Thursday, February 14, 2008

Who's out

With the advent of tomography, CT scans and DNA very little is left private. The naked bodies of ancient king's lay for the most part in the lands where they lived but some journey after their dead. Leaving Egypt 140 years ago to house in a Niagara sideshow the mummy was first thought to be none other than Nefertiti herself. Museum staff pulled down the covers from her mummy and discovered Nefertiti had a penis.

The high quality mummification and remarkable preservation of the body, usually these things are broken. The body smell of aromatics is distinctly royal. A carbon test suggested that the mummy might belong to the New Kingdom. With its crossed arms exposed Egyptologist's began going down the list of missing New Kingdom king's and came up with 3 consecutive king's from the end of the 18th dynasty to the first King of the 19th dynasty.

These were Aye, Horemheb and Ramesses I. King Ramesses I was the father of King Seti I and grandfather to King Ramesses II both of who's mummies faces are beautifully preserved and resemble that of the hung Nefertiti mummy, and so it was decided that no this is not the old girl but rather it is King Ramesses I.

Since then calibrations of carbon 14 readings have now shown the mummy is hundreds of years younger than that of King Ramesses I. In a previous story I suggested it may actually be the mummy of the High Priest of Amen, Smendes III.


Michael C. Carlos Museum:

http://carlos.emory.edu/RAMESSES/

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