14. Bibliography of Books
Berger, M., & Berger, G. (2001). Mummies of the Pharaohs. Washington DC:
National Geographic Society.
Chrisp, P. (2002). Ancient Egypt Revealed. New York: DK Publishing.
Macdonald, F. (2000). Mummies and Tombs. New York: Lorenz Books.
McCall, H., & Antram, D. (2000). Egyptian Mummies. New York: Franklin Watts.
Rubalcaba, J. (2007). Ancient Egypt: Archeology Unlocks the Secrets of the Past.
Washington DC: National Geographic Society.
These books came from the Buffalo Public Library 2010
Editor's Notes
The ancient Egyptians believed that every human had two parts to their spirit the ba, which was responsible for a person’s character, and the ka, which represented a person’s life force. When someone died, his ka was believed to live on in his physical body, so it was essential to preserve it. “ (McCall & Antram, 2000) We call this preserved body a mummy.
Most people think of the Great Pyramids of Giza when talking about Pharaohs. But most of the Pharaohs were buried in the cliffs of the Valley of the Kings about 500 miles to the south of Giza.
The map shows where some of the 62 different tombs have been found. Most of the tombs were for the pharaohs, but some were for family members, noblemen or favored pets. The photo shows the valley. As you can see the hill or mountain looks like a pyramid and this is why the valley was chosen. The other reason it was chosen was because there was only one entrance, so it was easy to guard against thieves.
A cut about 4 inches long was made near the left hip to remove the lungs, liver intestines and stomach. See hole in mummy on the right. Removing the internal organs helped to stop the rest of the flesh from rotting. The brain was removed by pushing the hook blade up the nostrils and whisking the brain until it turned to liquid and drained out the nose. (see brain drain top photo) The bodies were stuffed with linen and sawdust to keep its shape.
The process of mummification took about 70 days. Here we see King Tut’s golden toes. He had special gold covers pushed over his fingers and toes. Check out the detail drawn in to show toenails. He also wore gold flip flops!
These organs could not be thrown away because they were part of the body and might be used by a magician for a spell against a dead person. (MacDonald p 14) The heart remained in the body because they thought this was the seat of the soul. (Berger p 58-59)
The more important the person the more coffins he/she had. King Tut had 3 coffins, one being solid gold, inside the stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was inside four shrines of gilded wood boxes that were elaborately decorated. (Antram & McCall p 21)
This is believed to be the mummy of Ramses the I. He died in 1290 BC.
Seti’s father was Ramses and he was father to Ramses II. Seti’s tomb is the largest in the valley of the Kings. In 2008 during an excavation archeologists discovered that the crypt is 446’ long instead of the original 338’ long. (nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080417-seti-tomb.html)
When explorers found Ramses’s body they removed it from the tomb. They unwrapped it and placed it on the ground. According to an old story, the broiling sun caused the mummy’s crossed arms to slowly separate and rise– leading many to think the pharaoh had come back to life. Ramses died when he was 92 years old. (which was ancient for that time period!)
King Tut died at the age of 18. The x-ray shows something sinking into his head. The reason that most people thought that Tut died to a blow to head was from this X ray. The truth is when Tut's mummy was unwrapped, his head was put on a stand that held the head by a pole from the back of the neck going into his skull. The CT scan proves on the bottom right proves this to be false. Murder can not be ruled out though. What can’t a CT scan show? (if he was poisoned) [Rubalcaba p 31]
