UNRAVELLING THE MUMMY MYSTERY

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Wooden inner coffin of Irtyru, 26th Dynasty

Compiled by Tony High

Pages in this article: [ UNRAVELLING THE MUMMY ] [ IDENTIFYING THE MUMMIES ] [ X-RAYING THE MUMMIES ] [ USING DNA ]

Our knowledge of the ancient Egyptian royal families and their relationships lies perhaps more to chance than methodical archaeological excavation. If it were not for the voracity of the Theban Arabs, we may never have had the chance to gaze upon the faces of the once mighty pharaohs such as Ramesses II and Thutmosis III. Indeed, it was the English author Amelia B. Edwards writing "A thousand miles up the Nile" published in 1877, who first made a reference to the attitude of the Theban Arabs:

Amelia Edwards

Edwards may have been intimating to the el-Rassul family, who had discovered by chance a secret cache of some 32 royal mummies and 8 anonymous mummies which they plundered in secret until they were caught by the Egyptian authorities in 1881. [i] After extensive interrogation of the Rassul family, Abd el-Rassul led Emile Brugsch, the assistant keeper of the Bulaq museum to the location of the cache.

Upon hearing this news, Edwards claimed that it had actually been located twenty years earlier, as whilst she was in Luxor she had heard "whispers about this time of a tomb that had been discovered on the western side, a wonderful tomb rich in all kinds of treasures." On the 6th July 1881, Brugsch was lowered some 40ft down the cliffs of Deir el-Bahri to the secret entrance. On entering the cave, he described the scene thus:

Emile Brugsch

[i] Chronicles of the Pharaohs. Peter Clayton. Page 103

Brugsch and the Egyptian authorities quickly made the decision to have the cache moved to Cairo before local treasure hunters could provoke riots in an effort to lay their hands on its contents. This involved a huge workforce of 300 men toiling through the day and night from 6th-11th July 1881. A film based on the events was made in 1969 by the Egyptians entitled "The Night of the Counting of Years".

In March 1898, yet another royal cache was discovered by the French Egyptologist Victor Loret. Loret had discovered the tomb of Amenhotep II, which unexpectedly contained a side chamber, housing a number of other royal mummies, fifteen in all, each as illustrious as those in the tomb of Brugschs's find. To date only nine have been superficially identified.

Vicotr Loret

The sheer number and poor state of preservation of the mummies completely baffled scholars. However, after careful examination of the bodies, it was noticed that each body had an identification label attached to it; giving details of who and when the mummy was moved and re-wrapped. Below are details from a docket found on the body of Ramesses II:

High Priest Pinudjem

[ii] Valley of the Kings: Decline of a Royal Necropolis. C N Reeves. Page 235

The last attested date known for the re- wrapping and re-interment of the New Kingdom mummies by subsequent pharaohs is year 11 of Shoshenq I of the 22nd Dynasty c. 934 BC [iii] By the end of the 21st Dynasty, Egypt had lost her military authority over Nubia and her prized natural resources, along with the lucrative trade routes to the south. This severe loss of revenue greatly affected Egypt’s influence and prestige in the Levant. The re-wrappings at first glance, may appear to be a pious act by later pharaohs, venerating and ensuring the eternal existence of their once great ancestors. However in reality, in an effort to revive Egypt's declining economy, the exercise was nothing more than state sanctioned robbery, coveting the royal mummies of their bullion and treasures that lay hidden beneath the layers of linen bandages.

[iii] Clayton ibid

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