King Tut

KING TUT Austin Mardon • Suad Alad • Gurman Barara • Ishpreet Chana • Irene Falade • Rokya Harun • Jamie Johnson • Amy Li • Jennifer Pham • Noah Varghese i Copyright © 2021 by Austin Mardon All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal. First Printing: 2021 Editors: Anastasiya Yermolenko & Shinead Persaudorotal Typeset and cover design by Gillian Austin ISBN: 978-1-77369-267-8 Golden Meteorite Press #103, 11919 82 St NW Edmonton, AB T5B 2W3 www.goldenmeteoritepress.com ii Table of Contents Who was King Tut? His Royal Lineage and Reign ........................................................ 1 What is the impact that King Tut left? ........................................................................... 7 The theories surrounding King Tut’s death& the rediscovery of King Tut’s tomb .... 13 Ancient Egyptian Society Surrounding Death .............................................................19 The insight into Ancient Egyptian Religion, Wealth and Culture ................................25 King Tut: an Insignificant King? ...................................................................................31 What is Science and History That is Being Extracted From King Tut ........................37 King Tut and Ancient Egyptian Culture Misinterpreted in Pop Culture? ....................43 Where is King Tut now? What is King Tut’s role in the Future? ..................................49 References ....................................................................................................................57 iii KING TUT v CHAPTER 1 Who was King Tut? His Royal Lineage and Reign GURMAN BARARA ing Tut, or Tutankhamun, was the King of Ancient Egypt for about a decade and ruled from 1333 to 1324 BC, during an era known as the 18th dynasty. He was born in Ancient Egypt circa 1341 BC and was initially named Tutankhaten—which translates to the “living image of Aten”. Aten was the Ancient Egyptian Sun deity, often portrayed as a solar disk emitting rays. King Tut was the last pharaoh from his royal family to rule Ancient Egypt during the 18th dynasty. K King Tut’s Royal Lineage King Tut was the grandson of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. Amenhotep III is believed to have maintained prosperity amongst Ancient Egypt and pushed for the development of structures. Amenhotep III was about 12 years old when he became the Pharaoh; he also got married to Tiye around this time. He set out to implement many structural and building initiatives, which were inspired by his father, Tuthmose IV. Amenhotep III was also a great hunter and military leader. During his reign, cities were refurbished, several temples in honor of deities such as Amun and his consort Mut were built, statues of gods were raised and the roads were improved to allow easier travel amongst merchants. Amenhotep III also formed strong, profitable relations between Egypt and its surrounding nations through the exchange of luxurious gifts and gold. The combination of these factors essentially led Ancient Egypt to an economic boom. A monumental structure that is believed to have been developed by Amenhotep III is the Colossi of Memnon. The two statues—initially developed to guard the Pharaoh’s mortuary temple—are the only remaining pieces of Amenhotep’s temple. Amenhotep III worked closely with Queen Tiye, and they are often portrayed at the same height or level in statues and artwork, symbolizing the level of equality and power in their relationship. Religion was of great importance to the Ancient Egyptians and played a role in their daily lives. Priests had a lot of power and influence during this time. Particularly, the Priests of Amun—the god of the sun and air— were continuing to rise in power and had almost as much wealth as the king, posing a potential threat to the throne. Amenhotep III did not 1 interfere with any religious practices of the time, nor did he push for political movements to favour the worship of a particular god or deity. Pharaoh Amenhotep III, ruled Egypt for about four decades until his death in 1353 BC The cause of death is believed to be a severe dental infection but is often disputed among researchers and historians. Amenhotep III was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep IV, who later on became known as Akhenaten. Although there is some controversy and some researchers and historians think otherwise, King Tut is widely believed to be the son of Akhenaten, who was initially known as Amenhotep IV. Akhenaten was the predecessor of Tutankhamun and is believed to have been a controversial Pharaoh in the 18th Dynasty. Akhenaten was married to Queen Nefertiti shortly after becoming the Pharaoh. His reign lasted from approximately 1353 B.C. to 1335 B.C. For centuries, religious practices in Ancient Egypt were considered polytheistic—the belief that there is more than one god. However, during Akhenaten’s reign, he forbade the worship of several gods and ordered that everyone worship only one god, Aten. As previously mentioned, Aten was the Sun deity in Ancient Egypt that Tutankhaten was named after. Akhenaten thus caused a shift in Ancient Egyptian society from polytheism to monotheism—the belief that there is only god. During this religious shift, Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten in honour of the deity Aten. The practice of worshiping only Aten, is referred to as Atenism. With Akhenaten’s push towards Atenism, many temples and sacred shrines that honoured other gods or deities (such as Amun) were damaged and ruined. The structural monuments and temples that were built during Akhenaten’s reign were dedicated to the sun disk, Aten. It is also believed that during this time, the names of gods and deities, besides Aten, were erased from religious inscriptions. The conversion of religion caused a lot of chaos amongst society, and many social, political and economic factors were disrupted. It is not clearly understood as to why Akhenaten pushed for Atenism. It does seem that the intention of this shift from polytheism to monotheism was to reduce the power and political impact of priests to bring military commanders and government administrators of the time into power. As previously discussed, the priests of Amun were a growing power during the reign of Amenhotep III. Although Amenhotep III may not have perceived this as a threat to the throne, it is likely that Akhenaten saw this as a threat and thus pushed for religious movements to bring the priests of Amun out of power. The religious shift caused by Akhenaten in Ancient Egyptian society was not well accepted. During his reign, the religious capital was changed from Thebes to Amarna. Amarna was established in the desert because of its symbolic sunrise, which would represent the sun disk, Aten. It is suggested that Akhenaten dedicated most, if not, his entire power as Pharaoh into the religious conversion. Under Akhenaten’s rule, foreign affairs were neglected and Ancient Egypt had fallen from its prestigious status and wealth that was developed during the reign of his father, Amenhotep III. 2 For forbidding the worship of other gods in favour of Aten, Akhenaten is often referred to as the “heretic king”. Akhenaten died after about 17 years of being the Pharaoh, and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son, Tutankhaten. The Reign of Tutankhamun Following his father’s death, Tutankhaten became the next Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt at the age of nine. Due to his young age, he was referred to as the Boy King. For the first few years of his reign, it is likely that Egyptian affairs were controlled by Ay—a high ranking political advisor—and Horemheb—a military commander. The political powers during this time sought to reverse the religious changes implemented by Akhenaten. Essentially, by reversing the changes implemented by Akhenaten, Ancient Egypt would shift from Atenism and monotheistic beliefs back to traditional polytheism. The reversal of Atenism to polytheism did not mean that the worship of Aten would be forbidden. This is because Aten was still one of the deities that was worshipped prior to the religious conversion implemented by Akhenaten. Tutankhaten had changed his name to Tutankhamun which means the “living image of Amun”. This was done to honour the god and deity Amun, who his father had tried to erase and eradicate from religious practices. During his reign, Tutankhamun and his advisors ordered the repair of temples and monuments that his father had destroyed, abandoned the capital made by Akhenaten (Amarna) and moved back to Thebes, and wanted to rebuild the positive foreign relations that his grandfather, Amenhotep III, had developed with surrounding nations. During Tutankhamun’s reign, Egypt engaged in battles with the Nubians and Syrians, possibly regarding territory and trade routes. The idea to restore order and traditional religious practices in Ancient Egypt was so that the gods would look favourably upon the Egyptians once again. This goes to show the impact of religion in Ancient Egypt and how the beliefs of Ancient Egyptians influenced their decisions; religion also ties into how modern day researchers perceive and understand Ancient Egyptian history. Although Tutankhamun set out to reverse the religious changes implemented by his father and re-establish foreign relations, he died at the age of 19 and was unable to accomplish all of this. During his reign, traditional religious practices were brought back and several temples and shrines dedicated to Amun were restored. Tutankhamun’s reign, followed by the reigns of the Ay and Horemheb are believed to be one of the greatest periods of restoration and reform in Ancient Egypt. Tutankhamun was married to Ankhesenamun, who was his half-sister. They did not have any surviving offspring, although it is believed that Ankhesenamun gave birth to two children, both of whom died shortly after or during birth. Following King Tut’s death, Ankhesenamun married Ay, Tutankhamun’s successor. 3 Death of Tutankhamun Tutankhamun’s death marked the end of the Royal Family’s lineage as King Tut had no offspring who would become heir to the throne. Following his death, his political advisor Ay, is believed to have risen to the throne and continued to reform Egypt. Ay’s successor was Horemheb, the military commander during King Tut’s reign. Horemheb further carried out the policies established during Tutankhamun’s reign and destroyed the city developed by Akhenaten and tore down any monuments and temples that honoured Aten to bring back traditional beliefs of Amun. Horemheb also continued to reform positive relationships with surrounding nations to bring Egypt back to its prosperous status during the rule of Amenhotep III. Although Egypt was restored to its prestige during Horemheb’ s reign, the peak of Ancient Egyptian prosperity and glory is accredited to Amenhotep III, making him one of the greatest Pharaohs Ancient Egypt had seen. The death of King Tut is an area of debate and there are several proposed theories. Tutankhamun is believed to have died circa 1324 B.C. due to causes that still remain a mystery. Following his death, Tutankhamun was mummified. Mummification is an ancient tradition where the royal bodies are preserved and placed into tombs along with several artifacts for the afterlife. Upon discovery of his mummy, it was observed that there was some damage in the back of his head. This led to the proposition that King Tut could have been assassinated by a hard hit to the head. However, it was later concluded that the damage in the head likely occurred due to poor handling during the mummification process. King Tut’s mother is believed to be one of his father’s sisters. This has led to the theory that Tutankhamun’s early death could have been a result of poor health due to the fact that he was inbred. Inbreeding was a common practice amongst the royal family, where Pharaohs would often marry their siblings, half-siblings, cousins etc. Another study looked at analyzing Tutankhamun’s DNA to identify the cause of death. It was found that he had a malarial infection, which likely played a role and contributed to his death as well. Computed tomography scans also showed that King Tut had an infected, broken leg, which could have been a result of an injury. Several canes (walking sticks) were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, suggesting that this leg injury may have been something the King lived with during his life. Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb The tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter and George Herbert in the Valley of the Kings. A lot of what is known about King Tut is a result of this discovery. Within the tomb, several artifacts were found including things such as paintings about Tutankhamun’s journey to the afterlife, toys, jewelry, oils, spears, weapons etc. The discovery of these artifacts allowed a better understanding of life of Ancient Egypt and the boy king himself. Tutankhamun’s mummy was preserved for over 3000 years and was covered in several pieces of jewelry and an Egyptian death mask. 4 The gold mask on King Tut’s head is believed to resemble Osiris, the Ancient Egyptian god of death and the afterlife. Tutankhamun’s gold mask is one of the most famous antique pieces of art in Egyptian history. The purpose of a death mask is to form a connection between the deceased and spirit world. Also, it is believed that the death mask allows for the soul to be able to recognize the deceased body and be able to return to it. Tutankhamun’s name was erased by Horemheb, when he subsequently became the king. As such, all records of King Tut were lost until the discovery of this tomb. There is also evidence that indicates Tutankhamun’s tomb had been previously broken into, but following the 20th dynasty, Tutankhamun’s tomb and name were largely forgotten. The discovery of the tomb and its ancient treasures and valuable artifacts became quite famous and King Tut became better known than any other well documented Pharaoh that preceded or succeeded him. Several worldwide exhibits that showcased King Tut’s ancient treasures took place in the late 20th century. In today’s date, the discovered artifacts and treasures are kept at the Egyptian Museum located in Cairo. Tutankhamun’s mummy is also on display in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Historical Considerations and Tutankhamun As previously mentioned the existence of King Tut came to light after the discovery of his tomb about 100 years ago. Before that, he was a forgotten figure in Ancient Egyptian history. This goes to show that a lot of ancient history is lost and conditional upon the discovery of some form of evidence or historical artifact. For instance, during Akhenaten’s reign, he tried to eradicate the structures and inscriptions of all gods other than Aten. Although Tutankhamun tried to reverse this and reform traditional religious practices, the loss of some information regarding other gods through the destruction of scriptures and monuments is inevitable. Furthermore, had the rulings of Akhenaten not been reversed by Tutankhamun and other successors, historians today may not even have discovered who Amun was and the traditional polytheistic beliefs that existed in Ancient Egypt. A recurring theme in the study of ancient history is the ambiguity and conflict between information and theories. For example, it is widely suggested by some historical sources that Akhenaten was Tutankhamun’s father. This suggestion is based on genetic testing between the mummies upon discovery of the tombs of the Pharaohs. However, some other historians and archaeologists believe that Tutankhamun was actually the son of Amenhotep III, making him the brother of Akhenaten. Likewise, some sources suggest that King Tut’s parents were actually cousins rather than brother and sister. Not to mention, the cause of Tutankhamun’s death is an area of debate as well. The fact that several contradictory theories exist regarding ancient history—in this case, King Tut’s relationship with Akhenaten or his death—suggests that one’s beliefs also play a role in the perception of historical events. It is important to mention that the artifacts evidence discovered in today’s date are often used to understand history and make sense of the entire sequence of events. For example, some historians argue and suggest that Tutankhamun was not active in military affairs. However, the discovery of weapons such as throwing sticks, bows and arrows, and spears 5 in Tutankhamun’s tomb may suggest that what is perceived as the “boy king” may have actually been an active warrior and engaged in military campaigns in the battles against the Nubians and Syrians. All in all, the discovery of historical artifacts are important as they allow historians and archaeologists to formulate reasonable perceptions of the past and minimize ambiguity. The discovery of King Tut’s tomb has allowed researchers to better understand Ancient Egyptian culture and religion, monumental structures and essentially discover a part of history that had been lost for centuries. King Tut’s tomb and the impact that he had during the 18th dynasty is still an area of study and research in today’s date. The worldwide exhibits to showcase the Treasures of Tutankhamun raised a lot of awareness regarding Ancient Egyptian culture and artifacts, making King Tut one of the most famous Pharaohs known to have ruled Ancient Egypt. 6 CHAPTER 2 What is the impact that King Tut left? ROKYA HARUN he mysteries surrounding ancient Egyptian civilization have garnered the attention of both curious scholars and laypeople alike. For example, ancient Egyptian religions, architecture, politics, and artifacts revealing insight into ancient Egyptian life and culture are of the many topics of interest pursued in modern times to understand the breadth of this civilization. King Tutankhamen is one of the studied Egyptian pharaohs following the discovery of his relatively intact and undisturbed tomb in the twentieth century. King Tut only reigned in Egypt as a young king for a short period of time due to his early death. Despite this, King Tut had an influence on Egypt’s history and religion during the time he was alive even with much of the records of his existence being destroyed following his death. After the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, he continued influencing modern day Egypt’s political relationships with Western societies. Although King Tut could not accomplish as much as other rules of Ancient Egypt due to his ailments and early death, he is considered the most well-known of the Egyptian pharaohs as his tomb is well preserved and has many exhibited artifacts. As a result, King Tut has left behind a lasting impact on Western societies’ knowledge about ancient Egyptian traditions. T King Tutankhamen’s Impact on Egyptian Religion during His Reign King Tut’s most notable accomplishment during his reign was the reversal of the unrest in Egypt caused by his possible father, King Akhenaten. Simmons (2019) explains that King Akhenaten angered many Egyptian civilians alongside the countries that Egypt held diplomatic relationships with when he promoted the cult of Aten and renounced the widely practiced cult of Amen (also known as Amun). Akhenaten neglecting his duties of maintaining and developing the kingdom’s foreign affairs and favoring monotheism had caused ancient Egypt’s power abroad to decline, especially in Syria and Palestine, all of which caused civil unrest and political turmoil. Following Tutankhamen’s succession to Akhenaten and his possible brother, Smenkhkare, King Tut originally embraced the cult of Aten since this was the religion he grew up with, which is evident by him first being given the name of Tutankhaten, meaning “gracious of life is Aten”. Within about two years of King Tut’s reign, he changed his name to Tutankhamen meaning “gracious of Life is Amen”, displaying his support for the Amen religion. According to Moussi & Ben Ahmed (2016), the change in King Tut’s and his wife’s names possibly reflected their beliefs towards Amen and potentially pleased the angry priests who were denied 7 the cult of Amen by King Akhenaten. However, it is generally believed by historians that King Tut was too young to make his own independent decisions, since he was only nine years old during the time he ascended the throne. As a result, his advisor Ay and general Horemheb made most of his executive decisions by persuading and influencing King Tut until he would become of ruling age. For example, King Tut’s impressionable young mind was likely influenced by Ay and Horemheb to change his name within two years of his reign. Similarly, at the age of eleven and with aid from his advisors, King Tut abandoned the city of Akhenaten, which was named after King Akhenaten who created the city to show his devotion to Aten. As a result, the civilians of ancient Egypt were allowed to move back to their previous religious center and capital city, known as Thebes and moved the administrative center back to the capital city, known as Memphis. Alongside this, King Tut passed royal decrees that officially lifted the ban of Amenism, which was placed by Akhenaten, and therefore, helped reinstate their old gods. Since King Tut did not hold Akhenaten’s religious belief of one god, he helped shift Egypt’s main religion back to the Cult of Amen. This meant that Egypt’s citizens at the time could return to the stability and prosperity they experienced with Akhenaten’s father, who is also known as King Tut’s grandfather, King Amenhotep III, who managed to unite northern and southern Egypt with one religion, known as Amenism. It was likely Ay who suggested this political decision of moving back into Thebes and Memphis to demonstrate to the civilians and priests of ancient Egypt that they were slowly returning to their original ways that were seen prior to King Akhenaten’s implementation of his radical political and religious views. This political movement also helped to unite and strengthen the people of ancient Egypt who positively reacted to this display of support from the new kingdom that was now under King Tut’s reign. Evidently, King Tut’s major achievement during his short reign from 1332 BCE was his small role in contributing to the cult of Amen, which he had partaken in changing the course of history, with the help of his advisors, by reforming King Akhenaten’s poorly accepted decrees about Atenism. Baqai (2018) explains how the reform of Amenism may have contributed to modern day religions and mythologies. For example, fast forward to 332 BCE, Alexander the Great advanced into Egypt and adopted the idea that Zeus, according to the Greeks, was the king of gods similar to how Egyptians saw Amen-Ra. Therefore, Amen-Ra was compared to Zeus and impacted Greek mythology and later the Romans who believed in Jupiter, which was their version of Zeus. Further on into the future, Amen-Ra may also have had an influence on Christianity and Judaism. For instance, the ancient Egyptian God of Thebes, known as Amen, is an Egyptian word that was most likely acquired by the Hebrews and later passed down to Christianity. Moreover, since Amen-Ra was gaining so much power during the New Kingdom era of ancient Egypt, some have theorized that Egypt was becoming a monotheistic state at one point, since Amen-Ra took part in influencing a monotheistic belief later in history. All in all, there is some evidence to show that Amen-Ra could have influenced certain religions and civilizations that occurred in the future. King Tut put Amenism back on route to follow through with its course of history that may have influenced certain aspects of modern day religions and mythologies. To further understand why Tut’s reform of religion with his policies were pertinent to the history of Egypt, the extent of the damage done by Akhenaten must be explored to understand the 8 counteractive measures taken by Tut and his administration. Moussi & Ahmed (2016) explains that ancient Egyptians worshiped numerous deities through temples, art, and myths. As a result, Akhenaten’s worship of Aten alone was viewed as radical at the time, especially when Akhenaten passed on policies that banned the worship of the traditional gods, such as Amen, and closed their temples during the ninth year of his reign. He also moved the capital city from Memphis to the newly built city of Amarna (also known as Akhenaten), which was dedicated to Aten. This also meant that all the ancient Egyptian civilians that lived in the religious center of Thebes were relocated to Amarna. This drastic change meant that the traditional temple-based economy, which was run by the priests of ancient Egypt at the time, had been replaced by local administrators and military commanders under Akhenaten’s new regime. This led to businesses being ruined as Akhenaten’s religious endeavours nearly ruined Egypt’s finances. However, under King Tut’s reign, the capital was moved back to Memphis and all the civilians abandoned the city of Amarna and returned to Thebes, where new temples were built to show dedication to Amen-Ra. King Tut also sought to restore the diplomatic relations with other kingdoms that had been neglected by Akhenaten. The gifts from various countries found in his tomb provide evidence that suggests he may have been successful in mending some of the diplomatic relations. To summarize, moving back to Thebes restored the old ways of life before Akhenaten, which was well received by the ancient Egyptians, who could continue to practice Amenism and prosper for the many years to come. King Tut’s Other Achievements during His Reign - Monuments and Military Although King Tut’s reign was pivotal in the 3,000 year history of ancient Egyptian religion, his policies were most probably at the discretion of his advisors. However, Moussi & Ben Ahmen (2016) mentions that as King Tut grew into his teenage years and became more independent, he likely started making more of his own decisions, such as making the decisions to build temples and monuments dedicated to Amen and handling political relationships later on in his life. Despite this, many have often thought that King Tut’s reign was of little historical significance but the monuments that were built under his reign suggest others. King Tut’s reign had addressed the damage inflicted on the temples of Amen during Akhenaten’s reign. King Akhenaten began a wide-scale erasure of the traditional gods’ names, especially Amen’s. Akhenaten did not tolerate the majority of the traditional gods and had teams of workmen sent around the temples of Egypt to remove the names and images of these gods. During Tutankhamun’s reign, the old gods returned to Egypt and the old temples were rebuilt. The priests were also allowed to bring back the iconography and texts relating to their old religion back to their rightful places. Alongside the repair of holy sites, King Tut ordered the continuation of the construction at the temple of Karnak. His building work at the temple of Karnak consisted of embellishing the temple with images of religious figures consisting of Amen, Amunet and Khonset. To maintain the temples, Tutankhamen authorized his treasurer to conduct fiscal inspection of all the temples of the land. There were statues and sphinxes that depicted Tutankhamun and a small temple built with his name. King Tut also gave orders to build a temple in the far south in Kawa, in which the pair of granite lions from this temple are displayed in front of the entrance of the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum (Tour Egypt, 2011). 9 King Tut also tried to reform the military that had been neglected in Akhenaten’s reign that had left Egypt in a more vulnerable state (Tour Egypt, 2011). However, it is unlikely that King Tut actually took part in the military actions directly due to his young age and ailments. Although military involvement was minimal during King Tut’s reign, there may have been campaigns in Nubia and Palestine/Syria, as evident from a gesso box found in Tutankhamun’s tomb that depicted him conquering the Nubians and then the Syrians. Paintings in Horemheb’ s tomb potentially confirmed these campaigns. The campaigns in Palestine/Syria met with little success, but those in Nubia appear to have gone much better. The campaigns in Nubia appeared to have been more successful than the Syrian and Palestinian campaigns. Since Nubia revered Amen, it was important to maintain a peaceful relationship with them by reinstating the cult of Amen to continue the trading practices seen between Nubia and ancient Egypt. According to Simmons (2019), despite King Tut’s efforts to continue the worship of Amen, build new temples dedicated to the traditional gods and repair diplomatic relationships, Horemheb took credit for Tutankhamun’s work. Horemheb later became king and took ownership of reliefs and statues, in which the image of Tutankhamun is evident (Tour Egypt, 2011). Even the temples of Karnak ordered by King Tut were claimed by Horemheb. Much of King Tut’s records, such as inscriptions concerning Tutankhamun and his statues, were destroyed as he was still closely linked to the disgraced King Akhenaten (Simmons, 2019). In spite of this, King Tut played his part in leaving behind his impact on ancient Egypt’s religious history. Cultural Impact of Discovering King Tut’s Tomb on Western Society King Tut is the best known and most well studied of the Egyptian pharaohs due to his relatively intact tomb that was left hidden under debris in the Valley of Kings in Egypt, which would later be found by Howard Carter in 1922 (Simmons, 2020). Following the discovery of King Tut, Carter was caught between a political storm between the West and Egypt regarding who would lay claim to King Tut’s tomb and its possessions. Bell (2017) explains that before the discovery of King Tut, the general public in the West had orientalist attitudes towards ancient Egypt’s exotic artifacts, which were displayed in small museums. As a result, they were more fascinated by the beauty and the oddity of the objects displayed rather than the lives of the individuals and pharaohs that were associated with the ancient artifacts. After the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, media coverage immediately spread to the Western general public and introduced the realm of Egyptology and archaeology to people. The people’s interest in the tomb and its treasures encouraged artifact newspaper journalists to continue covering King Tut and his treasures for many years to come. King Tut’s discovery also served as a reason for Egyptians to claim a sense of nationalism, especially after they had just gained independence from Britain earlier in the same year of King Tut’s discovery. The discovery encouraged the Egyptian government to enforce a new law that stated that if any American or British excavator uncovered any artifacts, the only way they could lay claim to it and bring it into their museums, was if they were gifted to them by the Egyptian government. This was one way that Egypt could take back the powers they had lost, such as the dealings of Egyptian antiquities, when they were under British rule. It was the excavation of King Tut’s tomb that brought the questions of ownership into question and his tomb and belongings stayed in Egypt for the next three decades. 10 Despite the continuous political tension between Egypt and the western countries, Bell (2017) went on to explain that when flooding in Egypt became a threat to its ancient monuments in 1960, the preservation of the monuments became a major priority for the Egyptian government alongside various countries in the U.N. International negotiations were underway to save the monuments, which involved King Tut’s belongings leaving Egypt for the first time in the 1960s. To develop a plan to save the monuments, a campaign was created by the Egyptian Cultural Minister, Dr. Tharwat Okasha, and American Anthropologist, Dr. Froelich Rainey, to garner general public interest about the salvage campaign using government funds. They believed that interest could be generated by having artifacts from King Tut’s tomb be loaned by the Cairo Museum to travel to the United States. As a result, the Tutankhamun Treasures exhibit was created to tour major donor countries from 1961 to 1966 and was meant to serve as an educational tool. Not only was this exhibit a huge financial success, it also demonstrated how King Tut acted as a representative of Egypt and helped to improve the fragile public relationship seen between the United States and Egypt. This exhibit also sparked a new wave of obsession with Egypt as evident by the increasing amounts of jewelry, clothing and furniture in the United States that displayed influence of Egyptian art and design. Even after 3300 years after King Tut’s reign, he managed to create a cultural impact. He brought forth the opportunity for people to focus beyond the objects and funerary practices of Egypt and instead improve upon the discussion of the lives of the ancient Egyptians and their vast history. King Tut managed to influence Egypt’s history in the past and the present. Tutankhamun’s major achievement during his short reign were his reforms on religion, which allowed the ancient Egyptians to go back to practicing their polytheistic beliefs and continue worshiping Amen following a period of unrest that was caused by Akhenaten’s unpopular and radical religious interests. Although many historians believe his reign to be of minor significance, it cannot be refuted that King Tut has created a cultural impact that managed to revive a new wave of fascination about the lives of ancient Egyptian civilizations by scholars and lay people alike. 11 CHAPTER 3 The theories surrounding King Tut’s death and the rediscovery of King Tut’s Tomb IRENE FALADE Discovery of King Tutankhamen’s Tomb he death of King Tutankhamen aka King Tut, 3,000 years ago, has been surrounded by an air of mystery since the discovery of his tomb in 1922 by British Archaeologist Howard Carter. The tomb of King Tut and all the treasures that lay within it were discovered to be virtually untouched by grave robbers since being sealed at King Tut’s death and burial. King Tut was dubbed the title of ‘boy-king’ as archaeologists and scientists investigating his mummy found him to have been around the age of 17-19 when he suddenly died. King Tut’s rule as Pharaoh of Egypt was short lived and added to the curiosity and questions surrounding the cause of his death. Various theories have been developed over the years since the excavation of his tomb to explain the mystery of the boy-king’s death. King Tut’s mummified body was studied on four different occasions through the years, each leading to new information about the supposed cause of death. These theories range from foul play and murder orchestrated by King Tut’s inner circle to a Chariot crash, a broken leg that led to an infection, contracting a serious illness, malaria, or succumbing to general physical weakness as a result of inbreeding in the royal family. T Foul Play? Murder? One of the most famous theories on the death of King Tut is that he was murdered, it is suggested that it was foul play from a member of the boy-king’s inner circle in order to seize the title of Pharaoh. The root of this theory lies in the discovery of bone fragments in King Tut’s skull seen through an X-Ray of the mummy in 1968-1969 by Ronald Harrison and his team at Liverpool University. This discovery led to the belief that King Tut’s death was brought about by a blow to the head in a homicide. Immediate suspicion was placed on King Tut’s inner circle consisting of his wife, Ankhesenamun, his military general, Horemheb, and his Prime Minister, Ay. Egyptologist Bob Brier, Policemen Greg Cooper, and Mike King are notable individuals in the investigation of this theory. They believed 13 that the murder of King Tut was orchestrated by his Prime Minister, Ay in a move to secure his seat on the throne. Their suspect pool was narrowed down to who had the most to gain from the death of the boy-king and who seized power after his death. King Tut’s wife, Ankhesenamun is ruled out as it was believed the couple was truly in love with each other. The couple was married after the death of Pharaoh Akhenaten, their father, leaving King Tut as the only living male heir to the throne. Ankhesenamun was Tutankhamen’s half-sister, the only surviving daughter of Queen Nefertiti, making her fully royal; her marriage to King Tut was necessary to secure his right to the throne. Tutankhamen assumed the throne at age 9 and was guided by Ay and other courtiers leaving him and Ankhesenamun as King and Queen in name only according to Bod Brier. The couple grew up together and were depicted in the pictures in King Tut’s tomb as being wholly in love and very close, always by each other’s side. In addition to this, the finding of two mummified fetuses buried with King Tut, concluded to be his unborn daughters with Ankhesenamun suggests the couple grieved for their children and were a close family unit. These discoveries along with the fact that it was impossible for the wife of the Pharaoh couldn’t ascend the throne after his death according to Cooper and King; remove Ankhesenamun from being a legitimate suspect in the assumed murder of her husband. King Tut’s military general Horemheb was another main suspect in the murder of King Tut. Cooper and King suggested that being in control of Egypt’s army would’ve aided Horemheb in seizing the throne after the death of King Tut should he have coveted it. However, General Horemheb remained in his position and made no attempts at taking the throne once King Tut was allegedly murdered. This according to the theorists made him unlikely to have been involved in the foul play. This system of elimination left Brier, Cooper, and King with King Tut’s Prime Minister, Ay, as the assumed culprit in the murder. According to Egyptian history, Ay assumed the seat of Pharaoh after King Tut’s death, making him even more likely to have been behind the murder. Egyptologist Brier and policemen Cooper and King suggested that Ay had been ruling the kingdom as Tutankhamen’s regent, controlling everything behind the scenes because the boy-king was only 9 years of age when he was crowned. However, as King Tut was growing older, he may have begun to seek more involvement in running his kingdom and taking full control, which would’ve pushed his Prime Minister to the side. The theorists believed that Ay must have been reluctant to let go of his hold on the throne leading him to order someone to murder the boy-king, to completely seize control. Their theory is further supported by a letter that was sent to the King of the Hittites, Suppiluliumas I, by an unnamed royal widow of Egypt, assumed to be a Queen, begging the leader to send her one of his sons to wed because her husband was dead and she had no son. The widow was in fear that she would be forced to marry one of her ‘servants’. Servants here are used in quotes as it could’ve been applied to anyone, not of royal blood, and does not necessarily apply to those in labor jobs. This letter is presumed to have been penned by Queen Ankhesenamun after King Tut’s death and the servant is believed to have been referring to Prime Minister Ay. As a man of non-royal blood or relation to the royal family, Ay needed to marry the Queen to legitimize his Pharaohship. This increases the theorists’ belief that the letter was Queen Ankhesenamun referring to Ay. Furthermore, to support their theory, the Hittites King sent one of his sons to be wed to Queen Ankhesenamun; 14 unfortunately, he was killed on his journey to Egypt. It is suspected that forces loyal to Ay were behind the death of the Hittites Prince in order to get rid of Ay’s competition for the throne. This left Ankhesenamun with no choice but to be forced to marry the Prime Minister and his rule as Pharaoh being established. However, not too long after Ay’s rule, Queen Ankhesenamun mysteriously disappeared and is presumed dead although no record of her death has been found nor information on what truly happened to her. These pieces of evidence, put together by theorists like Egyptologist Bob Brier and Policemen Greg Cooper and Mike King, paint a story of King Tut’s death being orchestrated by his trusted Prime Minister Ay who wanted his throne. However, this speculation of murder is debunked by many others who study the history and tomb of King Tut. According to later CT scans of King Tut’s mummy, they concluded that the fragments of bone in his skull were not a result of being hit in the head, but instead the work of rough handling of the mummy by Howard Carter and his team in 1968. The fragments of bone were found to be loose which is unusual for an injury that might have occurred before the embalming process. The fragments would’ve been covered with solidified embalming material sticking to the resin inside the skull had it been an injury before death, which leads scientists to conclude that the fragments must have come loose after King Tut’s death. This more recent discovery makes the theory of foul play and murder become a more far-fetched story on King Tut’s death. Possibility of Chariot Accident? Another theory on the death of King Tut that gained popularity was the assumption that he was involved in a chariot accident that led to injuries and possible infections, the boy-king was unable to recover from. This theory gained traction in 1968 due to the x-ray images of King Tut’s mummy by Ronald Harrison and his team, which allowed for a more in-depth study by Egyptologists. The x-rays showed damage to the mummy’s left hand side of the torso, from the clavicle down to the pelvis, which to some like Egyptologist W Benson Harer, suggested being struck by a great force in an accident a few days before death. Due to the lack of weapons capable of such an injury, the suggestion of the impact being caused by a chariot wheel was brought forth. It was also noted that King Tut was depicted riding on chariots in various imagery, and his tomb contained chariots as well, further supporting the theory. Theorists concluded that a fall from a chariot could not have been responsible for the boy-king’s death because the injuries did not match up, leading them to investigate the possibility that King Tut was hit either on accident or purpose by a moving chariot. A Leg Fracture, Avascular Bone Necrosis, and Malaria In the CT scan images taken around 2005, scientists noted a fracture on King Tut’s left thigh bone that is believed to have occurred before his death. The embalming resin used in the mummified process was found to be coated around the edges of the fracture through the CT images. According to radiologist, Ashraf Selim, “The resin flowed through the wound and got into direct contact with the fracture and became solidified, something we didn’t see in any other area”. This discovery supports the theory that King Tut had the injury occur just before his death because there were no signs of healing found on the bone. Scientists 15 believe that while the fracture was not deadly, it would have caused an open wound which might have gotten infected and led to the death of the boy-king. Malaria Tropica, the most deadly and virulent strain of the mosquito borne disease, was found in King Tut’s mummy. The DNA of the parasite is known to be the oldest genetic proof of the disease and based on research done on the King; he was infected multiple times in his short life. Malaria severely weakens the immune system and would have slowed down the healing process of injuries. Supporters of this theory believe that malaria tropica was the infection King Tut contracted around the same time as the leg fracture, a combination of both leading to his death. Lack of antibiotics in that time period, leaving the boy-king especially vulnerable to the deadly disease while his immune system struggled to heal the fracture. In addition to these, King Tut was found to have club foot, a symptom of the rare condition of Kohler’s disease, Avascular Bone Necrosis. This a bone disorder where limited blood supply to the bone leads to weakening or destruction of tissue. Scientists claim it is an inherited disorder from other members of the royal family. The numerous canes, some well used, found in King Tut’s tomb lend more evidence to the possibility of the boy-king dealing with the disorder. Avascular Bone Necrosis, although painful, is not life threatening but theorists suspect the disease might have been behind the leg fracture that they claim instigated his death. This is one of the more likely theories on the causes of King Tut’s death, however because it is difficult to prove with a degraded body suffering multiple abnormalities from mishandling before and after discovery, it cannot be said with certainty that it is how the boy-king died. Epilepsy Another popular theory on the cause of King Tut’s death lies in historical accounts of his predecessors and painting and sculpture images of their feminized physique. This theory is connected to the earlier one on the leg fracture found on the boy-king’s mummy. Pharaohs before King Tut including his father, controversial King Akhenaten, were said to have suffered with religious visions in their lifetime. King Akhenaten’s experience with religious visions is especially notable because it pushed him into abandoning Egyptian tradition of polytheistic. Through messages from his religious visions, Akhenaten raised the status of a minor sun deity, Aten into a supreme god and implemented the earliest recorded monotheistic religion. This action is what prompted the controversy around his rule as Pharaoh. However, surgeon Hutan Ashrafian believed that the religious visions were a smaller part of a greater disorder, epilepsy. This form of epilepsy occurs with seizures in the temporal lobe of the brain, individuals suffering from the medical condition experience hallucinations and religious visions after exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, the temporal lobe is connected to areas of the brain that are involved in hormone release, which Ashrafian believed would explain the feminized physiques of King Tut and his predecessors. Their physiques included unusually large breasts and wide hips found in their images on paintings and sculptures. And as the temporal lobe is connected to hormone release, epileptic seizures tend to alter the level of hormones used in sexual development, hence the large breasts. These conclusions lead Ashrafian to believe the disorder could have been inheritable and that epileptic seizures could have been behind the unhealed 16 leg fracture on King Tut. This connects with the earlier theory on the leg fracture which would make the boy-king’s inadvertent cause of death, epilepsy. However, the downfall to this hypothesis is that there is no genetic test for epilepsy, making it impossible to prove if it was inherited by King Tut and a probable cause of his death. Neurologist, Orrin Devinsky also adds that there is no exact documentation of the timing of King Tut’s father, Ankhenaten’s religious conviction. This makes it difficult to assert if epilepsy was the sole leading cause for his religious visions. And in addressing the feminized physiques of King Tut and his predecessors, Zahi Hawass, a member of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiques states, that Egyptian Kings usually had themselves and family members represented in idealized fashion. That is to say, the paintings and sculptures might not be truly representative of how they looked in real life. One Egyptologist, John Darnell suspected that the feminized figures were political and religious statements signifying the Pharaohs were gods. He comes to this conclusion through King Akhenaten who he believed might have been seeking closeness with Aten, the sun deity who was neither man nor woman. These ideas contradict the epilepsy disorder and are equally plausible to hold truth in them. False Alarm on First Discovery of King Tut’s Tomb Originally, King Tut’s tomb was said to have been discovered in 1907 by Theodore Davis in the Valley of Kings. Theodore Davis was an American businessman and lawyer, known for his excavations in the Valley of Kings from 1902 - 1915. He and his team discovered over 20 tombs and burial deposits in Egypt. In 1907, Davis and an excavator, Edward Aryton, found a ceramic cup called faience with the name “Tutankhamun” on it. This cup connected King Tut and his tomb to the Valley of Kings for the excavators leading their frantic search for its location. Davis’ believed to have been close to unearthing the tomb of the elusive King Tut when he also discovered a small pit filled with different objects, one of which were mummy bandages with Tutankhamun on them. Davis presumed the tomb of King Tut to have been robbed and the objects were simply left-overs from the grave robbing. He did later find a small tomb that had been stripped empty by grave robbers and insisted it belonged to King Tut. After this discovery, Theodore Davis went on to publish a book titled, “The Tomb of Tutankhamun” where he made the famous declaration, “I fear the Valley of the Kings is now played out”. This statement implied that Davis believed he truly had found the tomb of King Tut and there was nothing left for people to go looking for in the Valley of Kings. Actual Discovery of King Tut’s Tomb This was the general belief until the year 1922 when Howard Carter, an excavator sponsored by the Earl of Carnarvon found the real tomb of King Tut perfectly intact in the Valley of Kings. Carter was on his last excavation season after years of coming up with nothing outside a few objects belonging to the boy-king. The tomb was located in an uncleared area below the entrance to Ramesses VI’s tomb. The king’s seal signifying a tomb belonging to a Pharaoh was found on the first blocked entrance on November 4. Clearing of the entrance on November 24, led to a second sealed doorway with the name Tutankhamun on it revealing the boy-king’s long sought out tomb. Carter and Lord Carnarvon entered 17 the inner chambers of the tomb on November 26 to find it virtually intact and untouched since the burial of King Tut over 3,000 years ago. The tomb contained 4 rooms filled with treasures belonging to the boy-king and a sarcophagus with three coffins inside one another, one of solid gold where his mummy rested. The biggest mystery of King Tut’s cause of death remains unsolved till today. As explained in this chapter, there are many different explanations developed by many different people, but each one also has skepticism applied to it. The mummy of King Tut is over 3,000 years old and has gone through a lot since its excavation that makes it difficult to ascertain what the condition of the boy-king’s body was like at his death. Mishandling has led to damage of the body that cannot be rectified, causing confusion and difficulty for scientists seeking answers from it. Another major issue is that, the cause of death could have left no trace making it impossible for anyone to ever gain the real truth of the matter. The answer to what killed King Tut is unlikely to ever be given with a 100% certainty because none of the people of today were around to witness it and there has been no documentation found that could ease the long held curiosity. 18 CHAPTER 4 Ancient Egyptian society surrounding death JAIME JOHNSON Death and the Afterlife he ancient Egyptians believed in immortality and the afterlife and based on the myth of Osiris they also believed they would be judged on how they lived their lives, as part of their transition to the other side (Pallis, n.d.). To them, death was not the end of life, but rather a transition to the next phase of life’s cycle (Balk, 2009). Balk (2009) further notes that their views of the afterlife were centered on being prepared for it and they believed the afterlife would provide both an easier and more enjoyable experience, especially if they had what they needed for their existence there. This would include their body and other earthly goods needed to survive. T Despite their belief that life was eternal, and that the afterlife was blissful, Mark (2017) comments on the fact that death was still feared by ancient Egyptians. He also points out that the way they mourned for their dead and reacted to death remained mostly unchanged throughout their history, and even continued through to the way people of today handle their reactions to death. They still felt a great sense of grief and most were certainly in no hurry to join their loved ones in eternal paradise despite knowing what a glorious existence waited for them. They loved life to such an extent they never wanted it to end; the afterlife had everything they had from houses to personal belongings and everyone they had from relatives to pets. Mark (2017) summarizes a famous text, written in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt c. 20401782 BCE called Discourse Between a Man and his Ba. The text is a conversation between a man and his soul, in which the man reveals he is suffering from depression and wishes for death to end his despair. His soul convinces him this is a bad idea and that he should be grateful for life and live it to the fullest, allowing death to come in its own time. Egyptians believed that everything they had was a gift from the gods and they were meant to live in gratitude for these gifts. It is noted that this, along with another famous text of the same period, featuring similar themes, seem to point to a change in cultural views on death. The other text, The Lay of the Harper, contradicts beliefs that in the afterlife, earthly goods will be needed; expressly stating that man cannot take his possessions with him when he dies (Mark, 2017). During this period, there was also a shift in what the existence in the 19 afterlife was like. It was not as blissful as once thought and Mark (2019) quotes scholar Geraldine Pinch, stating that during certain times of the day in the next life, death would return and those who lived an evil life would be tortured again and again. This outlook would change again. It would seem that the view shifts away from one of doubt in how the afterlife works back to the founding belief, one of needing to be prepared for it when The Book of the Dead is written in the New Kingdom era of c. 1570-1069 BCE. (Mark, 2017). The concept of an afterlife developed from the Predynastic Period’s idea that one would live on in their tomb, to a goddess called Nut taking souls to the sky to become stars, to the belief that Osiris passed judgement in the Hall of Truth with the Weighing of the Heart ceremony to grant access to the Field of Reeds. The most recent conceptual development began around the period of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040-1782 BCE) (Mark, 2019). From a chapter on Egyptian beliefs in the Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience, Balk (2009) tells the story of Osiris. Osiris, one of five children of the god and goddess of earth and sky, was the oldest and had thus inherited the throne as king of the earth. His sister, Isis was his queen consort. Osiris’ brother Seth, jealous of his status concocted a plan to overthrow Osiris and take over the throne. Under a ruse of a feast to celebrate the gods, Seth had his guests test a coffin-shaped chest to see if they could fit. The coffin was designed to fit only one, Osiris and when he got in, Seth closed the lid and had the coffin sent into the Nile. Osiris’ death was where all death originated. Distraught over the loss, Isis retrieved his body and conceived a child. Her sister, Nephthys guarded his body while Isis went to collect magic herbs that would restore him back to life. When Seth found out, he cut Osiris’ body into 14 pieces and spread them through Egypt. Isis went on a mission to locate the pieces, finding all except for one. She pieced him back together using linen strips, creating Egypt’s first mummy. The process of mummification and having an intact body to get to the other side were born out of this myth. Without a fully intact body, Osiris could no longer rule the earth and he was sent to be the ultimate judge in the Hall of Truth. Balk (2009) reports that ancient Egyptians were buried with their hearts because it was believed that this was the most important organ. The heart acts as a storage device, holding a record of every thought, feeling, and action a person had or took in their lifetime (The Australian Museum, 2020). It was needed for the Weighing of the Heart ceremony in which a person’s transgressions were revealed in the presence of Osiris. The heart would be weighed against a feather and if the person was innocent of all the wrongdoings that were recited, the heart would be balanced with the feather (Balk, 2009). If they were favourably judged, they would be introduced to Osiris and then transform into him. Anyone who was judged poorly would have their heart devoured by the eater of the dead, Ammit who was part lion, part crocodile, and part hippopotamus (Pallis, n.d.). If one was successful in the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, they would move on to their eternal existence of immortality in a place called the Field of Reeds (Mark, 2017). This is the place where everyone is reunited with their lost loved ones and they prospered with the gods, doing whatever it was they did in life without pain, sickness, or fear of death (Mark, 2019). Mark (2019) describes the journey from the judgement ceremony to the Field of Reeds as not being a direct route. Though details of this route vary throughout history, what we see written most often is that the next stop is Lily Lake, by way of a short 20 walk. There, you must be nice to and convince the ferryman Hraf-Haf to take you across the lake to the final destination. There are six elements required for a successful transition to the afterlife: ka, ba, ank, (Balk 2009), ren, and khaibit (Pallis, n.d.) and khat (Mark, 2019). Balk (2009) explains that ka refers to a person’s spirit, ba refers to their soul, and ank is the result of these two elements uniting in death. The khat is the body and ka and ba need to be able to recognize it. Pallis (n.d.) describes ren as a reference to the deceased’s name, and khaibit their shadow. Egyptians believed that if your name was spoken aloud your spirit would live on. This belief comes from the idea that words written and spoken had powers to transform into the very thing they represent. For example, a visual depiction of a deity could become that deity. Conversely, destruction of a representation of something, for example a person’s written name or an artistic interpretation of that person, would render that person non-existent. The same belief holds for not speaking that person’s name. They become non-existent and that person’s spirit cannot survive in the afterlife and immortality could not be achieved (Pallis, n.d.). Mummification The importance of preserving the body served a great purpose. They believed that the body needed to be intact and preserved in order to flourish in the afterlife (Balk, 2009). Pallis (n.d.) explains that the body was the ideal place for their spirit to rest and in order for the spirit to be able to get back to their body, it needed to be recognizable. The mummification process served to aid in that recognition. If the body was prevented from decaying, it would still aptly represent the person it was, and the spirit could find its way back to it. Since the concept of immortality was central to the Egyptians’ beliefs and that an intact body was needed to live in the afterlife, preserving the body through the process of mummification was ideal. Mummification in ancient Egyptian times was a long and detailed procedure. There are many steps in the mummification process, all of which take a total of approximately 70 days to complete (Balk, 2009). Sarkar (2021) states that when mummification began c. 2600 BCE, only pharaohs were allowed to be mummified. It would be another 600 years before everyone else was allowed this privilege. Certain steps and processes were dependent on your social status, but the same general process would be followed for everyone. Balk (2009) goes into detail describing the process. The first step is to purify the body with a substance called Natron, a mixture of salt and water. This took place somewhere along the Nile river’s west bank. After the body is washed with Natron, it is embalmed. This step involves removing the organs and embalming them. Great care would be taken when removing the heart because they believed that if the heart sustained any damage a second death would follow (Pallis, n.d.). Sarkar (2021) points out that if you were poor your organs would remain in your body, but your abdominal cavity would be cleansed with an oil enema. Prior to the Twenty-First Dynasty, the upper classes would have their organs removed and kept in vessels called Canopic jars, except for the brain which was pulled out through the nose using a hooked device. Their abdominal cavities were cleansed with palm wine and other aromatics. The 21 middle class also did not have their organs removed, but unlike the poor, their organs were dissolved with an injection of cedar tree oil. Rich and elite had their cavities filled with spices such as cassia, and pure myrrh and sewn back together. Once the bodies were embalmed, all classes would be covered with Natron for 40-70 days. If you were poor, this was the final step in the process. Your body would be returned to your family. The next step for the middle class involved their body being cleaned of the cedar oil that was used to dissolve the organs. It would then be returned to the family as-is, with no wrappings (Sarkar, 2021). If you were rich, the next step would involve a lot more. They would take out the stuffing and rinse out the body, dry it, fill it with linen, resin, Natron, and other substances. Then they rubbed the body with beeswax, Natron, wine, spices, and cosmetics. Protection amulets might be placed on the body and then coated with resin to keep them in place. The next step, bandaging, took 15 days. The yardage was specific: they used 450 square yards of linen. The body would be wrapped, and amulets or jewelry items could be wrapped between layers of bandages accompanying a recited ritual performed by a priest. The Australian Museum (2020) specifies that the placement of certain amulets would have a specific function in relation to the body part it was placed on, such as a heart scarab (see amulets under funerary goods for more information on heart scarabs). Once the body was wrapped, it would be covered with a shroud, placed in a container, and then entombed (Balk, 2009). Funerals Once a body was mummified, it would be transported from the embalmer to the tomb on a bier, a gurney-like device without wheels used to carry the body. The deceased’s relatives would be both in front of and behind the coffin. Following the mummy would be the deceased’s organs in Canopic jars (Balk, 2009) carried by relatives. Priests would lead the procession, burning incense. A statue could function as a vessel for ka, and in the event of this being needed, a priest would perform a ritual on the statue so it could serve its purpose (Balk, 2009). If the deceased’s family could afford to, professional mourners, called The Kites of Nephthys could be hired to cry, rip their hair and clothes, and rub dirt on themselves (Balk, 2009). Mark (2019) described them as serving the purpose of reliving the grief that Isis and Nephthys had when they lost Osiris. The belief was that the deceased would hear their cries and keep their souls alive. The Australian Museum (2018) indicates that the roles of The Kites of Nephthys would usually be played by female relatives and that other professional mourners could be hired along with dancers and musicians. The procession would continue to the Nile river where everyone would cross the river by boat to the west side of the Nile, where they would have their tomb ready (The Australian Museum, 2018). An “opening of the mouth” ceremony was performed by priests prior to being entombed. The mummy would be placed in a standing position, and a priest would say a few words 22 to declare their mouth is open. This ritual is thought to have taken place in order for the deceased to be able to breathe in the afterlife (Pallis, n.d.). The priest would also restore the rest of the senses and ensure the mummy would be able to walk by reciting spells and touching them with various ritual objects (The Australian Museum, 2018). A feast would be served after the funeral either at the tomb or the family’s home. Burial Ancient Egyptians, who lived from c. 5500-3100, or in the Predynastic era, possibly believed that following death is rebirth. They buried their loved ones in the fetal position, which is perhaps symbolic of a baby in the womb awaiting birth (Balk, 2009). Tombs were built in both pyramids and in Mastabas (rectangular rock structure) to house the dead and were known to the Egyptians as “houses of eternity.” They were often years in the making, with highly skilled builders doing most of the construction. They were made according to specific designs and materials and had to be in a certain location. Each tomb was made not just to hold the coffin, but also to provide a place where family members could visit, mourn, make offerings, and perform rites. The area of the tomb where the body would be is the burial chamber and that would be underground. The visitor’s area or mortuary chapel would be above ground (The Australian Museum, 2018). The tombs’ walls were covered in writings so that when the deceased rose from the dead, they would have instructions on what to do next, as they may be disoriented. Anubis, the god of mummification and the afterlife, would be there to escort the soul to wait their turn in the Hall of Truth. More texts on the walls would let them know what to say during their Weighing of the Heart ceremony since everyone’s confession would be specific to how they lived their life (Mark, 2019). Funerary Goods Egyptians were buried with funerary goods, items they considered important for this next phase in their life cycles (Balk, 2009). The Australian Museum (2020) divides the goods in two distinct categories: provisions for protection and provisions for sustenance. The protection items include amulets and if the deceased could afford it, a Book of the Dead. Amulets could take the form of a charm or a jewelry item and the wearer possessed powers of protection, healing, and good luck. A heart scarab was placed over the heart to ensure it would not be separated from the body and was present for the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony. Inscribed on the heart scarab would be a spell that could be invoked if the person felt they may fail the test at the ceremony (The Australian Museum, 2020). The Book of the Dead is a compilation of spells thought to assist with the transition to the afterlife; this artifact was found in tombs of Egyptians who could afford to have such a funerary good with them. The book was expensive, but there were many spells that helped to get them into the next world, such as one that improved the odds that the Weighing of the Heart ceremony would have a successful result (Balk, 2009). 23 The most important item needed for protection is a coffin. Since it was important to have a well-preserved and intact body, a coffin was absolutely necessary. The Australian Museum (2020), describes the coffins as being adorned with spells and prayers, religious imagery, and art depicting some of the gods of death and the underworld. The other category of items includes things like food, clothing, and shabits, which are small statuettes made to represent those who would carry out any labour needed in the afterlife. Shabits made their first appearance as a funerary good circa 2100 BCE (the Middle Kingdom period) and they were originally made to represent the deceased. One or two shabits were made during that period, and as timeline progressed, the shabits were made to represent servants and some of the wealthier people would have hundreds of shabits entombed with them 24 CHAPTER 5 An insight into ancient Egyptian religion, wealth & culture ISHPREET CHANA ncient Egypt was discovered in 3200 BCE and was ruled by King Narmer. Many discoveries were made such as the making of pyramids, in which pharaohs (kings) would live with their families. Approximately one hundred and thirty pyramids were built and the largest of them was the pyramid of Khufu. Another discovery they made was the concept of wearing eye paint made from copper or lead, as they believed that it protected them from the sun. In addition, they believed that makeup had adequate healing powers as well. Through its development it led to many positive impacts around the world. Moreover, the purpose of this article is to provide insight on Ancient Egyptian religion, their wealth, and culture. A Religion Before the concept of god emerged, the Egyptians believed in a magic source that controlled the world. The magic source was symbolized using a hieroglyph and this represented power. However, as time went on, they developed a higher understanding and started to visualize gods in human forms and soon began to construct temples to worship them. Religion played an important role within the everyday lives of Egyptians. They believed in various gods and that they were responsible for controlling humans and their everyday actions. They were expected to follow the principle of ma’at, alongside keeping in mind the consequences one’s actions can have on others. The principle of ma’at consists of seven basic principles, which include: balance, truth, righteousness, order, harmony, justice, and mortality. Moving on, the principle of ancient Egyptian culture was referred to as Heka. Heka was known as the god of medicine, magic, and he was the source that enabled gods to perform their functions. The Egyptians believed that in order for their soul (also referred to as “ka”) to be immortal they must be properly prepared for the afterlife. Such examples to prepare for the afterlife are: the construction of the tomb, funerary rituals/ ceremonies, and mummification. Furthermore, the temples consisted of many gods and goddesses that were typically arranged in family groups of three (mother, father, and a child). The gods and goddesses took many different forms such as humans and animals. For instance, Horus was a god of war, protection, and the sky and his appearance consisted of the body of a man that had a falcon as its head. Alongside this, some of the gods and 25 goddesses had an object that symbolized their functions. For example, Isis was a goddess that held a lotus or an ankh which further symbolized magic and motherhood. Moving on, the soul was believed to consist of nine parts: Khat (the physical body), the Ka (one’s double body), the Ba (human headed bird which could speed between both heaven and earth), the Shuyet (shadow), the Akh (immortal self), Sahu and Shechem (aspects of the Akh), the Ab (the heart which was considered the source of good and evil), and Ren (a secret name). These nine parts were thought to exist during the life of an individual and upon death. Moreover, one of their early beliefs was that there were dark swirling waters of chaos and from this rose the great god named Atum. It was further believed that he mated with his shadow and gave birth to two children through vomiting. The first was named Shu, who was the god of air and the second child was named Tefnut, who was the goddess of moisture. One day the children were gone in search of the world and they were gone for a very long time. Atum became worried and in spite he took out one of his eyeballs. Once Shu and Tefnut returned, Atum cried tears of joy and once the tears fell on the dark surface, men and women were created. Shu and Tefnut later gave birth to Geb and Nut and though they were brother and sister they fell in love. Atum did not approve of it and pushed Nut away higher up into the heavens but was already pregnant by Geb. Nut gave birth to five Egyptian gods named Isis, Set, Osiris, Horus, and Nephthys. These gods and goddesses went on to give birth to many other gods and in turn developing the world. Another important god in Egyptian religion was Hathor. She was a goddess regarding love and kindness, but she became drunk on blood and this caused her to almost destroy the world. However, beer was used to put her to sleep and it became known as a gift from gods. Alongside this, some of the most important gods were Amun (father), Mut (mother), and Khonsu (their child) that were a part of the Theban Triad. Amun was believed to have merged with the god of sun (Ra) and was also responsible for creating the world. In modern times, Egyptian culture evolved to be composed of primarily Muslims with a small percentage of Jews and Christians. Their central beliefs and values are around the core beliefs of Islam. In which they also believe that for the future, whatever happens is due to the will of god. From these also emerged associations of mystics referred to as Sufi brotherhoods. These groups are essentially male dominated and they have a leader, which is referred to as the shaykh. These groups are responsible for practicing rituals every day to uphold the union with god. Wealth In ancient times, the greatest natural resource at the time was the Nile River. It provided them with fish which was commonly consumed, transportation, and water used for essential purposes in daily life. For instance, fruit, and vegetables were also grown as crops for daily food. Primarily agriculture was the source of Egypt’s wealth. However, at the time most Egyptians were extremely poor, while priests and pharaohs were wealthy. The pharaohs were responsible for storing foods, wealth, and treasures within the temples. Moreover, they would also predict when the Nile would flood and they would utilize the information to prepare in advance for the disaster. For example, they would harvest and plant crops according to the predictions made. Lastly, most of the gold and silver was mined and provided intense wealth towards the economy. 26 Culture The way the Egyptians dressed was highly valued within society. The dress code subjects women to cover all of their bodies but the hands and face. For example, women wear scarves around their head, ears, and it is pinned under the chin. Moreover, some women prefer to wear veils that cover their entire bodies because it addresses the satisfaction of pleasing relatives and also follows the rules of Islam. Men are prone to wearing loose trousers and long sleeves. Therefore, both men and women are subjected to disguising the shape of their bodies. When it comes to greeting others, it is expected that everyone should greet others. For instance, if a stranger joins a group, it is expected that they should greet the members present. In addition, embracing is another form of greeting used, typically towards members involving the same sex. If guests arrive at an individual’s house it is tradition that one must treat the guests politely and provide adequate hospitality. For example, tea or soft drinks are given to the guests as a greeting. Alongside this, cigarettes are also sometimes given as a sign of respect. Moreover, children are expected to show respect towards elders. For instance, children address their elders, relatives, and non-relatives with special terms and they do not raise their voices either. Gender Norms Women were held responsible for taking care of both the household chores and caring and nurturing for a child. Additionally, they were held responsible for some further outside activities within the region. These activities included processing dairy products, working in the fields, and packaging crops to ship towards the marketplace. Typically, both men and women have equal rights according to the government. However, what sector they were originally from played a significant role in determining equal rights. For instance, women that are a part of the informal sector and are working are often paid less compared to men. Whereas women and men working in the formal sector are equally paid. Alongside this, men also have more control over personal issues such as: child custody, marriage, and divorce. However, multiple human right activists and feminist’s groups are standing up towards the unfair treatment towards women in the informal sector. Marriage Marriage in Egyptian culture is mostly arranged, in which negotiation occurs within the family and can involve matchmakers. The woman was expected to agree, but the men make the ultimate decision in the end if they want to marry her or not. Typically, partners that have the same amount of education and similar in age are most likely to get married. The concept of marrying cousins still remains intact today with about thirty nine percent of the population married to their cousins. Polygamy is considered rare amongst the Egyptians, but in the cases that do involve it, the man usually only keeps two wives. However, in a village called “Deir el-Medina, the norms of marriage were quite different. In this village, men chose their wives when they turned approximately twenty years old and they chose wives that were younger such as twelve or thirteen years old. After a few times of meeting each other, the man would propose. They would then announce to their families and friends regarding their decision and ultimately start living together. There was no evidence regarding the marriage ceremony, instead a contract was signed regarding the 27 share of properties. Furthermore, divorce was pretty common and in some cases the men would just kick the woman out of the house, disregarding the rules of the contract, after they achieved the goal of the marriage, which was having offspring. Moreover, having children was strongly desired after marriage and women would get pregnant shortly after. Additionally, it was preferred to have a male heir, compared to having a female heir and typically, six to seven children were ideal to have. In the case of a woman not being able to conceive, some of the ancient solutions consisted of a magic spell, praying at the shrine of Hathor, and adoption. Magic in the olden days in Egypt had a vital role in solving various problems and Hathor was a goddess that was associated with fertility which had a cow head. In the case of buying a girl slave for impregnation was not preferred by the wife because it often led to feelings of jealousy from the wife. There were also high infant mortality rates back then which was commonly caused due to diseases but also snakes and scorpions. Once the couple had enough children they would turn towards methods of contraception. One of the most common forms of contraception for a woman was putting crocodile dung on her vaginal area. Lastly, the identity of the family’s name is very important. Egyptians do not have a last name that is shared by everyone within the family. Instead, each person is subjected to a given name and it is followed by the names of their father, grandfather, and other ancestors. Generally, their names consist of three names for simplicity, consisting of their given name at birth, fathers name, and grandfather’s name. Therefore, after marriage women do not change their names. Once an individual had passed away, their property was divided amongst the heirs. In some cases, male heirs were given more prophets compared to women. Traditional Food There are many different kinds of food that make up Egyptian culture. Most common dishes contained vegetables, fish, cheese, birds, eggs, beans, and lentils. Meat was very expensive and very rare, in which it was not used a lot. The upper-class folks would eat pork, mutton, and beef. Whereas, the lower class primarily ate birds, geese, and ostriches. From the influence of the meat, a dish called foie gras was invented, in which vegetables were crammed into the mouths of birds such as ducks. Some of the commonly used spices included: onion, salt, garlic, pepper, cumin, saffron, coriander, cinnamon, and bay leaves. One of the earliest dishes developed was Be Sarah, which is a dipping sauce composed of herbs, green peppers, fava beans, and onions. Bread was a very important and a staple part of their culture. They made flatbreads, yeast breads, and breads made with wheat and barley. They often served breads that were sweetened with dates, honey, or figs, flat. The Egyptians also loved desserts, in which they would eat honey cakes, dumplings, and tiger nut sweets. Tiger nut sweets were made using the Cyperus esculentus plant and the chopped tiger nuts were combined with dates, honey and spices and the mixture was shaped into a ball. Moreover, beer was a commonly served beverage that they made with barley. The beer had a nutritional value as it did not have much of a high alcohol content and it was proven to be safer to drink than the water within the Nile River. In addition, they made wines from both red and white grapes and for flavour purposes they added spices and honey. They also developed a non-alcoholic drink which was created using dates. In the case of natural disasters, food was stored in jars and containers. The upper class got the privileges of eating meat (birds, beef), vegetables, dates, and drinking milk. They also got the luxury of eating on a table and got to wash their hands in between meals as needed. 28 Whereas the lower class got to eat bread, vegetables, fish, and drink beer. However, they ate on mats and did not get to wash their hands. Festivals There were various festivals that the Egyptians celebrated annually. Some included: the Wepet-Renpet Festival, the Wag Festival, the Wag and Thoth Festival, the Tekh Festival, the Hathor festival, the Min Festival, the Epagomenae, etc. The Wepet-Renpet Festival was the New Year’s celebration, in which they celebrated the death and rebirth of Osiris, for the people and the land. On this day rituals were performed in honour of Osiris and they sang and danced to celebrate. Additionally, the Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys poem was said every year before the feast. The Wag Festival was celebrated after the day of the Wepet-Renpet Festival, but it changed every year due to the lunar calendar. It was celebrated to honour the death of Osiris and also the souls that passed onto the afterlife. In addition, the people would construct tiny boats made from paper and place them on Osiris’s grave. The Wag and Thoth Festival was celebrated on the eighteenth day of each year to honour the god Thoth. The Tekh Festival was celebrated in dedication of Hathor, who saved the people from world destruction through the use of beer. Individuals would visit the Hall of Drunkenness and would get drunk and sleep there. They were later woken through the usage of drums. The Hathor festival was similar to the Tekh Festival and was also celebrated, in which the goddess Hathor was worshipped. The Min Festival was celebrated to honour the god Min. Min was the god of reproduction, fertility, and virility. On this day, the priests would carry the statue of Min and once they arrived at the destination, they would cut the first sheaf of gain. Epagomenae were a set of rituals that were conducted over the last five days of the year. This was to honour the Nut in which she gave birth to Osiris on the first day, Horus on the second day, Set on the third day, Isis on the fourth day, and on the last day Nephthys. In conclusion, the Egyptians were highly religious beings, as they worshipped multiple gods and stuck to their beliefs. Furthermore, it was quite wealthy, as it had many mines that contained lots of gold. Moving on, they had many norms to obey and follow, they developed many items of food which are still consumed today, they had various views towards marriage, and multiple festivals that they celebrated annually. Lastly, the Egyptians invented many things that are highly used today, such as toothpaste, paper, pens, keys, etc. All these discoveries and further development led Egypt to become a place worthy of traveling. 29 CHAPTER 6 King Tut: an Insignificant King? NOAH VARGHESE ncient Egypt has long been shrouded in mystery and consequently has been of keen interest to not only Egyptologists but also the public. There is no better example of the public interest in ancient civilization than the 20th-century craze over King Tutankhamun, the “boy king.” Even now, King Tut has significance in popular media and is undeniably linked with that of the entirety of ancient Egypt’s success, sovereignty, and empire. However, this is far from the case given that King Tut reigned only for eight to nine years, and that’s not entirely true either. The question this chapter poses, is that whether the famous King Tut impacted Egyptian society and whether if he was an insignificant king? A The working definition of significance in this chapter will be defined as whether King Tutankhamun created any long lasting-impact throughout his reign and whether if it was solely his intentions or his designs. Therefore, even if King Tutankhamun created laws that would carry over even post-mortem, if the laws were carried out or formed by his advisors, then those said laws wouldn’t be credited to King Tutankhamun, but instead to the advisors. The reason this is brought up is due to how likely it is for a teenager pharaoh to be controlled or serve more of a puppet to his advisors in a short time of rule. Additionally, although King Tut might have been insignificant several millennia ago, he served a role now. So, in other words, this chapter will also argue that although he may have been an insignificant king, he was a significant artifact of time. Furthermore, even amongst his popularity, is his popularity undeserved or misleading. In previous chapters we have explored his popularity and contributions but, in this chapter, we will argue whether he was truly impactful back then or even now. King Tut: Background: As mentioned, King Tutankhamun was the pharaoh of Egypt that reigned from 1333 – 13323 BCE. He is the successor of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who himself was very controversial due to him completely upheaving the main religion by transforming the polytheistic Egyptian religion to a dominant monotheistic religion. King Tut’s main accomplishment, as mentioned in previous chapters, was to reverse this since it unsettled the commoners. Specifically, Akhenaten’s enforcement of Atenism, which is the worship of the sun, lead to the destruction of many other temples. This was to take away power from priests of polytheistic religions and therefore establish the Pharaoh’s power once again. The problem 31 with this shift in religion was that the other foreign and internal relationships started to wane and falter, hence why he was sometimes called the heretic pharaoh. After 17 years of rule, King Tutankhamun succeeded him out of the belief that he was Akhenaten’s son. Note that Tutankhamun succeeded him at the age of 8-9, and therefore he was guided by Ay and Horemheb, both of which would succeed King Tut. His advisors were thought to play an integral role in decision-making due to his young age, which is partly why they succeeded him. As mentioned, prior, his biggest accomplishments include that reversing the work done by his fathers by shifting the monotheistic religious practice to that of its original polytheistic belief. Additionally, he reformed foreign relations, which were again disturbed by his father, and made other decisions that in general brought Egypt to its original status before his father reigned. However, regardless of his impacts, he was still relatively unknown thanks to King Horemheb’ s efforts to erase him and his father from history. It has been known for certain that his rule itself has been forgotten for over 3000 years in Ancient Egypt. This is partially why his tomb remained relatively intact due to how little the public, including thieves, knew about King Tut. It was only until much later, in 1922, that King Tut’s tomb was covered, revealing the first-ever link to the Ancient Egypt civilization. King Tut: Relevance in Modern Times: To better understand whether King Tut’s current fame is warranted, we need to determine how he is relevant now and what impact he left on the globe. When King Tut was discovered in 1922 by English Egyptologist Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb by accident. The discovery was truly revolutionary given that this was one of the only instances in history where a mostly fully intact grave can be inspected and analyzed. The corpse itself wasn’t immediately what stood out since the tomb held over 5000 artifacts, and the combined weight of gold and other precious materials. When people did start paying attention to his corpse it was more so out of questioning on how he died and his genealogy, rather than what he contributed as the king. There were multiple ways that King Tut and his tomb played an important role in history including that of international relations. Coincidentally the time when King Tut’s tomb was discovered was the same year that the Egyptian government was trying to liberate themselves from England’s rule. King Tut, therefore, became a symbol of liberation and the promise of self-government. However, when England tried to remove the valuables in the tomb, including that of King Tut, it was synonymous with that of Great Britain taking away Egypt’s freedom and independence. Consequently, King Tut was a symbol for the Egyptians, and therefore many laws and practices were put in force by the government to ensure that it is treated with respect and under their name. The international impacts of King Tut are not limited to that of the relationship between Egypt and Britain, but also its relevance in US customs. Specifically, due to the tours and exhibitions of King Tut’s tomb’s valuables, the populous of the United States have been heavily exposed to him. Many presidents, such as Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, the former of which used it to improve his popularity especially after the emergence of the Water Gate scandal. The touring of King Tut throughout the US also introduced itself into the media, more so than any other Egyptian historical figure. This is especially noteworthy since unlike Cleopatra or other Ancient Egypt nobles, King Tut had no other background history. Therefore, the history that was portrayed in movies, 32 tabloids, and even in some journals even though his history was shrouded in mystery. This led to the development of superstitions and false histories. For example, there was the curse of pharaoh superstition that developed after a few of the visitors of King Tut’s tomb later died. Of course, the deaths were coincidental, but they nevertheless made their way into movies and other popular media. The curse was also applied to all foreign objects derived from Egypt, making King Tut’s discovery relatively significant in that aspect. Discussing his Significance in his Time Frame: When considering the time-point in history he resided in, it is clear to many that he was relatively insignificant for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, his rule was too short to be impactful in history and that made him easy to be somewhat removed. It isn’t helped by the fact that he didn’t have any heirs and most of his family was dead or has “moved on.” Take for instance King Tut’s wife, Ankhesenamun, who was his half-sister, potentially his stepmother, but also the one who marries King Ay, King Tut’s successor. Albeit the messy relationships within royal families of Egypt is not uncommon, this speaks as to how King Tut was somewhat replaceable. Additionally, given how inbred King Tut was since it was believed that his mother was also the sister of his father, it led to other problems. Such problems include that he couldn’t raise any heirs, due to miscarriages, thus ending his bloodline. His genealogy was also responsible for his other genetic defects including that of his clubbed foot, necrosis, and other disabilities. This, in addition to his young age, doesn’t inspire the royal image of that of regular nobles, making it difficult for him to command respect not only amongst his advisors but also from the public. His lack of nobility and the public’s distaste for his father made him somewhat hated. To clear any link to his father, the “heretic king”, and his ideologies, he changed his name to Tutankhamen to appeal to polytheist religions, instead of the monotheist religion. Regardless his genealogy and his familial history were not the best for his image and as a ruler, paired with the fact that he only had 10 years to be in rule. Therefore, it is clear why people wouldn’t consider him significant or impactful, let alone a good king. The second reason why king Tutankhamen would not necessarily as significant is due to how his impact as a king would be foreshadowed by the advisor’s presence and not necessarily by his intent. As mentioned prior, king Akhenaten disturbed foreign relationships and therefore threatened the peace and belief of the polytheistic religion. It was speculated that although Tutankhamen tried to reverse his father’s many actions, he had little time to create a name for himself or make an impact of his own. Therefore, although he would work for the benefit of the people, he will always be intrinsically linked to his father’s mistakes even if he did make other contributions. Worse so, his contributions may instead be removed and instead credited to that of his advisors, Ay and Horemheb, due to bias toward the teen king. In fact, in almost all sources that detail the boy king, they always mention who his advisors were and mention that his only major accomplishments are related to his father. This problem of being overshadowed was further supplemented by the fact that he was a teen, and therefore he was susceptible to his advisor’s advice and even vulnerable to manipulation towards their goal. This is further supported that both advisors ended up ruling afterwards, and one of them dedicated itself to erasing their former’s king’s history. It wasn’t helped by the fact that there was an epidemic that claimed the 3 sons of king Akhenaten and potentially many others in the Egyptian populous. Just like we are seeing now with the 33 public partially blaming the pandemic onto the governments for their poor public health, the same (albeit for different reasons and out of different beliefs). This epidemic, which is still not too well known, could’ve easily be linked to the change of religious belief, again paint king Tutankhamen in a bad light. Nevertheless, overshadowed by his predecessor and successors, his lack of creating change independent of his own, his young age making him susceptible to manipulations of his advisors, and other environmental circumstances didn’t bode well for the young king. All of this contributed to erasure from history and thereby he was sadly an insignificant king. The final reason as to why king Tutankhamen was not significant would play a role in part to his death as well as his successor’s actions to try and erase him. As mentioned prior, Horemheb performed many actions to ensure that king Tutankhamen and his father were wiped out of history. Although it was believed that Horemheb did this mainly to ensure Akhenaten would be forgotten, he also clearly did this to Tutankhamen as well, if not more effectively (since Akhenaten’s mummy was discovered in 1907, roughly a decade before his supposed son). Not only did Horemheb erased him from texts, but also blocked off his tomb hence why it remained undisturbed for a long time. Additionally, since Tutankhamen was already not so impactful as a king and relatively insignificant in the grand scale of Egypt’s empire this made him relatively easy to write out of history. Compared to other kings of Egypt, Tutankhamen is insignificant during his time, especially when considering that the Ancient Egyptian empire lasted for over 3000 years when Tutankhamen only ruled for just 10 years. It is easy to see how he was forgotten under the circumstances mentioned, and why many scholars consider him insignificant. That being said and something to be discussed later, his insignificance now can be attributed to his later significance especially in the 20th century. Discussing his Significance in Modern Times: Unlike his time as a king, Tutankhamen was significant as an artifact of ancient times. Specifically, his tomb was one of the most important archaeological discoveries given how well in-tact it is compared to other tombs. The reason why this tomb was kept intact was only because of how insignificant he was as king, which ironically made him significant now. This means that the tomb was not as susceptible to robberies and therefore lots of treasures remained. Note though that the tombs were only robbed during the reign of Ay and Horemheb, which is only when the Thanks to this, we have been able to determine funeral customs, the burial location of Queen Nefertiti, who was argued to be Pharaoh Akhenaten’s consort. She was also speculated to be the pharaoh before that of Tutankhamun, but that is still widely debated hence why it wasn’t mentioned prior. Overall, thanks to his intact burial a lot more was learned about ancient Egyptian culture that was harder before. Additionally, since his fame was widespread lots of other research was done into his history as well, especially the pathology and cause of his death. Lots of the research into Tutankhamun is dedicated to investigating his death, whether it be the cause of malaria (which is the most recent finding), infection of his clubbed foot, or even the hunting accident. It is clear though that in the history of Egyptian liberation from Britain, US history with exhibits of Tutankhamun’s tomb, and ancient history, Tutankhamun was significant, ironically because of his insignificance. 34 To conclude this discussion, king Tutankhamun was an insignificant king during his time of reign. He was unhealthy, unpopular, speculated to be dependent on his advisors, spent most of his years fixing his father’s mistakes, and finally was actively erased from history because of his advisors. However, because of the actions taken to make the public forget about king Tutankhamun, he has become one of the most well-preserved Egyptian pharaohs and consequently makes him a significant figure not only in scholarly research but also in popular media. One can easily argue that Tutankhamun achieved more while dead than alive, and became more profound than any Egyptian king in history. 35 CHAPTER 7 What is the science and history being extracted from King Tut? AMY LI efore the emergence of DNA sequencing tools and computed tomography scans, people thought they had an accurate picture of King Tutankhamun’s (Tut) lifestyle and cause of death. However, with the advancement of technology and biological identification tools, King Tut went from being viewed as a muscular athlete to a frail teenager. The inconsistency in his image can be seen through his embalming procedure, which heavily deviates from the norm. The science extracted from his tomb also points to the life threatening conditions and abnormalities that King Tut faced as a young teenager. DNA sequencing and analysis also clarifies King Tut’s family lineage, such as the identities of his parents and even children. Treasures and scenes left from his tomb provide a historical account of his life and overall character. Lastly, based on tomb evidence, hypophosphatemia is speculated to cause King Tut’ death as opposed to Köhler’s Disease II. The wealth of scientific and historical evidence being gained from King Tut’s tomb helps archaeologists better understand King Tut’s life and cause of death. B The Embalming Process According to computed tomography (CT) studies done in 2005, archaeologists noticed the following observations in King Tut’s body, which are completely different from expected results: the mummy lacked a heart, sternum and rib fragments; the mummy had an intact diaphragm; the mummy lacked linen packing in the pelvis; and the ribs were trimmed at the ends. The embalmers trimmed King Tut’s ribs while the bones’ quality were still intact. The trimming was also assumed to be done while the chest was already exposed, therefore making it easier to deal with the bones. Since the cuts were not in a straight line, this suggests that a saber saw blade was used to trim the ribs. The method of cutting the ribs also suggests that robbers could not have done this, since the blade would have penetrated through the solid linen packing of King Tut’s organs. So far, the process of embalming assumed to have taken place is that the corpse arrived to the embalmer with a hole in King Tut’s chest, lacking both a heart and sternum in a 37 severely damaged state; portions of the rib were still intact when it arrived at the embalmer’s house. The key steps to embalming King Tut’s body are listed below, with the steps taken from Harer’s article (2011). 1. To extract the brain, embalmers inserted resin, a terpene compound used in ancient embalming, which yielded fluid at the back of the skull. 2. An opening at the back of the skull was made with additional resin inserted and left to cool and harden. 3. From the chest opening, embalmers removed the lungs from the gaping chest wound, leaving the diaphragm alone. 4. An abdominal transverse incision was made, from where the stomach, intestines, and liver were subsequently extracted. 5. The chest was filled with linen, absorbed with resin, and covered with a bib that filled the chest opening as well as any surrounding skin. Jewelry was decorated over the linen; sacred oils were added but this had a corrosive effect. Archaeologists found no evidence of a heart scarab; a heart scarab is an important symbol in Egyptian religion, as it is associated with a dung beetle which manifests into the rising Sun. The heart scarab had cultural importance; the scarab stopped the body’s heart from badmouthing the deceased individual. The lack of evidence of a heart scarab is likely due to the fact that the heart was already missing in King Tut’s body. An x-ray done on King Tut in 1968 revealed that a beaded bib was nowhere to be seen. From this observation, robbers are likely to have stolen the bib. Since the bib was fused very tightly to the mummy, it likely required chiseling for removal; hence, archaeologists noticed a ragged image of the skin’s surface on CT scans done in 2005. It was also fairly easy to steal the bib since the mummy’s skin created a layer, separating the bib from the linen. Evidence of Diseases and Abnormalities There are a number of diseases suspected of King Tut. While King Tut and his father Akhenaten do not satisfy the criteria for Marfan Syndrome (an abnormally long head), their cephalic index is 83.9 and 81.0 respectively, meaning that they had wider heads than usual. When analyzing King Tut’s feet, his right foot’s arch is quite low, though it does not indicate a pathological disease; King Tut’s left foot’s arch is quite high though. It is also suspected that King Tut suffered from bone necrosis in the metatarsal bones within his left foot: this symptom can be associated with Köhler’s Disease II. Specifically in King Tut’s second and third toes, there is a large space between the metatarsal heads and a void of bone layers and soft tissue; this abnormality could imply an inflammatory issue from osteoarthritis and osteomyelitis. To ease the pain in his toes, King Tut likely used canes. In fact, Howard Carter, an archaeologist, found many sticks in King Tut’s tomb. In one inscription, it even stated that the King cut the sticks from reeds for cane use. 38 King Tut’s cause of death could be summed up as an accumulation of different physical disorders that led to an immunosuppressive disease. As mentioned before, this includes Köhler’s Disease II, as well as oligodactyly in his right and left foot. A leg fracture would have also been devastating, especially given the evidence of the malaria tropica parasite that infected King Tut and his multiple relatives. The origin of this malarial parasite will be discussed in a later section. In addition, hypophosphatasia is another speculated cause of King Tut’s death that may override existing evidence of Köhler’s Disease II; this will be explored in a later section. Cleft palate was also considered, however there is not sufficient evidence of this in King Tut. Determining King Tut’s Family Lineage From analysis of King Tut’s DNA, archaeologists suspect that King Tut’s parents were the pharaoh Akhenaten, and either Nefertiti or second wife Kiya; these identities have yet to be confirmed. Luckily, DNA analysis is possible, with much of it credited to earlier embalming techniques, as it enabled nucleic acids to be kept intact within the mummies. To understand King Tut’s family lineage further, the other identities of his relatives known for certain other than his own are his paternal great-grandparents, Thuya and Yuya; these two individuals serve as controls for genetic analyses. Two fetuses were also found inside his tomb–the fetuses are likely his offspring– and two female mummies extracted from tomb KV21, one of them suspected to be King Tut’s wife. After amplifying analyzing DNA fragments from 11 mummies belonging to the 18th Egyptian dynasty, these were the following results, provided by Kemp and Zink (2012): 1. In individuals Amenhotep III, mummy KV55, and Tut, paternal lineages share identical patterns in the Y-chromosomal profiles. 2. From fingerprint analyses in autosomal alleles, geneticists speculate five generations within Tut’s family tree. 3. Within Tut’s family tree, KV35 Younger Lady’s identity is either Nefertiti or Kiya, or even Akhenaten’s sister. Nonetheless, Akhenaten and KV35 Younger Lady are Tut’s parents. 4. Akhenaten is the KV55 mummy. Gold sheets were found on Akhenaten’s coffin lid that point to Akhenaten’s identity. 5. Tut might be the father to one of the fetuses in KV62. Aforementioned, Tut suffered from the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, more specifically the malaria tropica, the deadliest form of malaria. Scientists determined this by using PCR primers that amplify certain gene fragments originating from malaria tropica. These primers are highly tailored to the P. falciparum genome. 39 Discovering Treasures and Artifacts King Tut’s tomb contained pieces that may represent his military involvement in Egyptian war campaigns. These items include objects such as chariots, bows, and arrows. Despite his serious, life-threatening conditions, many objects in his tomb such as spears had belonged to Tut, proving his activeness and strength. In his tomb, there is a scene drawn where Tut hunted animals with his bow and arrow. There are also sculptures that represent Tut fighting against his foes in battle. In fact, specific details such as severed hands displayed on spears in the tomb are not found in Egyptian art; this representation implies that the scenes may represent reality rather than pure fiction. A part of King Tut’s tomb also included a folding stool. This stool might have been something that King Tut carried during a military outing. The cushion of the stool also simulates animal skin; the stool even had an animal tail attached at its end. King Tut’s tomb also featured a folding bed, which likely had travel purposes during King Tut’s lifetime. Pieces of jewelry were also found in King Tut’s tomb. Objects such as stones and glass paste were covered in gold; the use of emblems carried religious significance. Pendants are seen worn around King Tut’s neck. Some of these pendants depict goddesses and gods. Personal items such as bracelets, earrings, and rings were found in the bomb as well. A shawabti figurine was found in the tomb: a wooden statuette. The purpose of the figurine was to replace the deceased who had to fulfill agricultural duties after death. One statuette would be placed in the tomb for every passing day. The figurines are designed abnormally though, because they also depict the deceased in a peculiar way. King Tut’s burial conditions and quality treasures further point to his achievement in rule, despite his frail build and young age. Described by Silverman (1976, p. 240), King Tut “re-established order from chaos and reinstituted the ancient and traditional beliefs that had characterized Egyptian civilization for thousands of years”. Sandals were also found in King Tut’s tomb. King Tut allegedly wore orthopaedic sandals; this makes sense since he had significant gaps between his left toes. King Tut’s sandals contained a back support that prevented the front strap from being pulled and inducing stress. Cause of Death: Hypophosphatasia? While Köhler’s Disease II and malaria are suspected causes of King Tut’s death, there is evidence that points to hypophosphatasia (HPP) as a potential cause of death. In addition, there is also a theory that sickle cell disease caused bone necrosis in King Tut. While sickle cell disease is prevalent in Africa and Egypt and decreases bone blood flow, sickle cell disease also leads to resistance against malaria; sickle cell disease could then eliminate malaria as a cause of King Tut’s death. From analyzing King Tut’s tomb, a link can be made between King Tut’s physiological symptoms and the disorder HPP. HPP affects the musculoskeletal system. More specifically, it affects metabolism, caused by mutations in “the ALPL gene that encodes for the tissue 40 nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP), an enzyme vital for the bone metabolism and other critical functions in the human body” (Brandt, 2013, p. 250). Symptoms of HPP such as a frail short build, deformed rib cage, premature dentition, fragility in the bones, and “blockage of vertebral bodies caused by excessive deposition of mineral crystals” (Brandt, 2013, p. 251) are seen in King Tut and Akhenaten. These symptoms of HPP are depicted both artistically and archaeologically. In fact, King Tut’s fluctuations in bone density can also be seen in HPP. King Tut also had a slender build; however, the shape of his head did not signify HPP, and this did not reflect well in other family members too. King Tut’s scoliosis may have also been a symptom of HPP, but that might have been due to the shrinking in mummification. Bone inflammation is also seen in HPP. This inflammation can damage the bones and result in bone infarctions, leading to necrotic damage and deformed metatarsals. Moreover, the initial diagnosis of Köhler’s Disease II may be incorrect since it is more commonly associated with girls between ages 10-18. As well, Köhler’s Disease II usually heals on its own without any secondary symptoms arising. In King Tut’s case however, this scenario may not have happened. Therefore, an alternate hypothesis is that Köhler’s Disease II in King Tut resulted from little activity of the alkaline phosphatase enzyme, along with non-bacterial inflammatory activity and necrosis. This hypothesis makes more sense since there was no solid pathological model for Köhler’s Disease II at the time of Köhler’s Disease II diagnosis. King Tut’s apparent left “club foot” does not seem to correspond to HPP. However, if it is due to “a shortened Achilles tendon and/or an impaired growth of the fibula” (Brandt, 2013, p. 253), as seen in children suffering from HPP, then HPP may not be due to King Tut’s clubfoot. King Tut’s father’s figure, which was more feminine than masculine, could be associated with a fragile build, and ineffective joints; these physical traits are commonly seen in HPP. This fragility is common in adults with HPP, who are not as active or bulky. However, such depictions of art may not be realistic and may have only reflected the fashion or rules of art at the time. HPP patients are known to have low vitamin D levels. Akhenaten’s favour of the sun god, Aten, may relate to this symptom seen in HPP patients. For instance, children with HPP prefer direct contact with sunlight and will want to consume foods filled with citric acid. As mentioned in an earlier section, the amount of walking sticks in King Tut’s tomb could indicate a walking impairment. Even in the ancient art of Egyptian kings, Tut is the only one sitting even as he does archery, which typically requires standing. Thus, King Tut’s walking impairment evidences HPP, since patients with HPP cannot stand properly without experiencing heavy amounts of pain. The passing down of HPP mutations can even be seen in King Tut’s children. King Tut’s two daughters are found in his tomb, and one of the girls had a clear skull shape that might be correlated to HPP, due to skeletal dysplasia. In general though, HPP symptoms are 41 hard to detect because King Tut died at such a young age, where severe onset of symptoms had not yet begun. The more severe symptoms would have been an abnormally large skull shape, teeth missing, and weak, long bones. Geneticists still have yet to confirm the mutations of the ALPL gene in King Tut. Nonetheless, HPP would technically be a more plausible death than Köhler-Freiberg Disease and malaria, since HPP severely damages the human immune system. As well, low levels of alkaline phosphatase would dysregulate bacterial growth in the intestine, leaving King Tut more susceptible to infections. King Tut would also be more prone to fractures and thus delayed callus formation, which is quite common in HPP. For future studies, DNA sequencing is required to identify the ALPL gene and find the mutation. It is interesting to note the location of King Tut’s fracture site. Found above the knee joint, which is most common in car accidents, it would take a lot of energy to induce that type of fracture. Given the symptoms of HPP (an isolated fracture and lack of callus surrounding the fracture), HPP seems most probable for causing King Tut’s fracture. Doing a strenuous activity is unlikely to have caused King Tut’s fracture, since King Tut already could not walk well. Therefore, it may have been due to a minor trauma, leading to a femur fracture in a straight line. This straight line would mean that an open fracture is less likely, making it harder to prove how resin would have entered the fracture site. 42 CHAPTER 8 King Tut and ancient Egyptian culture Misinterpreted in popular culture? SUAD ALAD ow, with the history and impact Egyptian culture and the legacy of King Tut deconstructed and discussed, it is important to consider the influence this sort of legacy has on popular culture and how it is represented through different forms of media. For this chapter, an analysis of how Egyptian culture and King Tut are represented within popular culture (pop culture) will go underway and in this chapter specifically, the references made and the analysis of this representation will be done through a Western lens and should not be taken as a universal generalization. Throughout this text there will be engagement and critique of how the West views Egyptian and by extension Eastern culture, how this perception is translated through methods of entertainment media such as books, television and film and whether or not these portrayals are honest, accurate and respectful. There will also be an analysis on the implications of these representations and how and why these implications impact Egyptian people and their cultural engagement to the West within the real world. N Disclaimer During this chapter, there will be the use of the terms ‘Orient’ and ‘Orientalism’, particularly in contrast to the referral of the average Western or ‘White/European’ persons. The use of these terms are strictly for academic purposes and should not be made synonymous with Easternism, its culture or its people and should only be used in academic settings, discourses and writings. When referring to Eastern people and their culture the use of the word ‘Eastern’ or the specified ethnic group will be named as such and should be done so consciously outside of this text. How Orientalism has Impacted the West Engages with the East Something that is crucial to comprehend when discussing representation of a non-Western perspective through the eyes of the West is what sort of real life relationship the West has with this non-Western community. It can be assumed that if the relationship is cordial and respected, the representation will not pertain to malicious stereotyping or presentations of cultures and traditions. If the relationship is not mutually reciprocated or is a relationship 43 of animosity, there is great potential for media representation to include these stereotypes and defaming perceptions regarding one’s way of living outside of the Western world. In regards to the East, its culture and its traditions, the West has had a history of disrespecting and terrorizing Eastern people across the Asian continent and presenting their way of life as “savage-like”, “cowardly” and “inhumane”. Unfortunately, Egyptian and other forms of Middle Eastern culture have not been exempted from this treatment. In his 1985 essay, “Orientalism Reconsidered”, Edward Said, a Palestinian-American professor of literature and post-colonial academia, argues that the very concept of Easternism and how the West behaves when engaging with Eastern culture is a direct reflection of Orientalism and European Settler Colonialism. Orientalism, as Said defines, is a social, political and economic distinction made between the ‘Orient’ (Eastern people as perceived by the Western/European perspective) and the ‘Occident’ (Western/European people). Said states that during the time of British Imperialism and its colonial structure invading and eradicating what was unique about the Eastern standard of living, the purpose of Orientalism was to other aspects of Eastern culture in a negative way in order to ‘correct’ these errors of tradition by imposing European ideology as a replacement. However, it is important to be conscious of the fact that this imposition was not consensual and has resulted in the eradication of multiple cultural significances across the Asian continent from food, to language, to clothing, to social interactions. If it did not mimic the Western ideological and religious standard of life, it was seen as othering and was something European colonists decided was in need of correction. Essentially, the East are seen as victims and the West are seen as saviours. With the concept of Orientalism defined, a deconstruction of how Oriental thought and practice was implemented socially and politically can be conducted. Despite the vicious implications that stem from its definition, there are some concepts of Orientalism that, in its own backhanded way, ‘appreciated’ the aspects of Easterinism that otherwise differed typical Western practices. However, this ‘appreciation’ was not actual appreciation, but rather was a fetishization of Eastern culture. This fetishization is what is commonly known in academia regarding the Orient as “exoticism”, which is the attraction or striking nature/ characteristics which originate from a distant foreign country. In relation to the West, the East is that distant forge in nature that in some ways can be viewed as beautiful or attractive at the expense of accurate perceptions of Easternism. Egyptian culture, being an Eastern country colonized by multiple European countries in its country’s past, is once again not exempt from this fetishization either. According to Alexia Blair’s article on Egyptian Orientalism, Egypt’s past cultures and ancient histories have been eroticized, as the West views aspects of their culture as glamorous. When the French began their expedition across the Egyptian nation, the country’s people, language and traditions were not of interest to engage with. In fact, these integral characteristics of what bring Egyptian means were completely disregarded. What was considered ‘important’ to engage with and observe were artwork and literature the French and other European settlers could take with them on their way back to their home countries across the ocean to be put on display in exhibitions and cultural museums. In Blair’s article, she states that rather than looking at Egypt as its own unique country with customs and significance beyond material value, French settlers viewed Egypt as a “land of resources and colonial potential”. 44 How Does this Engagement Translate in Popular Culture? With this historical context deconstructed, evidence has shown that there is a lack of acknowledgement of Egyptian culture and existence beyond what has been established as desirable. In saying this, it is interesting to consider how in Western media this establishment is translated into pop culture and other forms of entertainment media. Before this is done, however, it is important to explain why and how pop culture is a crucial factor in the education and exposure of various forms of information towards a general audience. Educational Aspects of Entertainment Media In his 1964 novel, “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man”, Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan claims that there is potential for educational opportunities to be presented to mainstream audiences through methods of entertainment such as television. In this text, he claims that there is power in observatory learning and makes his case with the example of medical interns who learn about surgery by watching them be performed. He states that medical interns felt as though they obtained knowledge more effectively when viewing surgical procedures within the viewing galleries of the hospitals, they were interning at rather than being explained these procedures word of mouth in lessons because the observation aspect of these viewings mimicked a first-person perspective and interaction, rather than an outside view. McLuhan also claims that the reason they gain more knowledge through this first-hand observation is that the interaction of these viewings are so intimate. In his thirty-first chapter Television: The Timed Giant McLuhan writes that this form of intimacy is applicable to televised media and that it allows the audience a chance to experience what is being presented on their screens first-hand rather than watching something happening in the background. Thus, proving that one can learn from entertainment media and other forms of popular culture. It is important to establish this before delving into the representation of Egypt and King Tut within pop culture because for a general audience, television, film, non-academic literature and social media are the most access one may have at education regarding people, culture and lifestyles outside of their own and the people they know. Yes, there is potential to learn in any given situation and education is not strictly a systematic format. However, not everyone is provided with the same opportunities of education and not everyone is as equally educated on the same things. What one person may know about one topic, the other may have not even known this topic had existed. In regards to cultural practices outside of one’s own culture, this logic is just as applicable. Ancient Egypt and Archaeology in Entertainment Film With the subject of film, it is difficult to exactly pinpoint which aspects of media are accurate, honest, well intended and heartfelt with their approach. Many films, for the most part, have genuine intention to express factual methods of representation and hope to include perspectives that otherwise are not considered. However, this is not always the case, even if the intention was for it to be. In the case of Ancient Egypt, as it was briefly discussed, there is an exotic element towards how the West views Egypt as a sort of utopia that has not progressed past its ancient history for the sheer fact that Egypt’s past is what 45 makes the country so ‘desirable’. Many films that include Egypt in its plot, whether it be for setting or storyline purposes, usually do so through the genre of action and mystery and typically follow the life of an archaeologist looking for some “sacred” or “lost treasure”. In “Heroes, Mummies, and Treasure: Near Eastern Archaeology in the Movies”, an article written by Kevin McGeough for Near Eastern Archaeology, a consensus found that majority of cinematic inclusion of Egypt stemmed greatly from mystery films of archaeologists going on a trip to an undisclosed part of Egypt, as requested by the government or some private agency of the film, to obtain some particular artifact that is important these systems of power to have in their possession. Films popularly known as cult classics within the Western world that pertain to this specific form of genre are films such as Indiana Jones franchise, The Mummy and Tomb Raiders. Similar to how the French perceived Egypt and a majority of Europe viewed the East as a whole, these films present the Middle East as barren wastelands with no form of culture or civilization beyond the treasures their main characters are asked to find. Each of these films either take place within deserts of land the protagonist has to trek across or are within jungles they must navigate, but are labeled as being typical environmental settings of the Middle East, more specifically Egypt. If these films do include characters that are native to these lands, they are presented as either one of three stereotypes, according to McGeough: These stereotypes are the “noble savages” who are too civilized to truly be from the land in which they originate, but are too civilized to be from more ‘regal’ regions such as the West. These characters typically aid the protagonist in avoiding trouble and are used to help the protagonist develop their own understanding of the East beyond what they would have originally been taught in the West. There are the archaeologists who have aligned themselves with evil forces and must otherwise be stopped or defeated by the Western archaeologist. This sort of character reinforces the stereotype that Easternism is synonymous with immorality and should be steered away from. The final stereotype, and potentially the one that affirms the influence of Orientalism within the West the most, is the archaeologist who is not as skilled or knowledgeable about archaeology as the Western protagonist is, and must rely on the main character to aid them in finding the treasure. This character then hopes to adopt the practices of the protagonist and use their methods and skills to improve their “backwards” way of studying archaeology Another crucial fact presented within these films is that the Western archaeologist is always depicted as the “hero” or “saviour” of the film and that archaeologist is always made synonymous with intelligence, reaffirming the fact that the West sees themselves as superior beings in both intelligence and cultural practice as opposed to the East. Like McLuhan, McGeough also makes the claim that while film should not be taken as the sole form of education for those who watch or engage with this sort of media, it is important to remember there are educational benefits that film can produce. McGeough writes that because people can learn from film, or that film may be a person’s only form of exposure to a niche area of study or topic, accuracy and precision are crucial in the produc46 tion process of that film’s curation. Especially since, as McGeough states, universal and accessible communication regarding worldly knowledge “are sculpted through popular film”. King Tut’s Inclusion Within Popular Culture With all of this information regarding Egyptian representation in media, how it is engaged with throughout the Western world, and how this engagement is a reflection of colonial influence, it is interesting to consider how historical figures within Egyptian culture are included in these discussions of representation. With King Tut in mind, the conversation only becomes even more interesting. While he is not a figure of repeatedly centred in Western media regarding Egypt and its ancient histories, he still does play a role in the engagement non-Eastern communities have when considering Egypt. However, similarly to Ancient Egypt in film, this engagement is not exactly on the side of accuracy. The Treasures of Tutankhamun Exhibition of the 70s and the Commercialization of King Tut During the late 1970s, there was a popular art exhibition known as the “Treasures of Tutankhamun” that toured across the United States (US). It was seen as a diversification of ancient art and in its wake of popularity was used as a method to incorporate cultural engagement within the ancient Middle Eastern culture. According to Melani McAlister’s 1996 article ““The Common Heritage of Mankind”: Race, Nation, and Masculinity in the King Tut Exhibit”, the exhibit advertised Tut as a “boy king” and included all of his “[scarred] treasures” found within his tomb. His tomb, and the findings within it were also advertised as a “gift from the Egyptian people” to the United States. This exchange was used to exemplify how cultural engagement and sharing play major roles in the international relationships and how ultimately this exhibit strengthened the bond of Egypt and the US. However, the narrative of Tut’s treasures within the exhibit suggested that the very value of these treasures were beyond ownership of just a singular nation, despite Tut and these very artifacts being native to Egypt. This then shaped Tut as a pioneer, or as McAlister writes, a “common heritage” of humankind. This further separated King Tut from the exhibition itself, and centered it around his possessions. As McAlister states, “the history was the frame for the art, rather than the art serving as illustration or evidence for the history” and emphasized the exoticization of Ancient Egypt as a commodity for Western consumption. During the tour of this exhibition, books, mugs, t-shirts and other merchandise were sold nationwide, and everyone became obsessed with the Westernized version of King Tut, rather than Tut himself and the culture he came from and embody. Steven Martin’s “King Tut” on Saturday Night Live As continuously stated throughout this chapter, all Western media referencing Egypt and the Middle East are presented as such through a Western lens and typically do not consult or include the perspectives of Eastern and Egyptian people throughout this process of production. Although there are not universally known methods of filmography that include or follow the narrative of King Tut throughout his short lived life and time as ruler of Egypt, there have been instances where he has been included in the entertainment for 47 Western audiences. Unfortunately for King Tut, his inclusion regarding said entertainment was him being the butt of the joke. In a 1978 Saturday Night Live sketch written and performed by Steven Martin, who is a beloved actor across America, once again reaffirmed the understanding that all there is to Egyptian life and Egypt as a whole is wealth and material value through the Western perspective. In this sketch titled “King Tut”, Martin, dressed in “Egyptian” attire, performed a song that was meant to be a commentary on the commercialization of King Tut by the “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibition that was touring the United States at the time. Although lighthearted in intention, the stage presence of a “high art” Egyptian settings and background dancers doing the universally known “Egyptian” dance of precise movement in the arms, was disheartening. In this performance, a mummy emerges from the tomb propped up behind Martin to play a saxophone solo. What is most disturbing here is that this is not just any ordinary mummy, but the mummy of King Tut himself. With this performance in time, it’s hard to see past the irony of Martin’s intentions. Martin claims in this parodic gesture, he is criticizing the capitalization of King Tut and his legacy within the West as a young boy who can be used as advertisement in appealing to mainstream audiences…by putting on a performance about King Tut and his legacy, which Martin will be compensated with through monetary payment, for the same mainstream audiences. This song, ironically, went on to become a nationwide hit, and sold millions of records This also, once again, continues to reaffirm the understanding that Egyptian culture is nothing more than a way for Western communities to monetize aspects of their traditions and histories when the opportunity proceeds. Why Are These Portrayals Inaccurate and How Can They be Avoided ? A claim McAlister makes in her writing is that the Westernization of King Tut stems from the racial inequalities the US has been built on. Many Black archaeologists and academics hold the assumption that King Tut was a child of Black descendant because he existed in a time prior to the colonization of Egypt and other parts of Africa. They also associate Tut’s rule and other parts of his existence as a liberation and celebratory aspect of Black and Egyptian history. As discussed in the section regarding Orientalism, European and Western perspectives would reject this notion. To further negate this liberation, a mockery of this cultural significance would need to take place. McAlister writes that a form of mockery within Black and Brown men is the emasculation of their identity in relation to White/European men. In having performances of parody about King Tut, reducing his legacy to the objects he found comfort in and rewriting his history for the benefit of White entertainment, the West is succeeding in this emasculation. It also is important to consider that these portrayals do not include actual Egyptian people. They are perspectives that claim to be about Egypt for the non-Egyptian world, made by non-Egyptian people. This is where the issue lies. In order for there to be a resolution, this needs to change. There needs to be inclusion of these perspectives from the beginning so that their representation is accurate and does produce the meaningful narratives the creators intended. 48 CHAPTER 9 Where is King Tut now and what is his role in the future? JENNIFER PHAM eing one of the most remarkable archaeological findings of the 20th century, the tomb of King Tutankhamun has garnered significant public interest and contributed to the wave of Tut-mania in the West. In the latter half of the 1900’s, the artifacts found at the tomb of King Tutankhamun traveled around the world and were displayed at museums in various countries such as the United States (US), Canada, France, the United Kingdom (UK) and Japan. However, the Grand Egyptian Museum is expected to be the final resting place of these artifacts. In addition to public interest, the rediscovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun has greatly contributed to the field of archaeology by opening a window into ancient Egyptian culture. Although recent technological innovations have advanced today’s understanding of the life of King Tutankhamun, there remain many unanswered questions in regards to his parentage, death, and most notably, the presence of undiscovered chambers within his tomb. Thus, this chapter aims to examine the exhibitions of King Tutankhamun and his role in future research. B Exhibitions of King Tutankhamun’s artifacts Riding on the wave of Tut-mania, the exhibitions of artifacts found at the tomb incited a worldwide fascination for King Tutankhamun. Starting in 1961, the artifacts left the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for the first time since the rediscovery made by Howard Carter in 1922 (Cohen, 2019). This first exhibition was titled Tutankhamun Treasures and took place at the National Gallery of Art, a Smithsonian institution located in Washington, D.C. (National Gallery of Art, n.d.). The show was opened by the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ambassador Dr. Mostafa Kamel, and the Minister of Culture of the United Arab Republic, Dr. Swat Okasha (National Gallery of Art, n.d.). Although the exhibition centered around King Tutankhamun, the initial purpose of the exhibition was to raise awareness for an initiative sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (Pezzati, 2006). The program was started to save monuments threatened by the Aswan Dam project (Pezzati, 2006). The construction of the Aswan High Dam in 1961 was predicted to flood various Egyptian archaeological sites (Pezzati, 2006). Thus, Froelich Rainey, the Director of the University 49 of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum), along with representatives of the Egyptian government organized the tour in the US to raise public interest for the UNESCO-sponsored initiative (Pezzati, 2006). According to records at the Penn Museum, the 34 objects selected to leave Egypt included a golden dagger and sheath, a crook and flail, and a miniature replica of King Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus (Pezzati, 2006). Aside from the US, these artifacts also visited Tokyo, Japan in 1965 and Paris, France in 1967 (Zaky, 2017). Beginning in 1972, the artifacts of King Tutankhamun’s tombs once again left Egypt. The exhibition titled The Treasures of Tutankhamun was at the British Museum in London, UK (Zaky, 2017). The show was considered the largest exhibit of King Tutankhamun’s objects at the time (Zaky, 2017). The collection consisted of 50 pieces, 17 of which left Egypt for the first time (Zaky, 2017). When the exhibition closed on December 31, 1972, profits made from entrance tickets of 1.6 million visitors to see the display were donated to UNESCO for preserving the temples at Philae, Egypt (Zaky, 2017). The Treasures of Tutankhamun collection also travelled to 6 cities in the U.S. from 1976 to 1979 (Hindley, 2015). The tour was initiated at the request of President Richard Nixon with the signing of the bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Egypt in 1975 (Hindley, 2015). The U.S. tour was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York, and all profits made were donated to renovate the Cairo Museum (Hindley, 2015). The successes of the previous exhibitions had led to an increased fascination with ancient Egyptian culture. In 2004, some of the artifacts found at the tomb of King Tutankhamun left Egypt for Basel, Switzerland (Studer, 2004). The exhibition was titled Tutankhamun: The Golden Beyond and included 50 pieces coming from the tomb of King Tutankhamun in addition to 70 more pieces found at other tombs of the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Studer, 2004). The artifacts travelled around Europe before coming to America where the exhibition was renamed Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs (Haithman, 2005). The show started at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California and made their way to 3 other cities in the U.S. (Haithman, 2005). The exhibition included 114 pieces with half the items coming from the tombs of other notable figures of the 18th Dynasty such as Amenhotep II, Tuthmosis IV, Yuya, Tjuyu, and the other half coming from King Tutankhamun’s tomb (Haithman, 2005). The most recent and, perhaps, final tour of the artifacts from King Tutankhamun’s tour started in March, 2018. The exhibition was titled King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh (Egypt Today Staff, 2020). Beginning at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California, the exhibition showcased 150 artifacts with many being displayed outside of Egypt for the first time (Egypt Today Staff, 2020). During the time at the museum, the exhibition made a total of $5 million (Egypt Today Staff, 2020). The artifacts, then, travelled to Paris, France, where they were displayed at the Grande Halle La Villette (Egypt Today Staff, 2020). The exhibition lasted for 6 months and accumulated over 1.4 million visitors (Egypt Today Staff, 2020). The exhibition also made stops in the U.K. and the U.S. (Egypt Today Staff, 2020). The show was supposed to make a final stop in Sydney, Australia; however, due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the 150 artifacts were returned to Cairo, Egypt (Morris, 2021). 50 The artifacts of King Tutankhamun’s tomb are to be permanently housed at the Grand Egyptian Museum, overlooking the Pyramids of Giza (Islam, 2019). Alongside the 5,000 artifacts found at King Tutankhamun’s tomb, the exhibit will also feature his 3 coffins together for the first time (Islam, 2019). The outermost of the 3 coffins was reported to be damaged by the high temperatures and humidity of the tomb and had to be transported to the museum for a restoration process that was expected to last 8 months (Islam, 2019). The museum and, subsequently, the new exhibition were supposed to premiere in 2020. However, the COVID-19 had pushed back their opening until a more appropriate time (Samir, 2021). Conservation of King Tutankhamun’s Tomb Beginning in 2009, the Getty Conservation Institute, based in Los Angeles, and the Ministry of Antiquities of Egypt collaborated on a project to restore King Tutankhamun’s tomb (Agnew, 2019). The project lasted 9 years, with a brief interruption in 2011 due to the unrest of the Egyptian Revolution (Donahue, 2019). One of the major concerns at the tomb was the presence of dust brought in by visitors (Agnew, 2019). The goals of the project included improving the environmental conditions inside the tomb, cleaning up the paintings, enhancing the infrastructure and presentation, and formulating a plan for future maintenance at the tomb (Agnew, 2019). One of the major concerns that the team had was the presence of brown spots on the painting (Donahue, 2019). These spots were detected to originate from microbiological organisms and could not be removed as that could damage the paintings (Agnew, 2019). Thus, the wall paintings were enhanced in other ways such as plaster repairs, paint flaking stabilization and dust removal (Agnew, 2019). King Tutankhamun’s mummy is also displayed at the tomb in a climate-controlled glass box (History.com Editors, 2020). While tourism has played a huge role in the public interest with King Tutankhamun and ancient Egyptian culture, it also presents concerns to the conservation of the tomb. Dust brought in by visitors is a major problem for paintings on the walls of the tomb, and was one of the reasons that necessitated the cleaning of the paintings for the conservation project (Agnew, 2019). Humidity introduced by tourists can also damage by nurturing microbiological growth and cause physical stress on the wall paintings (Agnew, 2019). In addition to a plan for future maintenance as aforementioned, the project also placed a viewing platform in the tomb and an air filtration system to reduce possible problems with dust and humidity (Bailey, 2019). A replica of the tomb was also built nearby to limit the number of tourists at the original site (Kingsley, 2014). Even though the conservation project addressed many of the concerns about damages from within, the tomb of King Tutankhamun can also face physical dangers from the outside environment. In recent years, climate change has increased the potential for flooding (Donahue, 2019). While King Tutankhamun’s tomb may not experience flooding directly, the walls of the tomb were built with porous rock containing clay (Donahue, 2019). Flooding in the surrounding tombs could cause water to drip over to King Tutankhamun’s tomb and cause damages to the walls (Donahue, 2019). Thus, plans to counter the effects of a possible flooding can be further developed. 51 Ownership of Cultural Property Prior to the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the artifacts found at King Tutankhamun’s tomb were stored at the Cairo Museum. They could only leave the country if they were lent out by the Egyptian authorities. Even so, a legal market for ancient artifacts exists (Maher, 2019). In 2019, a quartzite statue of King Tutankhamun appeared at Christie’s, an auction house based in London (Cohen, 2019). The Egyptian authorities tried to halt the auction with the claim that the sculpture was taken from the Temple of Karnak in 1970, the year UNESCO established a convention to prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural property (Cohen, 2019). Christie’s denied the allegation stating that the statue has been a part of the private collection of Prince Wilhelm von Thurn und Taxis since the 1960s and provided a list of private owners since then (Cohen, 2019). While the market for antiquity is legitimate, opinions differ in regards to the ownership of cultural property. In 1983, Egypt created Law No. 117 to terminate the export of antiquities (Cohen, 2019). Before the law was formally established, the excavation team could keep half of the items they found at the archaeological site (Cohen, 2019). However, all objects found at an unplundered royal tomb stay in Egypt, meaning that all artifacts found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb were to be kept in Egypt (Cohen, 2019). Therefore, the artifacts at King Tutankhamun’s tomb brought into question the private ownership of antiquity, a topic that could be explored in the future as the field of archaeology progresses. Future Research Since the rediscovery of the tomb in 1922, archaeologists and historians have been expanding their knowledge on King Tutankhamun and ancient Egyptian society, especially with the help of modern technology. Nonetheless, many questions remain unanswered. King Tutankhamun’s tomb supplied limited information on his royal lineage, and subsequently, who might have reigned before and after him. Controversies surrounding his death, and most notable, surrounding the presence of a secret chamber still exist. All these areas provide avenues for future research. King Tutankhamun’s Parentage Despite the great number of artifacts recovered from King Tutankhamun’s tomb, no inscription definitely states the identities of King Tutankhamun’s parents (Kemp & Zink, 2012). However, the mummies in tombs KV55 and KV35 have been identified as relations of the King (Kemp & Zink, 2012). The mummy in KV55 had been identified as Akhenaten, who is believed to be King Tutankhamun’s father. Meanwhile, there are two mummies in tomb KV35, the Older Lady and Younger Lady (Kemp & Zink, 2012). Although the identity of the Older Lady had been identified as King Tutankhamun’s paternal grandmother, the identity of the Younger Lady is still a mystery. Candidates for the Younger Lady include Nefertiti - Akhenaten’s great royal wife, Kiya - Akhenaten’s second wife, or Sitamun, Akhenaten’s eldest sister (Kemp & Zink, 2012). King Tutankhamun’s Predecessors King Tutankhamun is believed to have ascended to the throne around the age of 9; however, 52 little is known about his predecessors (Dorman, 2021; Zorich, 2016). Toward the last years of Akhenaten’s reign, a co-regent with the name Smenkhkare appeared (van Dijk, 1996). Since only a few monuments of Smenkhkare survived, researchers are unable to clearly identify Smenkhkare. Some thought Smenkhkare might have been a pharaoh who ruled before Nerferneferuaten, but others believe that Smenkhkare and Nerferneferuaten might have been the same person. Smenkhkare shared the same coronation name, Ankhkheperure, as Nerferneferuaten, even though coronation names were often unique to a pharaoh (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.-b). Monuments for Smenkhkare also display the name Nerferneferuaten (van Dijk, 1996). One theory suggested that Smenkhkare could have been Nefertiti (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.b). Nerferneferuaten is widely speculated to be the name Nefertiti gave to herself after ascending the throne (Zorich, 2016). Also, there is little record of Nefertiti since the time Smenkhkare was appointed co-regent (van Dijk, 1996). However, Smenkhkare had a royal consort, Meritaten, who was the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti (van Dijk, 1996). Thus, further studies into the tomb of King Tutankhamun and his lineage could help in identifying his predecessors. King Tutankhamun’s Successor King Tutankhamun’s seemingly sudden death at the age of 19 left him no heirs (Zorich, 2016). While Ay is known to have taken the throne after King Tutankhamun, the details of his ascension are unclear (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.-a). He was a member at Akhenaten’s court and became more influential during King Tutankhamun’s reign (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.-a). Ay seemed to have presented himself as the presumptive heir at King Tutankhamun’s funeral (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.-a). However, there is insufficient information regarding his ascension, thus, providing an avenue for future research. Knowledge on Ay’s ascension can also shed light on King Tutankhamun’s death. King Tutankhamun’s Death As mentioned in previous chapters, the circumstances of King Tutankhamun’s death are subjected to much speculation. The tomb is thought to be too small for the burial of a pharaoh and might have been repurposed for King Tutankhamun (Zorich, 2016). The necessity to repurpose the tomb could be evidence of a sudden death, leading to many different theories regarding the cause of his death that can be further examined (Zorich, 2016). A Secret Chamber? In 2015, Nicholas Reeves, an Egyptologist, published a paper stating his hypothesis on the existence of a secret chamber within King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Upon examining high-resolution scans taken by Factum Arte, Reeves was able to identify the “ghosts’’ of two doorways beneath the plastered walls of the tomb (Reeves, 2015). He theorized that one doorway led to a storage chamber, while the other led to a corridor that opens up a pathway further into the tomb to the burial of Nefertiti (Reeves, 2015). Reeves indicated that the L-shaped corridor, which turned to the right instead of left, is a burial site for a queen (Reeves, 2015). His hypothesis stated that the only royal female who could achieve 53 such regal status in her burial in the 18th Dynasty was Nefertiti (Reeves, 2015). The tomb was originally built for her and was reopened to include chamber J (where King Tutankhamun was buried in tomb KV62) due to the sudden death of King Tutankhamun (Reeves, 2015). The possibility of a secret chamber in King Tutankhamun’s tomb created a sensation within the field of archaeology as the discovery of such a chamber could answer many of the questions researchers still have in regards to King Tutankhamun and the pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty. Following Reeves’s paper, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities (MoA) authorized Hirokatsu Watanabe to perform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scan (Fischanger et al., 2019). The results of the scan agreed with Reeves’s hypothesis, indicating two empty cavities beyond the North and West walls of King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber (Sambuelli et al., 2019). A second GPR scan was commissioned to confirm the results stated by Watanabe and provide details for an excavation (Sambuelli et al., 2019). However, the second survey, conducted by the National Geographic team, notes no large voids beyond the walls of the burial chamber (Sambuelli et al., 2019). In order to provide a more conclusive result regarding the existence of hidden chambers beyond KV62, a third GPR scan was performed in 2017. The third survey also indicated no void spaces beyond the walls of the burial chambers (Sambuelli et al., 2019). The study also stated the possibility of ghost signals that could lead to the conclusion made by the first GPR scan (Sambuelli et al., 2019). The environment within the tomb could have misled researchers by contributing the production of rogue radar reflections that originate along the wall surfaces instead of beyond them (Sambuelli et al., 2019). On the other hand, two recent scans have indicated results contradicting the last survey. In 2016, the MoA commissioned an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey to be performed. The results indicated high resistivity anomalies that may suggest the presence of cavities beyond the walls (Fischanger et al., 2019). However, the team encountered many environmental and geological challenges at the tomb (Fischanger et al., 2019). They concluded that the origin and meaning of these anomalies need further research and cannot be established solely on the ERT survey (Fischanger et al., 2019). In 2020, results of an unpolished report on a GPR scan performed by archaeologist Mamdouh Eldamaty and his team once again indicated the presence of hidden chambers north of King Tutankhamun’s tomb (Marchant, 2020). However, due to the contradicting results of these aforementioned scans, researchers are still skeptical of the existence of these secret chambers, and the pursuit of this claim in future research may be a topic of debate. Ethical Issues While technology has contributed to the expansion of modern knowledge on historical topics, ethical issues of doing so may be raised in the future (Markel, 2010). For example, DNA, genetic, and radiological technologies have advanced the knowledge on King Tutankhamun. However, questions are benign raised about whether he should have a right to medical privacy. Debates may exist on whether historical figures should be given the same privacy as private citizens, especially after death (Markel, 2010). Evaluations of the costs of exhuming the dead and the benefits of the knowledge gained from it may need to be examined on a case by case basis (Markel, 2010). Thus, such debates could lead 54 to additional guidelines established in the future as technology continues to advance. Even a century after the rediscovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, he remains a figure of interest to the public as well as in the field of archaeology. After numerous exhibitions around the world, the artifacts found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb will have their permanent resting place at the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is expected to open in the near future. The many unanswered questions about King Tutankhamun’s life and relatives provide avenues for future research. The existence of hidden chambers within the tomb KV 62 is also a controversial theory that can be explored. Meanwhile, the current situation with the antiquity market and the development of technology as described above may incite new guidelines in the ownership of cultural property and in exhuming and examining the dead, respectively. Thus, although King Tutankhamun died in the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, his influence on the modern world lives on. 55 REFERENCES Agnew, N. (2019). Conserving and Managing the Tomb of Tutankhamen. The Getty Magazine. Ancient Egypt: A Brief History. (2012). Accounting and Order, 44-71. Doi:10.4324/9780203123300-11 Ancient Egyptian death mask - Archaeology for you. (n.d.). Young Archaeologists’ Club. https://www.yac-uk. org/activity/make-an-ancient-egyptian-death-mask Ancient Egyptian marriage and kin terms, definitions of consanguinity and consanguineous marriage. 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