun took a praenomen. This is translated as nb-prw-r, and realized as Nebkheperure, meaning "Lord of the forms of Re". The name Nibhurrereya in theAmarna letters may be a variation of this praenomen.

Cause of death

X-rays of Tutankhamun's skull. The medical instrument points to the location of the possible injury at the base of his skull

The cause of Tutankhamun's death is unclear, and is still the root of much speculation. In early 2005 the results of a set of CT scans on the mummy were released.

British archaeologist Howard Carter's team initially examined the body in the early 1920s, although they primarily were 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.

Since 1926, the mummy has been X-rayed three times: first in 1968 by a group from the University of Liverpool led by Dr. R. G. Harrison, then in 1978 by a group from the University of Michigan, and finally in 2005 a team of Egyptian scientists led by Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities,Dr. Zahi Hawass, who conducted a CT scan on the mummy.

X-rays of Tutankhamun's mummy, taken in 1968, revealed a dense spot at the lower back of the skullinterpreted as a subdural hematoma. Such an injury could have been the result of an accident, but it also had been suggested that the young pharaoh was murdered.[19] A trauma specialist from Long Island University at C. W. Post Campus insisted that this injury could not have been from a natural cause. The specialist stated that the blow was to a protected area at the back of the head which is not easily injured in an accident.[20][21]Theories as to who was responsible for the death include Tutankhamun's immediate successor Ay, his wife, and his chariot-driver.[21] Calcification within the supposed injury indicates that Tutankhamun lived for a fairly extensive period of time (in the order of several months) after the injury was inflicted.[21]

Scientists discovered a small, loose, sliver of bone within the upper cranial cavity, which was discovered from the same X-ray analysis. In fact, since Tutankhamun's brain was removed post mortem in the mummification process, and considerable quantities of now-hardened resin introduced into the skull on at least two separate occasions after that, had the fragment resulted from a pre-mortem injury, some scholars, including the 2005CT scan team, say it almost certainly would not still be loose in the cranial cavity. But other scientists suggested, that the loose sliver of bone was loosened by the embalmers during mummification, but it had been broken before. A blow to the back of the head (from a fall or an actual blow), caused the brain to move forward, hitting the front of the skull, breaking small pieces of the bone right above the eyes.[20]

2005 findings

March 8, 2005, Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass revealed the results of a CT scan performed on the pharaoh's mummy. The scan uncovered no evidence of a blow to the back of the head and no evidence suggesting foul play. There was a crack in the skull, but it appeared to have been drilled, by embalmers. A fracture to Tutankhamun's left thighbone was interpreted as evidence that the pharaoh badly broke his leg shortly before he died and his leg became severely infected; however, members of the Egyptian-led research team recognized, as a less likely possibility, that the fracture was caused by the embalmers. All together, 1,700 images were produced of Tutankhamun's mummy during the 15-minute CT scan.

Tutankhamun coffinette

Much was learned about the young king's life. His age at death was estimated at nineteen years, based on physical developments that set upper and lower limits to his age. The king had been in general good health and there were no signs of any major infectious disease or malnutrition during his childhood. He was slight of build, and was roughly 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall. He had large front incisors and the overbite characteristic of the Tuthmosis royal line to which he belonged. He also had a pronounced dolichocephalic (elongated) skull, although it was within normal bounds and highly unlikely to have been pathological. Given the fact that many of the royal depictions of Akhenaten (possibly his father, certainly a relative), often featured such an elongated head, it is likely an exaggeration of a family trait, rather than a distinct abnormality. The research also showed that the pharaoh had "a slightly cleft palate".[22] Scientists found a slight bend to his spine also, but agreed there was no associated evidence to suggest that it was pathological in nature, and that it was much more likely to have been caused by the embalming process. This ended speculation based on the previous X-rays that Tutankhamun had suffered from scoliosis. However, it was subsequently noted by Zahi Hawass that the mummy found in KV55, provisionally identified as Tutankhamun's father, exhibited several similarities to that of Tutankhamun — a cleft palate, a dolichocephalic skull and slight scoliosis (also found on one of her stillborns), the first and third elements being a common defect on people suffering fromKlippel-Feil syndrome[23][24] or Marfans syndrome,[25] which incapacitated him and might have played a role in his accidental death. The large number of walking sticks found in the prince's tomb also suggests some medical problem.

Iconography depicting Tutankhamun at war. His mummy's broken leg, and possibly his death through its infection, might have been caused by the crash of such a chariot.

The 2005 conclusion by a team of Egyptian scientists, based on the CT scan findings, is that Tutankhamun died of gangrene after breaking his leg. After consultations with Italian and Swiss experts, the Egyptian scientists found that the fracture in Tutankhamun's left leg most likely occurred only days before his death, which had then become gangrenous and led directly to his death. The fracture, in their opinion, was not sustained during the mummification process or as a result of some damage to the mummy as claimed byHoward Carter. The Egyptian scientists also have found no evidence that he had been struck on the head and no other indication that he was murdered, as had been speculated previously. Further investigation of the fracture led to the conclusion that it was severe, most likely caused by a fall from some height — possibly a chariot riding accident due to the absence of pelvis injuries — and may have been fatal within hours[26]

Despite the relatively poor condition of the mummy, the Egyptian team found evidence that great care was take with the body of Tutankhamun during the embalming process. They found five distinct embalming materials, which were applied to the body at various stages of the mummification process. This counters previous assertions that the king’s body had been prepared carelessly and in a hurry. In November 2006, at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Egyptian radiologists stated that CT images and scans of the king's mummy revealed Tutankhamun's height to be 5 feet 6 inches tall, a revision upward from the earlier estimates.[27]

Michael R. King continues to dispute these findings, claiming that the king was murdered. He argues that the loose sliver of bone was loosened by the embalmers during mummification, but that it had been broken before. He argues that a blow to the back of the head (from a fall or an actual blow) may have caused the brain to move forward, hitting the front of the skull, breaking small pieces of the bone right above the eyes.[20] Tut could have died of a Contra-coup injury, in which he hit the front of his head, resulting in hemorrhaging. This would make it look like he was bludgeoned, but what most likely happened is that he fell off his chariot.[28] The evidence that he died away from 'home' is that he had an excess of resin poured on him (more than usual), to hide the smell of decay. He also had flowers that only bloom in the spring wrapped around his neck. Since mummification takes about 3 to 4 months, he would have died in December or January, which is during the hunting season.[29]

Discovery of tomb

Tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings

Tutankhamun seems to have faded from public consciousness in Ancient Egypt within a short time after his death, and he remained virtually unknown until the early twentieth century. His tomb was robbed at least twice in antiquity, but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb after the intrusions, it seems clear that these robberies took place within several months at most of the initial burial. Eventually the location of the tomb was lost because it had come to be buried by stone chips from subsequent tombs, either dumped there or washed there by floods. In the years that followed, some huts for workers were built over the tomb entrance, clearly not knowing what lay beneath. When at the end of the twentieth dynasty the Valley of the Kings burials were systematically dismantled, the burial of Tutankhamun was overlooked, presumably because knowledge of it had been lost and his name may have been forgotten.

For many years, rumors of a "Curse of the Pharaohs" (probably fueled by newspapers seeking sales at the time of the discovery) persisted, emphasizing the early death of some of those who had first entered the tomb. However, a recent study of journals and death records indicates no statistical difference between the age of death of those who entered the tomb and those on the expedition who did not. Indeed, most lived past seventy.

Senet board game

KV is an abbreviation for the Valley of the Kings, followed by a number to designate individual tombs in the Valley. Ancient Egyptian Senet games similar to the one displayed at the right, were found in the tomb.[30]

Some of the treasures in Tutankhamun's tomb are noted for their apparent departure from traditional depictions of the boy king. Certain cartouches where a king's name should appear have been altered, as if to reuse the property of a previous pharaoh—as often occurred. However, this instance may simply be the product of "updating" the artifacts to reflect the shift from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun. Other differences are less easy to explain, such as the older, more angular facial features of the middle coffin and canopic coffinettes. The most widely accepted theory for these latter variations is that the items were originally intended for Smenkhkare, who may or may not be the mysterious KV55 mummy. Said mummy, according to craniological examinations, bears a striking first-order (father-to-son, brother-to-brother) relationship to Tutankhamun.[31]

2007 discoveries

September 24, 2007, it was announced that a team of Egyptian archaeologists, led by Zahi Hawass, discovered eight baskets of 3,000-year-old doum fruit in the treasury of Tutankhamun's tomb. Doum comes from a type of palm tree native to the Nile Valley. The doum fruit is a traditional funeral offering.

Fifty clay pots bearing Tutankhamun's official seal were also discovered. According to Dr Hawass, the containers probably contained money that were destined to travel with the pharaoh to the afterlife. Howard Carter's and his team originally discovered the objects, but did open or remove them from the tomb.

King Tutankhamun still rests in his tomb in the [[Valley of the Kings. November 4, 2007, 85 years to the day after Carter's discovery, the 19-year-old pharaoh went on display in his underground tomb at Luxor, when the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus to a climate-controlled glass box. The case was designed to prevent the heightened rate of decomposition caused by the humidity and warmth from tourists visiting the tomb.[32]

Appearance

This cover of the June 2005 National Geographic magazine features the French rendering of Tutankhamun, the only one of three executed in 2005 that was given a skin color. The bust features what its creators considered a "mid-range" skin tone for modern-day Egyptians and is controversial among its detractors, who dispute its relatively fair skin and never-explained hazel eyes.

In 2005, three teams of scientists (Egyptian, French, and American), in partnership with the National Geographic Society, developed a new facial likeness of Tutankhamun. The Egyptian team worked from 1,700three-dimensional CT scans of the pharaoh's skull. The French and American teams worked plastic moulds created from these—but the Americans were never told who the subject of the reconstruction was.[33] All three teams created silicone busts of their interpretation of what the young monarch looked like.

Skin tone and ethnicity

Although modern technology can reconstruct Tutankhamun's facial structure with a high degree of accuracy based on CT data from his mummy,[34][35] correctly determining his skin tone is impossible. There is no consensus on Tutankhamun's skin tone.

Terry Garcia, National Geographic's executive vice president for mission programs, said, in response to some protesters of the Tutankhamun reconstruction:

The big variable is skin tone. North Africans, we know today, had a range of skin tones, from light to dark. In this case, we selected a medium skin tone, and we say, quite up front, 'This is midrange.' We will never know for sure what his exact skin tone was or the color of his eyes with 100% certainty.  ... Maybe in the future, people will come to a different conclusion.[36]

Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, however, rejects the claims of Afrocentriststhat Tutankhamun himself was Black. According to Dr. Hawass: "Tutankhamun was not black, and the portrayal of ancient Egyptian civilization as black has no element of truth to it;" Hawass further observed that "[Ancient] Egyptians are not Arabs and are not Africans despite the fact that Egypt is in Africa." [37]

Numerous contemporaneous images of Tutankhamun, such as are on this golden throne, depict the monarch and members of his family with dark, red-brown skin; prognathism; a receding chin; and, consistently, dark eyes.

Author Robert Bauval is among those who take issue with Hawass's assertions and writes:

One the one hand, it pleases [Hawass] to know that the ancient Egyptian civilization has its origins within the borders of modern Egypt, but…the idea that the racial pedigree of Egyptians might be of black African ethnicity was not so palatable. Indeed, this idea is anathema to Hawass and many Egyptians like him…. Hawass was quick to assert that this king had ‘Caucasian features’ [and] went as far to say that even though Egypt was part of the African continent, Egyptians were not Africans. Indeed, Hawass, like other Muslim Egyptians, think of themselves as ‘Arabs’, a race quite distinct from Africans and, especially, black Africans. But annoyingly, recent discoveries near Nebti Playa, at a site only 20 kilometers away called Gebel Ramlah, anthropologists have found the skeletal remains of middle and late Neolithic people whose racial features were Sub-Saharan or “black groups.”[38]

What the evidence shows

Scientific examination of the remains of Tutankhamun have revealed that the boy king was: 1) extremely dolichocephalic, or long-headed,[39] so much so that his dolichocephaly once was thought to have been the product of head binding or a family congenital deformity,[40] both assumptions later debunked;[41] 2) had enlarged incisors;[39] 3) a pronounced alveolar prognathism, resulting in 4) an overbite[39] with a concomitant receding chin line; and, according to numerous contemporaneous artistic renderings, very full lips and facial prognathism—all characteristics of the "true Negroid" phenotypical model[42], widely utilized for more than a century in classification and identification of human remains in the fields of forensic criminology and forensic anthropology. Investigators also found him to be: 4) "gracile,",[39] meaning that he had arms and legs longer and more slender than the human norm, which is a characteristic of the Tutsi, Maasai, Nuer andDinka[43]—all Black peoples indigenous to the Nile Valley region.

Exhibitions

The splendors of Tutankhamun's tomb are among the most traveled artifacts in the world. They have been to many countries, but probably the best-known exhibition tour was the Treasures of Tutankhamun tour, which ran from 1972 to 1979. This exhibition was first shown in London at the British Museum from March 30 until September 30, 1972. More than 1.6 million visitors came to see the exhibition, some queuing for up to eight hours and it was the most popular exhibition in the Museum's history. The exhibition moved on to many other countries, including the USA, USSR, Japan, France, Canada, and West Germany. The Metropolitan Museum of Art organized the U.S. exhibition, which ran from November 17, 1976, through April 15, 1979. More than eight million people attended.

An excerpt from the site of the U.S. National Gallery of Art:

...55 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun included the boy-king's solid gold funeral mask, a gilded wood figure of the goddess Selket, lamps, jars, jewelry, furniture, and other objects for the afterlife. This exhibition established the term 'blockbuster.' A combination of the age-old fascination with ancient Egypt, the legendary allure of gold and precious stones, and the funeral trappings of the boy-king created an immense popular response. Visitors waited up to 8 hours before the building opened to view the exhibition. At times the line completely encircled the West Building.[44]

In 2004, the tour of Tutenkhamun funerary objects entitled "Tutenkhamen: The Golden Hereafter" made up of fifty artifacts from Tutenkhamun’s tomb and seventy funerary goods from other 18th Dynasty tombs began in Basle, Switzerland, went to Bonn Germany, the second leg of the tour, and from there toured the United States . The exhibition returned to Europe and to London. The European tour was organized by the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SAC), and the Egyptian Museum in cooperation with the Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig. Deutsche Telekom sponsored the Bonn exhibition.[45]

In 2005, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, in partnership with Arts and Exhibitions International and the National Geographic Society, launched the U.S. tour of the Tutenkhamun treasures and other 18th Dynasty funerary objects this time called "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs." It was expected to draw more than three million people.[46]

The exhibition started in Los Angeles, California, then moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Chicago andPhiladelphia. The exhibition then moved to London[47] before finally returning to Egypt in August 2008. Subsequent events have propelled an encore of the exhibition in the United States, beginning with the Dallas Museum of Art in October 2008 which will host the exhibition until May 2009.[48] The tour will continue to two other U.S. cities, the second of which has yet to be named,[49] but after Dallas the exhibition will continue to the de Young Museum in San Francisco and the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York City.[50]

The exhibition includes 80 exhibits from the reigns of Tutankhamun's immediate predecessors in theEighteenth dynasty, such as Hatshepsut, whose trade policies greatly increased the wealth of that dynasty and enabled the lavish wealth of Tutankhamun's burial artifacts, as well as 50 from Tutankhamun's tomb. The exhibition does not include the gold mask that was a feature of the 1972-1979 tour, as the Egyptian government has determined that the mask is too fragile to withstand travel and will never again leave the country.[51]

A separate exhibition called "Tutankhamun and the World of the Pharaohs" began at the Ethnological Museum in Vienna from March 9 to September 28, 2008 showing a further 140 treasures from the tomb.[52]This exhibition continued to Atlanta and the Indianapolis Children's Museum.

References

  1. ^ Clayton, Peter A. (2006). Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. pp. 128. ISBN 0-500-28628-0.
  2. ^ Zauzich, Karl-Theodor (1992). Hieroglyphs Without Mystery. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 30–31. http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/zauhie.html.
  3. ^ "Manetho's King List". http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/egypt/history/KLManetho.html.
  4. ^ Aude Gros de Beler, "Tutankhamun", foreword Aly Maher Sayed, Moliere, ISBN 2-84790-210-4
  5. ^ "Oxford Guide: Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology", Editor Donald B. Redford, p. 85, Berkley,ISBN 0-425-19096-x
  6. ^ "The Boy Behind the Mask", Charlotte Booth, p. 120, Oneworld, 2007, ISBN 978-1-85168-544-8
  7. ^ "retrieved 15 July 2009". Allaboutegypt.org. http://allaboutegypt.org/tag/tutankhamen/page/2/. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  8. ^ Allen, James P. (2006). "The Amarna Succession" (Online publication in PDF). Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane. Memphis, TN: University of Memphis. pp. 7, 12–14. http://history.memphis.edu/murnane/Allen%20-%20Amarna%20Succession.pdf. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  9. ^ a b http://www.egyptology.com/kmt/fall97/endpaper.html A New Take on Tut's Parents by Dennis Forbes KMT 8:3 Fall 1997
  10. ^ Booth p. 86-87
  11. ^ "Akhenaten and the Religion of Light", Erik Hornung, Translated by David Lorton, Cornell University Press, 2001, ISBN 0801487250
  12. ^ Hart, George (1990). Egyptian Myths. University of Texas Press. p. 47. ISBN 0292720769.
  13. ^ Booth p. 107
  14. ^ Booth p. 129-130
  15. ^ Booth p. 76-79
  16. ^ "The Golden Age of Tutankhamun: Divine Might and Splendour in the New Kingdom", Zahi Hawass, p. 61, American University in Cairo Press, 2004, ISBN 9774248368
  17. ^ "Digital Egypt for Universities: Tutankhamun". University College London. June 22, 2003.http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/tutankhamun.html. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  18. ^ Jacobus van Dijk. "The Death of Meketaten" (PDF).http://history.memphis.edu/murnane/Van%20Dijk.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  19. ^ "King Tut Murder Mystery Solved by LIU Egyptologist Bob Brier". Long Island University. 1997-01-17. http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/pr/whatsnew/archive/new01.html.
  20. ^ a b c King, Michael R.; Cooper, Gregory M. (2006-09-13). Who Killed King Tut?: Using Modern Forensics to Solve a 3300-Year-Old Mystery (With New Data on the Egyptian CT Scan).
  21. ^ a b c Brier, Bob (1999). The Murder of Tutankhamun: A True Story.
  22. ^ Handwerk, Brian (March 8, 2005). "King Tut Not Murdered Violently, CT Scans Show". National Geographic News. p. 2.http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0308_050308_kingtutmurder.html. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  23. ^ Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty, National Geographic Channel 2007
  24. ^ The Assassination of Tutankhamun, Discovery Channel, 2006
  25. ^ "h2g2 - Marfan Syndrome". BBC. 1978-01-02. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3065140. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  26. ^ Ian Sample (2006-10-28). "Boy king may have died in riding accident". The Guardian.http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1958654,00.html.
  27. ^ "Radiologists attempt to solve mystery of Tut's demise". 2006-10-26.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-11/rson-rat112206.php.
  28. ^ (Coplen, J. D. (n.d.). The Death of King Tutankhamun. Retrieved March 20, 2009, from The Tut Investigation: http://www.iois.net/TutInvestigation.htm).
  29. ^ (King Tut 'died from broken leg' . (2005, March 8). Retrieved March 21, 2009, from BBC News:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4328903.stm>
  30. ^ "Welcome to Senet". Texas Humanities Resource Center. December 17, 2004. http://www.humanities-interactive.org/ancient/tut/senet/index.html. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  31. ^ Reeves, Nicholas C. (1990-10-01). The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure. Thames & Hudson.
  32. ^ Michael McCarthy (2007-10-05). "3,000 years old: the face of Tutankhamun". The Independent.http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3129650.ece.
  33. ^ Handwerk, Brian (May 11, 2005). "King Tut's New Face: Behind the Forensic Reconstruction". National Geographic News.http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0511_050511_kingtutface.html. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  34. ^ "discovery reconstruction".http://dsc.discovery.com/anthology/unsolvedhistory/kingtut/face/facespin.html.
  35. ^ "Science museum images". Sciencemuseum.org.uk.http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/tutankhamun/index.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  36. ^ Henerson, Evan (June 15, 2005). "King Tut's skin colour a topic of controversy". U-Daily News — L.A. Life. http://u.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,211~23523~2921859,00.html. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  37. ^ "Egyptology News» Blog Archive » Hawass says that Tutankhamun was not black". Touregypt.net. 2007-09-26. http://touregypt.net/teblog/egyptologynews/?p=2929. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  38. ^ Bauval, Robert. "Where did the Ancient Egyptians Come From…and When?" Part 2. Four Corners magazine, April/May 2009.[1]
  39. ^ a b c d "Tutankhamun's CT Scan." http://www.egyptologyonline.com/ct_scan_report.htm. Accessed 09-21-09.
  40. ^ "A Feminine Physique, a Long, Thin Neck and Elongated Head Suggest Egyptian Pharoah Akhenaten Had Two Rare Disorders." University of Maryland Medical Center Press Release, May 2, 2008.http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/akhenaten_deformities.htm
  41. ^ "Tutankhamun's CT Scan." http://www.egyptologyonline.com/ct_scan_report.htm. Accessed 09-21-09. Accessed 09-21-09.
  42. ^ K. Moraitis, C. Eliopoulos, C. Spiliopoulou & S. Manolis: "Assessment of Ancestral Background from the Skull: Case Studies from Greece." The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology. 2009 Volume 3 Number 1. Accessed 09-26-09.
  43. ^ Wek, Alek. Alek: From the Streets of Sudan to the Runways of Milan and New York. New York: Harper Collins, Aug. 2007, pp. 6-7.
  44. ^ "NGA — Treasures of Tutankhamun (11/1976)". National Gallery of Art.http://www.nga.gov/past/data/exh410.shtm. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  45. ^ "Al-Ahram Weekly | Heritage | Under Tut's spell". Weekly.ahram.org.eg.http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/716/he1.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  46. ^ "King Tut exhibition. Tutankhamun & the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Treasures from the Valley of the Kings". Arts and Exhibitions International. http://www.kingtut.org/exhibition.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  47. ^ Return of the King (Times Online)
  48. ^ "Dallas Museum of Art Website". Dallasmuseumofart.org.http://dallasmuseumofart.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  49. ^ Associated Press, "Tut Exhibit to Return to US Next Year"
  50. ^ "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs | King Tut Returns to San Francisco, June 27, 2009–March 28, 2010". Famsf.org. http://www.famsf.org/tut/. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  51. ^ Jenny Booth (2005-01-06). "CT scan may solve Tutankhamun death riddle". The Times.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article409075.ece?token=null&offset=12.
  52. ^ [2]Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

Further reading

  • Andritsos, John. Social Studies of ancient Egypt: Tutankhamun. Australia 2006
  • Booth, Charlotte. The Boy Behind the Mask", Oneworld, ISBN 978-1-85168-544-8
  • Brier, Bob. The Murder of Tutankhamun: A True Story. Putnam Adult, April 13, 1998, ISBN 0425166899 (paperback)/ISBN 0-399-14383-1 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-613-28967-6 (School & Library Binding)
  • Carter, Howard and Arthur C. Mace, The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. Courier Dover Publications, June 1, 1977, ISBN 0-486-23500-9 The semi-popular account of the discovery and opening of the tomb written by the archaeologist responsible
  • Desroches-Noblecourt, Christiane. Sarwat Okasha (Preface), Tutankhamun: Life and Death of a Pharaoh. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1963, ISBN 0-8212-0151-4 (1976 reprint, hardcover) /ISBN 0-14-011665-6 (1990 reprint, paperback)
  • Edwards, I.E.S., Treasures of Tutankhamun. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976, ISBN 0-345-27349-4 (paperback)/ISBN 0-670-72723-7 (hardcover)
  • Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, The Mummy of Tutankhamun: the CT Scan Report, as printed in Ancient Egypt, June/July 2005.
  • Haag, Michael. "The Rough Guide to Tutankhamun: The King: The Treasure: The Dynasty". London 2005. ISBN 1-84353-554-8.
  • Hoving, Thomas. The search for Tutankhamun: The untold story of adventure and intrigue surrounding the greatest modern archeological find. New York: Simon & Schuster, October 15, 1978, ISBN 0-671-24305-5 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-8154-1186-3 (paperback) This book details a number of interesting anecdotes about the discovery and excavation of the tomb
  • James, T. G. H. Tutankhamun. New York: Friedman/Fairfax, September 1, 2000, ISBN 1-58663-032-6(hardcover) A large-format volume by the former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum, filled with colour illustrations of the funerary furnishings of Tutankhamun, and related objects
  • Reeeves, C. Nicholas. The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure. London: Thames & Hudson, November 1, 1990, ISBN 0-500-05058-9 (hardcover)/ISBN 0-500-27810-5(paperback) Fully covers the complete contents of his tomb
  • Rossi, Renzo. Tutankhamun. Cincinnati (Ohio) 2007 ISBN 978-0-7153-2763-0, a work all illustrated and coloured.

External links

 

TAKE A TOUR

VIDEO: OPENING THE TOMB:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kVu5HnNWXk

KING TUT'S FACE REVEALED:  VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8WcfoT6JvY&feature=fvw

KING TUT'S TREASURES:  VIDEO:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8WcfoT6JvY&feature=fvw

Graphic is from the Treasure of the Tomb of Tut-ankh-amun
Which was the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant
as found by Howard Carter,
the hiding of which is described in the Mishnayot

It is thought that Tutankhamun must have had a good childhood. He probably spent his younger years hunting, swimming, and studying. His tomb revealed he enjoyed board games. Like most children, he probably found politics unexciting and went about his environment enjoying leisurely activities. Because he was a child, he probably had an ignorant view about his father’s teachings and politics. He was also believed to be an ill child due to the many walking canes that were found inside his tomb. After his father’s death, Tutankaton was given the throne. He was wed to his half-sister Ankhensenpaaton, the daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten. After acquiring the throne he began to uphold his father’s beliefs, which was the worship of one god -- the Aton. A few years later Tutankaton started to bring back gods that were forbidden by Akhenaten. He soon changed his name to Tutankhamen along with changing his wife’s name to Ankhesenamun. Their names were changed to reflect their beliefs towards Amun (eighth Heh god of the Ogdoad) and probably to ease the angry priests who missed their old Egypt. They soon decided to leave their father’s capital Amarna and relocated to a new capital in Memphis and Thebes. This movement was probably suggested by Ay (a high ranking official and advisor) to show the Egyptians and priests that things were slowly returning to the original ways.

Sometime during his tenth year of reigning, Egypt was at war with the Hittites. During this confrontation, Tutankhamun suddenly died.  How he died remains a mystery, however, it is believed he was murdered.

King Tut had not left a male heir to the throne and the female children that he had with Ankhensenpaaten were stillborn.  King Tut died at around eighteen or nineteen years old. Ay, who was a high official in Akhenaten's court, staked his claim as pharaoh.  Ay went on to rule for only 4 years and died shortly after acquiring the throne.



 

When the Kundalini is awakened, the energy travels upward through the chakras, in a purification process, reaching the crown chakra at the top of the head. The soul then merges into the supreme Self. This is apparent in the death masks of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, such as King Tut, where serpents protrude from the head. 

T
he "third eye," indicating spiritual vision. The ancient Egyptian masks, such as that of King Tut, have a serpent's head protruding from the same area of the forehead. It is said that this represents the arising of the Kundalini. The son of the Egyptian trinity,  Horus, is known for his "eye" symbolism, and for the dawning sun of a New Age.

Tutankhamun (King Tut)

by Jimmy Dunn

king tut

At this point, it almost seems to be repetitive to remind readers that Tutankhamun (King Tut) was not a major player in Egypt Pharaonic history, or at least, in comparison with other pharaohs.  In fact, prior to Howard Carter's discovery of his tomb, almost nothing was known of him and interestingly, the one disappointment in Carter's discover was that there was little in the way of documentation found within his tomb. Therefore, we still know relatively little about Tutankhamun. For example, even who is father was remains a topic of some debate. That has not prevented writers from producing volumes of material on the Pharaoh.

We believe Tutankhamun ruled Egypt between 1334 and 1325 BC.  He was probably the 12th ruler of Egypt's 18th Dynasty.

Tutankamun was not given this name at birth, but rather Tutankhaten (meaning "Living Image of the Aten), squarely placing him in the line of pharaohs following Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh, who was most likely his father.  His mother was probably Kiya, though this too is in question.  He changed his name in year two of his rule to Tutankhamun (or heqa-iunu-shema, which means "Living Image of Amun, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Heliopolis", which is actually a reference to Karnak) as re reverted to the old religion prior to Akhenaten's upheaval.  Even so,  this did not prevent his name from being omitted from the classic kings lists of Abydos and Karnak. We may also find his named spelled Tutankhamen or Tutankhamon, among other variations.  His throne name was Neb-Kheperu-re, which means "Lord of Manifestations is Re.

Tutankhamun from the back of his gold throne.

king tut

We do know that he spent his early years in Amarna, and probably in the North Palace. He evidently even started a tomb at Amarna. At age nine he was married to Ankhesenpaaten, his half sister, and later Ankhesenamun.  We believe Ankhesenpaaten was older then Tutankhamun because she was probably of child bearing age, seemingly already having had a child by her father, Akhenaten. It is possible also that Ankhesenamun had been married to Tutankhamun's predecessor.  It seems he did not succeed Akhenaten directly as ruler of Egypt, but either an older brother or his uncle,Smenkhkare (keeping in mind that there is much controversy surrounding this king). We believe Tutankhamun probably had two daughters later, but no sons.

At the end of Akhenaten's reign, Ay and Horemheb, both senior members of that kings court, probably came to the realization that the heresy of their king could not continue. Upon the death of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, they had the young king who was nine years old crowned in the old secular capital of Memphis.  And since the young pharaoh had no living female relatives old enough, he was probably under the care of Ay or Horemheb or both, who would have actually been the factual ruler of Egypt.

kiya

Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten who was probably Tutankhamun's mother..

We know of a number of other officials during the reign of Tutankhamun, two of which include Nakhtmin, who was a military officer under Horemheb and a relative of Ay (perhaps his son) and Maya, who was Tutankhamun's Treasurer and Overseer of the Place of Eternity (the royal necropolis). Others included Usermontju and Pentu, his to viziers of upper and lower Egypt, as well as Huy, the Viceroy of Nubia.

Immediately after becoming king, and probably under the direction of Ay and Horemheb, a move was made to return to Egypt's traditional ancient religion. By year two of his reign, he changed his, as well as Ankhesenpaaten's name, removing the "aten" replacing it with "amun". Again, he may have had nothing to do with this decision, though after two years perhaps Ay's and Horemheb's influence had effected the boy-king's impressionable young mind.

One reason why Tutankhamun was not listed on the classical king lists is probably because Horemheb, the last ruler of the 18th Dynasty, usurped most of the boy-king's work, including a restoration stele that records the reinstallation of the old religion of Amun and the reopening and rebuilding of the temples.  The ownership inscriptions of other reliefs and statues were likewise  changed to that of Horemheb, though the image of the young king himself remains obvious.  Even Tutankhamun's extensive building carried out at the temples of Karnak andLuxor were claimed by Horemheb.  Of course, we must also remember that little of the statues, reliefs and building projects were actually ordered by Tutankhamun himself, but rather his caretakers, Ay and Horemheb.

kiya

Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten who was probably Tutankhamun's mother. His building work at Karnak and Luxor included the continuation of the entrance colonnades of the Amenhotep III temple at Luxor, including associated statues, and his embellishment of the Karnak temple with images of Amun, Amunet andKhonsu. There were also a whole range of statues and sphinxes depicting Tutankhamun himself, as well as a small temple in the king's name.  We also know, mostly from fragments, that he built at Memphis.  At Kawa, in the far south, he built a temple.  A pair of granite lions from that temple today flank the entrance to the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum.

Militarily, little happened during the reign of Tutankhamun, a surprising fact considering that Horemheb was a well known general.  Apparently there were campaigns in Nubia and Palestine/Syria, but this is only known from a brightly painted gesso box found in Tutankhamun's tomb. It portrays scenes of the king hunting lions in the desert and gazelles, while in the fourth scene he is smiting Nubians and then Syrians. There are paintings in the tomb of Horemheb and as well as the tomb of Huy that seem to confirm these campaigns, though it is unlikely that the young Tutankhamun actually took part in the military actions directly. The campaigns in Palestine/Syria met with little success, but those in Nubia appear to have gone much better.

Though we know that Tutankhamun died young, we are not certain about how he died until very recently.  Both forensic analysis of his mummy and clay seals dated with his regnal year support his demise at the age of 17 or no later then 18.  As to how he died, a small sliver of bone within the upper cranial cavity of his mummy was discovered from X-ray analysis, suggesting that his death was not due to illness.  It has been suggested that he was possibly murdered, but it is also just as likely the result of an accident. In fact, a recent medical examination now seems to indicate that he may very well have died from infection brought about by a broken leg.

Yet it is clear that others certainly had eyes on the throne.  

After Tutankhamun's death, Ankhesenamun was a young woman surrounded by powerful men, and it is altogether obvious that she had little interest or love for any of them.  She wrote to the King of the Hittites, Suppiluliumas I, explaining her problems and asking for one of his sons as a husband.  Suspicious of this good fortune, Suppiluliumas I first sent a messanger to make inquiries on the truth of the young queen's story.  After reporting her plight back to Suppilulumas I, he sent his son, Zannanza, accepting her offer.  However, he got no further than the border before he was murdered, probably at the orders of Horemheb or Ay, who, both had both the opportunity and the motive. So instead, Ankhesenamun married Ay, probably under force, and shortly afterwards, disappeared from recorded history.  It should be remembered that both Ay and Horemheb were military men, but Ay was much older then Horemheb, and was probably the brother of Tiy who was the wife of Amenhotep III.  Amenhotep III was most likely Tutankhamun's grandfather.  He was also probably the father of Nefertiti, the wife of Akhenaten.  Therefore, he got to go first, as king, followed a short time later by Horemheb.

tut

 Tut's famous gold funeral mask.

Tutankhamun's famous tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings on the West bank across from modern Luxor (ancient Thebes). It is certainly less magnificent then other pharaohs of Egypt, yet, because of it, Tutankhamun has remained in our memory for many years, and will probably continue to do so for many years to come.  Regardless of all the myths surrounding his tomb's discovery, including the "curse of the mummy" and other media hype, it is all a blessing to the boy-king.  The ancient pharaohs believed that if their name was remembered, their soul would live on, so not even the powerfulRameses the Great's soul can be as healthy as King Tut's.

See Also:

Tut's Tomb

References:

Title Author Date Publisher Reference Number
Ancient Egypt The Great Discoveries (A Year-by-Year Chronicle) Reeves, Nicholas 2000 Thmes & Hudson, Ltd ISBN 0-500-05105-4
Atlas of Ancient Egypt Baines, John; Malek, Jaromir 1980 Les Livres De France None Stated
Chronicle of the Pharaohs (The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt) Clayton, Peter A. 1994 Thames and Hudson Ltd ISBN 0-500-05074-0
Complete Valley of the Kings, The (Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest Pharaohs) Reeves, Nicholas; Wilkinson, Richard H. 1966 Thames and Hudson Ltd IBSN 0-500-05080-5
History of Ancient Egypt, A Grimal, Nicolas 1988 Blackwell None Stated
Monarchs of the Nile Dodson, Aidan 1995 Rubicon Press ISBN 0-948695-20-x
Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, The Shaw, Ian 2000 Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-815034-2
Tutankhamun (His Tomb and Its Treasures) Edwards, I. E. S. 1977 Metropolitan Museum of Art; Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-394-41170-6
Valley of the Kings Weeks, Kent R. 2001 Friedman/Fairfax ISBN 1-5866-3295-7
Valley of the Kings Heyden, A. Van Der   Al Ahram/Elsevier  

Archives

FROM: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tut.htm

 

From D. W.  3/13/2001

Historians often trace the Arab Israeli blood bath back to the brothers CAIN versus ABLE. Gardner clearly identified the CAIN (means king or royal blood), descendants thru Thule / Atlantis to Jesus and the Holy Grail royal families of Europe ("Genesis of the Grail Kings"). That original conflict between the brothers was clearly originally the fight between their genetic engineering progenitors, the East of Eden brothers, Enki as Adonai, versus Enlil as Yahweh (the 'angry' God of the Hebrews). (ref; Sitchin and Gardner).

The issue between the brothers, was that although they had the same dad Ea / P'tah / An.. it was the dragon blood of only Enki's mom (Ide?), that apparently allowed him to be taught how to ensoul humans, and bring people back from the dead. That sin by Jesus is unforgiveable among Jews. (As related by son Thoth / Hermes/ Tut / Quetzalcoatl .. see ../Thoth whose SOLAR calendar -instead of Yahweh LUNAR , advised SOLAR embedding and therefore true potential FUSION and psycho kinesis . )

So the H-ibi-uru (Bird / serpent, Hebrew means crossing over those blood lines), Jewish flag of Enlil / Yahweh was hex, as is the insignia of the Nephilim Draco starcraft. Hebrew alphabet genetic symmetries create a DNA tetrahelix whose top down view as hex would be un-ensouled "golem". Most of the OTHER country flags of this planet have some form of PENT / star or Golden Ratio.

Does this mean the Jewish people have no soul? Probably that is far too vague. However, it is likely that their skill at allowing juicy human bliss to cocoon itself into immortality is FAR less common. Their squabble over the ownership of Jerusalem is largely because they forgot the simple skill to dimple a land's paramagnetic into sacred landscape lens that COULD ignite soul group DNA into star embedding. (Ref: The shutting down of the AMENTI complex to soul group ignition due to location fractionation in VOYAGERS, by Anna Hayes.). Ironic in that SCION / ZION / JON means literally to BRANCH INTO FRACTAL EMBEDDING PERFECTLY.

Interesting when the interventionist MAG queens of ORION apologize for starting BOTH the Christian AND MUSLIM religions ( ../the collective ), toward such a murderous conclusion, there is no mention of instigating the JEWISH (Yahweh / Enlil / N-ibi-uru ) myth. Yet if we take the self organizing spiral on the donut, delineating the 7 color map, whose symmetry views by tetra, ARE the Hebrew alphabet, the EXACT SAME 3D form has other shadows which are exactly the ARABIC cursive alphabet letters! Clearly, both these religions were merely diluted mechanisms to convey the symmetry skills (quantum mechanics) to creating matter from light. This pure root of language ALONE becomes specifically the ONLY possible true PHYSICS OF PEACE. ( ref: ../peace ) , namely that peace in ANY form is merely the ability which recursion allows to stabilize waves (giving them a centering 'peace-full' force). (Symbol / alphabet being merely the attempt to embed, optimized by Phi. Embedding = psychokinesis by definition of leverage on waves / literally objects from thoughts=alphabet being the issue of whether a phi wave ushers charge into compression at the synapse = gravity making).

This casts a nice deeper light on the conversation below about where the grid lost bliss ignition (into recursion), at the heart of the ISRAELI conflict.

The sun's heart IS the image of fusion perfected. It's slip knot ANU IS the link between the 7 spins of the tetra (hex shadow), to the 5 spins inside. (cube to dodec). ( Fusing the serpent to the bird brain thru bliss requires slipping knot thru the amygdala. Funny how Candace Pert figured the limbic brain serpent stem was the catchers mitt for bliss bullets ("Molecules of Emotion"), never considering the HEART BLISS which peristalsically launched them ('snake charmed') from the serpent brain toward the bird brain.

If the SUN is wounded (by a Draco HAARP poon - see below) , then by fractal morphic resonance to every heart and ANU and hydrogen in the Solar System, all FUSION is wounded here. (../fusion ).

Women with the skill to enter the Sun will lead the way ... to the downfall of priests. Smoking in the electrical resistance (FEAR) of their own un-forgiving, priest'hoods' end in the wallow of the guilt of the inquisition. ('Nostradamus Code', by Ramotti, Apocalypse chapter. Check there / lady & cross in M51 for where to go upon penetrating the SUN.. a holy cross erected.)

Clearly when we journeyed to the SUN with the solar shaman's , our symptoms got worse. Any homeopath would have been proud. (I'll play the integral tron: "starships STILL burn off the shoulders of ORION"). This Scorpion suggests a tail view, the sting is merely where we turn inside out. ... D. W.

See:  http://www.greatdreams.com/haarp-sun.htm

 

Tutankhamun's parentage
A line drawing showing a small child in the arms of a wet-nurse
A line drawing showing a small child in the arms of a wet-nurse 
 
Until recently, it was thought that the six daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti were the couple's only offspring. However, in one chamber of the Royal Tomb, just outside the room devoted to the funeral vigil for Akhenaten's second daughter, Meketaten, a small child is depicted in the arms of a wet-nurse.

'So we must be dealing with a seventh child of Nefertiti.'

It has long been believed that Meketaten died in childbirth and that this infant was hers. However, she was only about nine years old at the time of her death and her sarcophagus proves that she was scarcely taller than one metre.

What remains of the inscription referring to the child reads:

'(1) [...] born of (2) [...] Neferneferua[ten] Nefertiti, who lives now and forever more'

((1) and (2) indicate two columns; [...] indicates missing text.)

Given the length of the missing parts of the inscription and the similarity in composition to the titles given to other royal offspring at Amarna it is clear that we are dealing with a child of Nefertiti. And given that by the time of the birth of this child, we know that the six daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti were already born and that, moreover, three of them were dead, the baby is necessarily different from any of the known princesses. So we must be dealing with a seventh child of Nefertiti.

The most likely candidate is Tutankhamun, known during this period as Tutankhaten. Indeed, a block, now split in two, from the nearby site of Hermopolis still bears the insignia of the prince Tutankhaten accompanied by that of a princess whose name, unfortunately, is missing.

'...it is probable that Akhenaten and Nefertiti were the parents of Tutankhamun.'

Another block at Hermopolis confirms that Tutankhaten had at least one sister and probably two. On this block, a prince, identifiable by his loincloth, can be seen sitting on an adult's lap, together with traces of the figures of two other children. It was a rule in the official monuments of Amarna, that Nefertiti's children should never be shown alongside those of any other wife of Akhenaten. As Nefertiti is the only one of his wives known to have had more than one child, it is probable that Akhenaten and Nefertiti were the parents of Tutankhamun.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/amarna_04.shtml

[Editor's note:  You will not in these articles that there is no agreement as to the parentage of either Tutenkhaten or Akhensenpaaten.  Some researchers say it is Nefertiti, and others say it is Kiya. Without dna testing, it is probably we will never know for certain.

 
DNA NEWS -2010

Malaria: A Scourge as Old as King Tut
In death if not in life, a bond unites King Tut, Egypt’s boy pharaoh, with the multitudes high and especially low through human history. Palace walls could not shield him from the enemy without: the anopheles mosquitoes infesting the Nile Valley with malaria parasites. A post-mortem on Tutankhamen’s mummy, scientists reported last week, shows that malaria was one of the most probable agents of his death at age 19, in the 14th century B.C.


Tut’s case may be one of the earliest established by genetic tests, but malaria was probably a common scourge then, as it still is. Last year, at least 250 million people contracted the disease, the United Nations estimates, and almost half the world’s population is at risk, mainly in poorer tropical lands. The wasting fever is expected to kill 700,000 children this year.

Malaria courses relentlessly through narratives of history and literature. It blighted the greatness that was Rome, though it may have saved the city from a sacking by Attila the Hun, who may have turned back out of fear of the fever raging there. Archaeologists digging in cemeteries near former marshes around Rome have uncovered evidence of widespread outbreaks of the disease in the empire’s waning years.

Indeed, the pestilence is so closely linked to Roman history that the word “malaria” comes from the Italian for “bad air.” The “vapors” persisted almost to the present, as Henry James knew in writing his novella “Daisy Miller.” When the guileless young American took her fateful stroll by moonlight in the Colosseum, she ignored warnings and died a few days later of “a terrible case of the fever.”

The sun never set on malaria death at British colonial outstations. If there is anything to the mummy’s curse, it may be delivered by mosquitoes. Every mile and each lock in the Panama Canal came at the expense of life to yellow fever and malaria. Marines, soldiers and Seabees returned from Pacific jungles victorious but weak with fever.

Although malaria has been largely eradicated in wealthier nations, and is easily treatable with medicines, there was a time when half of the United States was in danger. In the 19th century, “Potomac fever” was no metaphor. Europeans gave their diplomats hardship pay to induce them to serve in vaporous Washington.

Pharaoh Tutankhamen (the spelling varies - Tutankhamun, Tutankhamon, etc) has probably the most widely recognized name in the world by way of his colloquial moniker "King Tut."  

His fame, like most fame, is unjustified. Tut died at a very young age.  Having achieved no claim to greatness in life he was hastily buried in a tiny little tomb. Overlooked by grave robbers and forgotten by history the only reason you recognize his name is because of the former.  

All of the great Pharaoh's had their tombs robbed in antiquity.  Tutankhamen's tomb lay undisturbed for three thousand years until it was discovered by an Englishman, Howard Carter, in 1922.

The contents of his tomb were a boon to the world of art but, outside of that, they really didn't tell much about this period of ancient Egypt because of the lack of hieroglyphic inscriptions.  On the other hand, Ramesses the Great (Ramses, Rameses, etc) lived into his nineties which was a pretty remarkable age given the average life expectancy of ancient Egyptians was thirty years.  
 
Ramesses reigned as Pharaoh for sixty-six years.  An Egyptologist could spend his entire life studying Ramesses or he could spend a day studying Tutankhamen including a three hour lunch break and time off for afternoon tea. 

Ramesses the Great, given the made-up timeline of the Hebrews when they first began to write their bible upon their return from exile, is the Pharaoh of the biblical Exodus.  Funny thing is, despite the vast historical record, there is no historical or archaeological record of the Exodus ever happening.  Anyone care to explain how 600,000 Hebrew men and an unknown number of their wives, children and other peoples were able to leave Egypt, take 40 years to cover the distance of what is now a three hour bus trip and, in a desert where we can still plainly see chariot tracks that were laid down 3000 years ago, not leave a single trace of their having been there? In reality, Ramesses long reign were marked by peace and prosperity for his people and the region.  When was the last time in human history that has happened?  Regardless, modern humans prefer flash over substance so back to Tut.

What were these startling discoveries announced by the ever colorful, larger than life Zahi Hawass?  Well, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities revealed that King Tut was married to his sister.

And this is news how?  We already knew that ancient Egyptian men married their sisters and did so up until at least the year 295 AD when the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued his famous "Marriage edict" making Roman Law the law of Egypt.  Technically, Roman Law did not prohibit a Roman man from marrying his sister.  However, their children would not be able to inherit their parents property and would not be Roman citizens.  The same was true if a Roman married an actor or prostitute.

The Romans, having ruled Egypt for nearly 330 years by this time, had compiled extensive census records which survive to this day.  The Romans were meticulous record keepers.  Their records show that one in four Egyptian men were married to a younger sister of the full blood (both having the same mother and father).  If an Egyptian man wasn't married to his full blooded sister then he was married to his half sister or other close female relative.  If he had no close female relative then his bride would be adopted as his sister. Yes, we have these ancient "adoption" notices as well.

Given the constraint that an Egyptian man never married an older sister and human genetics dictating that there is only a one in four chance that a couple will have two children that consist of an older brother and younger sister gives proof of just how meticulous the Romans were in their record keeping.  For the curious, the other three possible relations of any two sibling births are {two brothers, two sisters, and a pairing of older sister/younger brother}. This includes twins, but since their number is relatively small and fraternal twins did marry, the 25% ratio is unaffected.

By the way, for those who require DNA confirmation before they will believe the historical records of people who had absolutely no incentive to lie, Professor Scott Woodward of Brigham Young University conducted DNA tests 15 years ago which produced the same result for the Pharoah Ahmose I and his sister-wife-queen Seknet-re.

Woodward was going to conduct the same tests on Tutankhamen back in the year 2,000 but Egypt rescinded her permission for increasingly bizarre reasons, including "National Security."  Really!, I kid you not.  Tests were delayed further when the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities decided that, in the future, DNA testing will only be conducted by Egyptians.  Of course having no DNA testing facilities of their own meant we had to wait until funding was found to construct the labs and train their technicians.  The money was eventually raised by foreigners.  Apparently, Zahi Hawass has no problem with taking foreign money to buy foreign equipment and to pay foreigners with which to train his Egyptian technicians.

It is now time to p!ss-off the Orthodox Jews, Christians and Muslims as I promised earlier.  All three of these religions claim to be adherents to "The Book" aka the Hebrew Bible, aka the Old Testament.  For some reason, they seem to think that this book is the oldest book on Earth.  Worse, as a rabbi once told me, "...as a Divine document, the Torah is not capable of being influenced by Ancient Egypt..."

Not only was the Torah/Hebrew Bible/Old Testament influenced by ancient Egypt, huge chunks of it were ripped-off from them and other civilizations who existed thousands of years before the "book" was written down for the first time.
 
The "Song of Songs" from the Hebrew bible and known as the "Song of Solomon" in the Christian old testament was taken almost word for word from a series of ancient Egyptian love poems between a brother and his sister written two thousand years earlier than the Hebrew version.  

By the way, the Hebrew version added a line where they made it perfectly clear that the two lovers did not have the same mother (but says nothing about whether they had the same father).  Why was this?  Could it be because the dominant cultural and political influence as well as military power of the time was Greek?  The Greeks, not coincidently, had no problem with a brother marrying his half sister so long as they did not have the same mother - that was reserved for the gods.  Presto-whamo! The biblical Sarah became Abraham's half-sister as well.

The story of Noah and the flood was ripped-off from the Sumerian's and can be found in their Epic of Gilgamesh.  The creation story of Genesis was likewise ripped-off from the ancient Egyptians.  Although the ancient Egyptians had two main versions of the story.  In one, god "spoke" and the universe came into being.  God's name, by the way, was Thoth, the Ibis headed god of ancient Egypt.  In the other version, Thoth did not speak but instead lay an egg which cracked open and the universe spilled forth.  The Hebrews obviously ripped-off the former version which became, by extension, the creation myth of the Christians and Muslims.  I personally prefer the version where god lays an egg. It explains so much about the world.

Now, what else did the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities reveal?  Well, King Tut might have had malaria.  Mind you, they aren't saying that he did have it, only that he might have had it.

Really? I'm shocked, amazed, and gobsmacked. Who would have thunk one would have discovered malaria in the Middle East? Perhaps at their next press conference they will announce the discovery there was sand in ancient Egypt as well.

Tut also might have had a rare bone disease but the tests weren't conclusive.

Oh, they also discovered that King Tut's parents were probably also brother and sister.  Once again, this is news how?  Other than that, the press release just reiterates what we have known for years.  His mummy is in poor condition, he had a broken leg, "yada yada yada."

Can we please now drop this frivolous fascination with King Tut?  His tomb contained many beautiful works of art to admire, other than that he was nobody.

CAIRO, Egypt - He died more than 30 centuries ago, but new evidence continues to uncover more secrets into the life and death of King Tutankhamun.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, is the lead investigator in this forensic search to find more about the Egyptian pharaoh and was our guest on 9NEWS At Noon.

A British archaeologist, Howard Carter, originally found King Tut's tomb in 1922. But later in 2005, Hawass was part of the effort to perform a CAT Scan on the mummy. He says the results explained more into the king's death.

"I found that he had a fracture in the left leg, and maybe had an infection. We found out now that that infection because of the severe malaria that caused high fever," Hawass explained.

Hawass says all of King Tut's ailments together contributed to his death at only age 19.

DNA testing and further advances in evidence are allowing investigators to gain more insight. However, according to Hawass, they still have to look for the mother of King Tut's children.

"It was actually a secret, you know. And you know, I believe now we know a lot about him. We had only four mummies identified of his family. Now there are nine," Hawass said.

Research indicates King Tut used a cane because of his health ailments. Hawass actually examined one of the canes and found an interesting twist.

"...I found hieroglyphic inscriptions saying that King Tut said I made it by myself. And he actually used this cane," he said.

The Discovery Channel aired many of these findings in a special, "King Tut Unwrapped" that premiered Sunday. More of Hawass' findings air Monday night on the Discovery Channel at 8 p.m.

"The audience for the first time will be able to see all the scientific steps of our work," Hawass said.

Look for King Tut to arrive at the Denver this summer.

The touring exhibition, "Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs," begins at the Denver Art Museum July 1. 2010. The exhibition will continue through Jan. 2 of next year. For more information on this upcoming event, visit www.denverartmuseum.org .


 

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the mystery and controversy of the story of moses - akhenaten

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