An axial computed tomography examination revealed every detail of the ruler
No archaeologist had ever dared to free from the funeral bandages the mummy of Amenhotep I, the pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty who died in 1505 BC and buried in Deir el-Bahari: the garlands of flowers that adorned him, the refinement of the mummification and the beauty of the funeral mask they were so extraordinary that they deserved total respect.
The bandages have been removed today thanks to modern technology. A computerized axial tomography exam (the CT scan you undergo in the hospital) revealed every detail of the mummy, allowing you to take spectacular photographs and discover many details about the life and death of one of the most important Egyptian pharaohs. It turned out that he was 35 when he died, that he was six feet tall and that he had perfect teeth. He was also circumcised, a widespread practice in Egypt long before it became a sign of the covenant between Yahweh and the people of Moses, who came precisely from Egypt.
Digital scanning in three dimensions also made it possible to discover that the mummy of Amenhotep I had been unraveled, restored and buried a second time in the 11th century BC by priests of the 21st dynasty. The intervention was probably made necessary by the intrusion of some raiders, who had damaged the remains of the pharaoh. But the fact that the mummy has never been violated in modern times “offered us a unique opportunity,” Cairo University radiologist Sahar Saleem wrote. “Not only were we able to study how Amenhotep was originally mummified and buried, but we also discovered that he was buried a second time, centuries after his death, by the high priests of Amun.”
Hidden in bandages, the pharaoh wore 30 amulets and a gold beaded belt. He resembled his father Ahmose I, and like him he had a narrow chin, small nose, curly hair and slightly protruding upper teeth. The mummifiers had removed all the internal organs from the body except the heart and brain. The cause of death, which occurred at a young age, has not yet been ascertained. There are no wounds in the body that suggest a traumatic event.
It remains a mystery why the priests of the 21st dynasty took such loving care of the pharaoh’s mummy, restoring it to its original state without taking anything from its funerary equipment to use it in other burials, as often happened. It may be that Amenhotep I still enjoyed the great respect with which he had been revered for centuries. After his death he had been deified and worshiped in the workers’ village of Deir-el Medina which he himself had founded near Luxor. His mother, Ahmes Nefertari, was also deified and worshiped along with her son. It was said of Amenhotep that he could utter oracles and this confirms his great popularity over the centuries.
The digitized scan of mummies is used more and more frequently by Egyptian archaeologists and scholars and this form of respect is much appreciated by those who still believe in the curse of the pharaohs. The body of Amenhotep I was among those transported last April, in a solemn nocturnal procession, from the old to the new museum in Cairo. In those days, dozens of people died in a train accident in Sohag, Upper Egypt and 18 in the collapse of a building in the capital. Shortly before the transfer of the mummies, the cargo Ever Given ran aground blocking the Suez Canal for days. Egyptian researchers certainly don’t believe in curses, but you never know.
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