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King Tut's Mummy Returns to Egypt
Sunday, November 04, 2007
LUXOR, Egypt - The linen wrapped mummy of King Tut was put on public
display for the first time on Sunday - 85 years after the 3,000-year-old boy
pharaoh's golden enshrined tomb and mummy were discovered in Luxor's famed
Valley of the Kings.
Click here for photos: http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2581,00.html
Archeologists removed the mummy from his stone sarcophagus in his
underground tomb, revealing his shriveled leather-like face and body.
"The golden boy has magic and mystery and therefore every person all over
the world will see what Egypt is doing to preserve the golden boy, and all
of them I am sure will come to see the golden boy," Egypt's antiquities
chief Zahi Hawass told reporters under the intense Luxor sun.
Hawass said scientists began restoring King Tut's badly damaged mummy more
than two years ago after it was removed briefly from its sarcophagus and
placed into a CT scanner for the first time for further examination. Much of
the mummy's body is broken into 18 pieces that Hawass described looked like
stones that were damaged when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered
the mummy, took it from his tomb and tried to pull off his famous golden
mask.
But Hawass said he fears a more recent phenomenon - mass tourism - is
further deteriorating Tut's mummy. Thousands of tourists visit the
underground chamber every month.
"The humidity and heat caused by ... people entering the tomb and their
breathing will change the mummy to a powder. The only good thing (left) in
this mummy is the face. We need to preserve the face," said Hawass, who wore
his signature Indiana Jones-style tan hat.
The mystery surrounding King Tutankhamun and his glittering gold tomb has
entranced ancient Egypt fans since Carter first discovered the hidden tomb
on Nov. 4, 1922, revealing a trove of fabulous gold and precious stone
treasures.
Archeologists in recent years have tried to resolve lingering questions over
how he died and his precise royal lineage. Several books and documentaries
dedicated to the young pharaoh, who is believed to have been the 12th ruler
of ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty and ascended to the throne around the age of
8, are popular around the world.
In an effort to try to solve the mysteries, scientists removed Tut's mummy
from his tomb and placed it into a portable CT scanner for 15 minutes in
2005 to obtain a three-dimensional image. The scans were the first done on
an Egyptian mummy.
The results did rule out that Tut was violently murdered - but stopped short
of definitively concluding how he died around 1323 B.C. Experts for the time
though suggested that days before dying, Tut badly broke his left thigh,
apparently in an accident, that may have caused a fatal infection.
The CT scan also provided the most revealing insight yet into the life of
ancient Egypt's most famous king. He was well-fed, healthy, yet slightly
built, standing at 5 feet, 6 inches tall (170 centimeters) at the time of
his death. The scan also showed he had the typical overbite characteristic
of other kings from his family, large incisor teeth and his lower teeth were
slightly misaligned.
The unveiling of Tut's mummy comes amid a frenzy of international publicity
for the boy king. A highly publicized museum exhibit traveling the globe
drew more than 4 million people during the initial four-city American-leg of
the tour. The exhibit will open later this month in London and after it will
make a three-city encore tour in the U.S. beginning with the Dallas Museum
of Art.
The Egyptian tourism industry is hoping to capitalize on that interest and
draw tourists to Luxor to see something they couldn't at the museum - Tut's
mummy. More than 9 million tourists visited Egypt last year - up from 8.7
million the previous year, the Egyptian Tourist Authority said.
The tourists will begin viewing the mummy Monday, Hawass said. The mummy
will remain in the tomb indefinitely - unlike other Egyptian royal mummies,
who are displayed in museums.
Canadian tourist Bryan Wadson said he and his wife would try to make it back
to the Valley of the Kings for the second time on Monday because they missed
the mummy Sunday.
"We're running out of time, but will try," he said after taking a photo with
Hawass.
But not every tourist was eager to find out that Tut will be removed from
his sarcophagus and put on display.
"I really think he should be left alone in quiet, in peace," said British
tourist Bob Philpotts. "This is his resting place, and he should be left
(there)."
John Taylor, an assistant keeper at the British Museum's department of
ancient Egypt and Sudan, said tourists won't be the only ones to benefit -
putting Tut on display in a climate controlled case.
"In some ways, it could be advantageous to monitor the condition to see if
the mummy is stable," he said by telephone from London.
Hawass said along with putting Tut on display, experts will begin another
project trying to determine the pharaoh's precise royal lineage. It is
unclear if he is the son or a half brother of Akhenaten, the "heretic"
pharaoh who introduced a revolutionary form of monotheism to ancient Egypt
and was the son of Amenhotep III.
"Everyone is dreaming of what he looks like. The face of Tutankhamun is
different from any king in the Cairo museum. With his beautiful buck teeth,
the tourists will see a little bit of the smile from the face of the golden
boy," Hawass said.
King Tut's Mummy Returns to Egypt
Sunday, November 04, 2007
LUXOR, Egypt - The linen wrapped mummy of King Tut was put on public
display for the first time on Sunday - 85 years after the 3,000-year-old boy
pharaoh's golden enshrined tomb and mummy were discovered in Luxor's famed
Valley of the Kings.
Click here for photos: http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2581,00.html
Archeologists removed the mummy from his stone sarcophagus in his
underground tomb, revealing his shriveled leather-like face and body.
"The golden boy has magic and mystery and therefore every person all over
the world will see what Egypt is doing to preserve the golden boy, and all
of them I am sure will come to see the golden boy," Egypt's antiquities
chief Zahi Hawass told reporters under the intense Luxor sun.
Hawass said scientists began restoring King Tut's badly damaged mummy more
than two years ago after it was removed briefly from its sarcophagus and
placed into a CT scanner for the first time for further examination. Much of
the mummy's body is broken into 18 pieces that Hawass described looked like
stones that were damaged when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered
the mummy, took it from his tomb and tried to pull off his famous golden
mask.
But Hawass said he fears a more recent phenomenon - mass tourism - is
further deteriorating Tut's mummy. Thousands of tourists visit the
underground chamber every month.
"The humidity and heat caused by ... people entering the tomb and their
breathing will change the mummy to a powder. The only good thing (left) in
this mummy is the face. We need to preserve the face," said Hawass, who wore
his signature Indiana Jones-style tan hat.
The mystery surrounding King Tutankhamun and his glittering gold tomb has
entranced ancient Egypt fans since Carter first discovered the hidden tomb
on Nov. 4, 1922, revealing a trove of fabulous gold and precious stone
treasures.
Archeologists in recent years have tried to resolve lingering questions over
how he died and his precise royal lineage. Several books and documentaries
dedicated to the young pharaoh, who is believed to have been the 12th ruler
of ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty and ascended to the throne around the age of
8, are popular around the world.
In an effort to try to solve the mysteries, scientists removed Tut's mummy
from his tomb and placed it into a portable CT scanner for 15 minutes in
2005 to obtain a three-dimensional image. The scans were the first done on
an Egyptian mummy.
The results did rule out that Tut was violently murdered - but stopped short
of definitively concluding how he died around 1323 B.C. Experts for the time
though suggested that days before dying, Tut badly broke his left thigh,
apparently in an accident, that may have caused a fatal infection.
The CT scan also provided the most revealing insight yet into the life of
ancient Egypt's most famous king. He was well-fed, healthy, yet slightly
built, standing at 5 feet, 6 inches tall (170 centimeters) at the time of
his death. The scan also showed he had the typical overbite characteristic
of other kings from his family, large incisor teeth and his lower teeth were
slightly misaligned.
The unveiling of Tut's mummy comes amid a frenzy of international publicity
for the boy king. A highly publicized museum exhibit traveling the globe
drew more than 4 million people during the initial four-city American-leg of
the tour. The exhibit will open later this month in London and after it will
make a three-city encore tour in the U.S. beginning with the Dallas Museum
of Art.
The Egyptian tourism industry is hoping to capitalize on that interest and
draw tourists to Luxor to see something they couldn't at the museum - Tut's
mummy. More than 9 million tourists visited Egypt last year - up from 8.7
million the previous year, the Egyptian Tourist Authority said.
The tourists will begin viewing the mummy Monday, Hawass said. The mummy
will remain in the tomb indefinitely - unlike other Egyptian royal mummies,
who are displayed in museums.
Canadian tourist Bryan Wadson said he and his wife would try to make it back
to the Valley of the Kings for the second time on Monday because they missed
the mummy Sunday.
"We're running out of time, but will try," he said after taking a photo with
Hawass.
But not every tourist was eager to find out that Tut will be removed from
his sarcophagus and put on display.
"I really think he should be left alone in quiet, in peace," said British
tourist Bob Philpotts. "This is his resting place, and he should be left
(there)."
John Taylor, an assistant keeper at the British Museum's department of
ancient Egypt and Sudan, said tourists won't be the only ones to benefit -
putting Tut on display in a climate controlled case.
"In some ways, it could be advantageous to monitor the condition to see if
the mummy is stable," he said by telephone from London.
Hawass said along with putting Tut on display, experts will begin another
project trying to determine the pharaoh's precise royal lineage. It is
unclear if he is the son or a half brother of Akhenaten, the "heretic"
pharaoh who introduced a revolutionary form of monotheism to ancient Egypt
and was the son of Amenhotep III.
"Everyone is dreaming of what he looks like. The face of Tutankhamun is
different from any king in the Cairo museum. With his beautiful buck teeth,
the tourists will see a little bit of the smile from the face of the golden
boy," Hawass said.
