Amenhotep I (c. 1551-1524 B.C.) 18th Dynasty, Cairo Museum. The mummy of Amenhotep



The mummy of Amenhotep I was discovered in good condition and has never been unwrapped.
It was found with an intact cartonnage funerary mask and had been re-wrapped by 21st Dynasty restorers in an orange shroud held in place with horizontal and vertical strips of bandaging. Numerous floral garlands had been placed over the shroud and descended almost to the feet of the mummy. Georg Schweinfurth, a professional botanist who examined the floral decorations not long after the mummy's discovery, identified the red, yellow and blue flowers of which the garlands were composed.
X-rays published in 1967 reveal a bead girdle and a small amulet still within the mummy wrappings. They also show a post-mortem fracture of the lower right arm, which think probably occurred during the 21st Dynasty re-wrapping. Although broken, the king's arms had been placed across his chest in what was to become the standard position for the king's mummies.
An X-ray shows that the king apparently died in his late forties and was perhaps 1.79 meters, or about 5 feet 10 inches, tall.
He is the second king of the 18th Dynasty, the son of Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari. It is assumed that he was very young when he acceded to the throne, and his mother probably functioned as regent for a time. Amenhotep continued the policies of his predecessor. He wanted to restore peace in Egypt and worked on rebuilding it. In addition, he penetrated further than Ahmose into Nubia and conquered that land, turning it into Egypt's most important source of gold. The famous medical papyrus Ebers was written during his reign. This contains a precise Sothic date, an important aid in establishing an absolute chronology. Amenhotep I and his mother are credited with the foundation of the workmen's village Deir el-Medinah. This is probably why he quickly became a protective deity of the Theban necropolis, and of Deir el-Medinah in particular, after his death. Together with his mother Ahmose-Nefertari, he had a mortuary temple on the west bank at Thebes. Amenhotep was particularly revered by the workmen of Deir el-Medinah. Stelae and texts on ostraca and papyrus indicate that a statue of the king was consulted as an oracle during processions. Once a year for four days, a great festival for Amenhotep was celebrated in the month Pamenoth, which bore the king's name (Pamenoth means 'the (month) of Amenhotep'). In connection with his role as the god of the necropolis, Amenhotep is often depicted on the inside of sarcophagi.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A U.S. marine gives a cigarette to an injured Japanese soldier, buried in the sand at the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

Image
A U.S. marine gives a cigarette to an injured Japanese soldier, buried in the sand at the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Equipped with a grenade, the soldier lay in ambush for 36 hours. Marines spotted him concealed in the dark sand and managed to dislodge the grenade out of his reach. Although he surrendered, the cautious Marines suspected potential booby traps and approached carefully. At his request, he was given a cigarette, and thereafter, they cautiously removed him from the shell hole. The 3rd and 4th Marine Divisions broke up the remaining organized resistance on March 16, 1945, the same day this photo was taken. Occasionally individual enemy soldiers armed with demolition charges and grenades raced out against tanks or groups of Marines but were shot down before they could do any great damage to personnel or equipment. Isolated pockets, totaling some 3,000 enemy soldiers, remained around the island. US V Amphibious Corps Command declared Iwo Jima secure at 1800...
Read more

American soldiers execute SS camp guards who have been lined up against a wall during the liberation of Dachau concentration camp.

Image
Following the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, American troops felt an urge to personally punish the camp's guards. What exactly transpired still isn't known. Dachau concentration camp, located in the state of Bavaria, Germany, was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime. On April 29, 1945, Dachau was liberated by the U.S seventh Army’s 45th Infantry Division. Corpses of prisoners in the Dachau death trains. 1945. But it wasn’t just liberated. Reports indicated that, appalled by what they saw, members of the U.S army were driven to take revenge. They allegedly murdered the SS officers and guards who were responsible for the Holocaust horrors that took place at Dachau. The troops arrived at the Dachau concentration camp in the afternoon. They were on their way to Munich which was just over ten miles from Dachau. Though the troops passed through Dachau, it wasn’t initially a part of the attack zones they were headed for. ...
Read more

This photograph captures one of the last moments of this woman’s life.

Image
Cheng Benhua was a resistance fighter who gave her life defending her home country of China against the Japanese Imperial Army.  She has become a symbol of bravery in the face of death and unspeakable abuse.  Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused by her Japanese captors.  Despite the awareness that she would soon be killed, she still managed to put on a devious smile that made it seem like she was taunting the soldiers around her. Cheng Benhua's unwavering courage in the face of death has become an iconic representation of fearless resistance. A photograph, taken by a Japanese photographer shortly before she was fatally wounded in 1938, captures her unyielding spirit.  Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused and raped by her Japanese captors.  Despite enduring severe mistreatment at the hands of her captors, she appears to smile as she fa...
Read more