Register or Log In. The Magazine Shop. Login Register Stay Curious Subscribe. Planet Earth. A replica of the mummified Tutankhamun. Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news. Sign Up. Already a subscriber? Want more? Ikram suspects this gash was created as another nod to Osiris, who was cut to pieces by his evil brother Seth in Egyptian myth. When Howard Carter removed the linens from King Tut's mummy, he discovered that the penis stood upright at an almost degree angle.
In other words, the men who embalmed Tut arranged his penis to give him an erection, again evoking the fertility of Osiris. To see a close-up of Tut's mummified member, click here and select image P There's no double-checking that bit of evidence, though, because the penis fell off the body during the course of its examination by Carter and anatomist Douglas Derry.
We only have Carter's word for it," said Ikram. Photos taken after the mummy had been taken apart to remove it from the solid-gold coffin and reassembled merely show a bit of flesh collapsed between Tut's legs. The embalming process, which included 40 days of drying in a local salt known as natron, greatly diminished its size.
It shrivels. In , when x-rays were taken of Tut's mummy, his penis was nowhere to be seen. Many people feared it had been stolen, but scientists conducting the CT scan thought they spotted it in the sand that the mummy now lies on, along with other missing parts such a thumb and pieces of vertebrae. During his reign, Akhenaten not only built a new capital in the desert, but also launched a religious revolution.
He suppressed the worship of the country's many gods, brutally attacked the temples of the preeminent god Amun , and encouraged devotion to Aten , the sun god. It must have been a troubling time, full of turmoil and uncertainty. By the time Tutankhamun ascended to the throne, at about nine years of age, the country's top officials had had enough. In the name of their pharaoh, they returned the county's administration to the ancient city of Memphis, brought back the old cults, reopened temples, and rehabilitated Amun.
Tut's mummification served to emphasize this momentous return to normal. The old gods were back in favor and smiling upon a powerful, productive, and traditional Egypt, symbolized by Tut turning into Osiris-literally and mythically-after death. And maybe he wasn't the only pharaoh who was mummified to make a political statement. Among the mummies of the 19th dynasty, there's no evidence of that kind of propaganda. There was no need for it. All was right with the world, and life was good once again.
All rights reserved. Political Propaganda So what does all this have to do with politics? Follow Ann Williams on Twitter. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London Love them or hate them, there's no denying their growing numbers have added an explosion of color to the city's streets.
India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Statues of gods and goddess were taken from one temple to another along the Nile in divine barks. Mourners surround Tutankhamun's coffin. Re-enactment scene from the film Mysteries of Egypt. Priests lead the funeral procession taking Tutankhamun's coffin to his tomb. T he tomb in which Tutankhamun was buried was probably intended for another person, but because of the young pharaoh's untimely death, it became his final resting place.
Following the ritual "opening of the mouth" performed by his successor, Ay, his body and coffins were placed in a red sarcophagus in the burial chamber. The foot of the outer coffin was sliced off and splashed with resin before the lid was set in place.
The mismatched lid may have been dropped as it was being lowered into place because it was cracked.
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