Ancient Egyptian pharaoh's face revealed

140 years ago, archaeologists discovered the mummy of Pharaoh Amenhotep I together with other well-preserved corpses in Deir el-Bahari in southern Egypt. Because of the intact facial mask and wrappings, they decided to keep the pharaoh's mummy without further intervention or examination.

In the 1930s, a couple of x-rays were made of Amenhotep, but now, radiologist Sahar Saleem of the University of Cairo and archaeologist Zahi Hawass have learned more about the ancient Egyptian pharaoh through computer tomography, and discovered many details about his body. "He was 1.69 meters tall, circumcized and had good teeth,” Saleem said.

He did not suffer from any fatal disease or injury and researchers estimated his age to be 35 years. They attribute the fact that he was so well-preserved to a group of Amun high priests. Around 1100 BC, they removed the damaged mummy together with other sarcophagi from their original crypts and hid them in another place to keep them safe from grave robbers.

Restored after 3000 years

Thieves plundering graves often looked for ornaments and amulets. They did not handle the mummies delicately and often left badly damaged relics. Scientists Saleem and Hawass found post-mortem injuries in Amenhotep's corpse. During the pharaoh's embalming, all the organs except the heart and brain were removed and replaced with amulets. 

Saleem told the media that scientists could show that the high priests had "lovingly restored" the mummy to its old glory with jewels and amulets after grave robbers had injured the corpse. The 30 amulets that were supposed to protect the pharaoh in the afterlife are still well preserved, including the heart amulet and two pieces of jewelry placed in the abdomen. The amulets show motifs such as the eye of Horus, scarabs, and snake heads.

Also preserved is a necklace of 34 golden beads that the dead pharaoh wore looped across his lower back.

A peaceful pharaoh

Amenhotep I ascended the throne in the year 1525 BCE. This marked the beginning of a period of prosperity for Egypt, which had long been shaken by wars. Smaller campaigns in the border region had survived, but above all the army served to keep segments of the population — especially in Nubia — quiet.  Amenhotep I used his peaceful reign to build new temples, including one in Karnak, close to Luxor.

The young king initially reigned by his father's side, but was soon joined by his mother, Ahmose Nefertari, who served as the pharaoh's regent. Later, Amenhotep married one of his six sisters, but his mother and he were worshipped as patron deities for over 800 years. The emperor died in 1504 BCE.

The pharaoh had already made a magnificent public appearance earlier this year. In April, he was carried through the streets of Cairo in a festive procession with 21 other mummies in gilded carriages specially made for the parade. The 18 pharaohs and four queens, including Amenhotep's mother had been kept in the Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square in Cairo for more than a century. Their future home is the newly-constructed National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in the south of Cairo.

This article was translated from German.