Mummy believed to be of Ramsis I, found at Atlanta museum
Egypt, History, 10/25/2001

The ambiguity of the ancient Egyptian civilisation has always raised the curiosity of researchers and archaeologists who find an endless source of information and secrets.

Lately one of the Pharaonic mummies displayed at a US museum has drawn the attention of Egyptologists who found that it carries much resemblance to the royal mummies of the l9th century. They came to believe that the ambiguous mummy could probably be that of Ramsis I.

The Sunday Times has published a story to this effect. It said that the mummy of Ramsis I was robbed a short while after its burial i.e about 3000 years ago.

The paper reported that Egyptologists at Michael Carlos Museum in Atlanta have reason to believe that the mummy, one of nine purchased by the museum two years ago from Niagara Fall Museum for US$l.5 million, is that of Ramsis 1.

The mummy is 5 feet, 5 inches and is characterised by the big crooked nose characteristic of the family members of Ramsis I who ruled Egypt for about l50 years. The mummy is wrapped with the arms crossed on the chest.

Archaeologists found within the wraps gold leafs separating each toe from the other, a tradition only followed with royal mummies.

The mummy as reported by the paper was brought to Canada in l861 by an American who bought it from a tomb robber. X-ray scanning of the mummy proved its great resemblance to mummies of the l9th dynasty.

However, these are only suppositions which will not prove to be certain until DNA test is conducted on the teeth of the mummy to be compared with the outcome of research conducted on the mummies of the sons of Ramsis II in Cairo.

Ramsis I was born in Delta about l350 BC. However, he was not a member of the royal family but was the son of an army leader.

When the Egyptian Pharaoh at the time Hor Moheb felt to be on the verge of death he turned to Ramsis who was a strong man capable of ruling the country to hand him over the throne since he had no sons.

Previous Stories:
  Pharaonic, Roman tombs unearthed in Beheira   (10/24/2001)
  The treasures of the Valley of the Kings   (10/22/2001)
  Sun Inside Abu Simbel temple   (10/22/2001)

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