Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues

This is a living example of technology advancement. We accepted things and events

attributing their cause to nature and her wrath. However, advancement and

technology could give us a different picture. This way, it has become a habit with us

to accept everything that history states and dictates. On the process the modern

world has found ways to offer a different view on it. In other words, the modern world

has turn impossibilities to possibilities. William’s report gives an insight into this. A

mummy scanned after a thousand years has opened new avenues regarding a

cause of it’s’ death. The mummy referred to here is that of King Tut or Tutankhamen,

meaning the living image of Amun. The earlier ruler, Amenhotep-IV has shocked the

country by attacking Amun, a major God, smashing his images and closing all his

temples. His family had ruled for centuries before the boy king, Tut took over.

However, Tut ruled for nine years and then died both mysteriously and unexpectedly.

The scanning of Tut’s mummy also gave an insight as to how mummies were buried.

Howard Carter, who scanned the body found it difficult to extract the mummy. The

ritual resins had hardened thereby cementing Tut to the bottom of his solid gold

coffin. Carter finally had to chisel the mummy away having no other option. Every

major point was severed. Tut was buried with gold which was meant to guarantee the

resurrection and was also buried with every day things he would need in his after-life.

Tut also had things to take on his journey to the great beyond-glittering goods,

precious collars, necklaces and sandals, all of pure gold. The computed Tomography

scan couldn’t solve the mysterious death of Tut but gave us clues for sure. The X-

rays and C.T. scan reveal a startling fact-the breast bone and the Pont ribs of Tut

were missing. Such a revelation would not have been possible without technological

precision. This fact gives us a clue that Tut, in all likelihood did not die a natural

death.

Technology hasn’t been able to give us a definite answer to Tut’s death. However, it

has given us a direction to think and proceed. Maybe in future, technology would

solve it for us. The whole excavation and the scan required scores of people. It was a

grueling job and the workers had a tough time. After the pharaoh was rested in peace

again, Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities

said, “I didn’t sleep last night, not for a second. I was worried. But now I think I will go

and sleep.” It just proves how tough the whole process was. In other words, King Tut

is one of the first mummies to be scanned-in death as in life. He was famous when

he was alive and his untimely death has raised the necessity to probe the lingering

mysteries of this young ruler who died more than 3,300 years ago.

 Revision

Tutankhamun was one of the Egyptian Pharaohs. He became a king at a

very small age of 15 or so but after a short period of time he was probably

murdered by his enemies. We have no clues about why he was murdered,

by whom, with what, and many others. What we know now is that he was

buried solemnly after being mummified and encased in three coffins one

in the other. He was buried with gold, silk garments, diamonds and even

with under garments because the ancient Egyptians believed in life after

death. After his grand burial, a pyramid was erected upon his tomb. This is

a very famous pyramid in Egypt’s long history. All this happened 3300

years ago.

1.    Who was Tutankhamun?

2.    What do you know about his death?

3.    How was Tutanhamun buried after his life?

Centuries passed. In the year 1920, an archaeologist, Howard Carter,

discovered this tomb. Note that it was after 3300 hundred years of Tut’s

burial! Carter was a British citizen and therefore he didn’t have the beliefs

of the Egyptians. The Egyptians never tried to go near Tut’s tomb because

they had feared that going near Tut’s tomb was disasterous. It could invite

the Pharaoh’s curse! Like other British citizens, carter also believed that

this was just a superstition to keep thieves away from the tomb and from

the enormous wealth buried with the little Pharaoh. Anyway carter was not

scared. He decided to take Tut’s body out.

1.    Who was Howard Carter?

2.    What discovery did he make in 1920?

3.    What superstition had prevailed about Tutankhamun? Did Carter believe

this? Why?

But taking Tut’s body wasn’t that easy. Carter and his team broke the

three gold coffins one after the other. Finally they broke the innermost

coffin and saw the dried, hard body of Tut! It was really wonderful to see

the dead body of a 3300 year old mummy and to know for sure that his

name was Tutankhamun. Don’t you think so? I would have felt a creeping

feeling!!! However, Howard carter was a strong heart. He then decided to

take the body out of the coffins but soon realized that that was not so

easy because the body had got hardened with the resins and separating

the body from the coffin was IMPOSSIBLE! But Carter could not think of

leaving the body there. He feared the thieves who could destroy the

mummy for stealing the valuable wealth inside, so Carter decided to cut

Tut’s body into pieces.

1.    Why wasn’t it easy to take out Tut’s body out of the third coffin?

2.    Why could not Carter think of leaving Tut’s body in the tomb?

That really happened: Carter amputed Tut’s hands, legs and all the other

joints. You can call it a kind of a 21st century murder of a 1300 BC

Pharaoh and the Murder was committed by HOWARD CARTER. Carter had

no other option because for him the mummy was more important than the

treasures. Having taken the sliced pieces of Tut, Carter rejoined them into

Tut again.Why did Carter ampute Tut’s body? Well, Carter received

criticisms from everywhere for killing an ancient mummy but Carter went

ahead with his discovery. After some years, probably after Carter’s death,

a doctor performed an Xray and found out that one of Tut’s bones was

missing from his reassembled body. How did it happen? No one knows!

Years passed and archaeologists and scientists performed a number of

studies and experiments.

1.    Why was Carter criticized?

2.    Do you think Carter was absolutely wrong in amputing Tut’s body? Why?

3.    What did the Xray images reveal of Tutankhamun?

The most remarkable experiment performed on Tut’s body was that his

whole body was CT Scanned in the year 2001. The first Pharaoh to be CT

Scanned and Xrayed! The first Egyptian to taste the most modern

scientific treatment! The first man to be honored with modern technology!

Tut is outstanding, amazing, lucky.

1.    How is King Tutankhamun ahead of his countrymen and all the men who

lived and died on this earth?

Questions & Answers

1.    When was Tutankamun’s mummy first discovered?

2.    What are the modern world’s speculation about his death? OR What new

clues has the scientific world got about the life and death of Tut?

Tutankhamun’s mummy was first discovered in the year 1920 by

archaeologist Howard Caretr’s team. The modern world speculates that he

was the last of the Pharaohs of a powerful dynasty. He was less than

twenty years when he was probably murdered whereas he became king at

a very younger age.

3.    What are the facts behind the curse of the Pharaoh?

4.    Why did Howard Carter ampute Tut’s mummy?

5.    Give an account of Tut’s funerary treasures.

6.    King Tutankamun was outstanding during his life and beyond that.

Explain.

7.    What were Howard Carter’s contributions to archaeology? Why was he

criticized for the same?

The Saga Continues – Which Saga?

Uncertainty still surrounds his death. He may have been assassinated, or died as the result of an injury received while hunting. Because the mummies were buried with tons of gold and other valuables, it was a custom in ancient Egypt to spread a warning about each Pharaoh and it was to keep tomb-raiders and local thieves away. When Tut was buried, this was the warning – “Do not disturb the little pharaoh’s sleep. Do not approach!”

Vocabulary

Ransack – Search vigorously for a lost thing. Artefacts – Human made objects Nested – Arrange in a way that one is kept in another and similarly the first two in a

third one. Resins – Sticky substance of brown color Budge – Move from one place Consolidated – Brought together Chisel – A carpenter’s tool Circumvent – Intrude Great beyond – Heaven Inlaid – Set into the surface of something Amulet – Ornament worn on the shoulder Bracelet – Ornament for the wrist Intervening – To occur between two incidents Intriguing – Captivating; fascinating Sophisticated – High end technology CT – Computed tomography Lingering – Remaining Demise – Death Death-rattle – The last sound of a dying person Aftermath – Effect; consequence Aten – Sun God Akhenaten – Servant of Aten Thebes – A city in Egypt Wacky – Crazy

Amun – Another god of Egypt Restoration – Revival Regally – Like a king Eerie – Superstitious; weird Pallbearers – One of a couple of people who carry a funeral coffin