BAR Jr.: Gamma Rays Halt Deterioration of Mummy of Ramesses II
054
Everyone knows what a mummy is. We’ve all seen them in museums or seen photographs of them in newspapers and magazines. A mummy is a dead body, preserved to last through eternity. The most famous mummies come from Egypt; they are the bodies of the Pharaohs, the ancient kings of Egypt.
The tombs of the Pharaohs were long the prey of grave robbers. In their greed for the treasures buried with the Pharaohs, thieves unwrapped each layer of cloth that had been wound around the bodies and took each jewel that had been placed inside. Although this unwrapping deprived the Pharaohs’ bodies of some of the protection of the embalming process, they were still protected from decay.
The ancient Egyptians’ embalming method involved removing the brain and entrails and then drying the body by placing it in natron (hydrated sodium carbonate, obtained from salt lakes near the Nile delta) for 40 to 70 days. Spices were then put in the abdominal cavity and the entire body was covered with layers of pine resin to protect it from bacteria. Linen bandages three to four inches wide and 700–1000 yards long were wrapped around the corpse, and it was put into a wooden case and then, sometimes, in a sarcophagus.a The embalming process was a very effective means of preservation—if the body remained undisturbed.
In the last decade of the 19th century, archaeologists discovered the mummified bodies of many Pharaohs in tombs and hiding places where they had been reburied by Egyptian priests to protect them from desecration by grave robbers. These mummies were taken to Cairo, where they were kept in a variety of storage places. In the early 1960s, the mummies were displayed in the Cairo museum for the first time. But they had deteriorated, perhaps because the resin layers protecting them had cracked when they were first moved. Their continued preservation no longer seemed assured. But help came from two Ministers of Culture—one Egyptian and one French. They arranged for one of the mummies to be taken to France for analysis and preservation. In the fall of 1976, Ramesses II, Pharaoh of Egypt from about 1290 to 1223 B.C., arrived in France and was taken to the Museum of Man.
Many scholars believe Ramesses II was one of the Pharaohs who oppressed the Israelites. They cite a reference to Israel in a steleb commemorating the military victories of 055Merneptah, Ramesses II’s son, who ruled immediately after him (c. 1223 B.C.–1213 B.C.). The reference reads, “Plundered is Canaan. Israel is desolated; his seed is not. Palestine is become a widow for Egypt.” These scholars believe Merneptah was saving face: since he had been unable to prevent the Israelites’ escape from his land, he presented it as a victory for Egypt, claiming he had banished them from his domain. Some of Ramesses’s inscriptions claim that he built Pithom and Ramses. Exodus 1:11 says that the Israelites “built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Ramses.”
Scientific analysis at the Museum of Man revealed that Ramesses was about 90 years old when he died—a venerable age today, an astonishing age in those days. His hair had originally been reddish blond, but was dyed, probably with henna, by the embalmers, since it had turned white in his old age. His skin had been abnormally white. Ramesses had been beset by many illnesses during his life, including severe dental problems and hardening of the arteries. While the scientists were extremely interested in what their analysis revealed of his life, their major task was to confront the enemy that threatened his body in death. The resin that covered Ramesses’s flesh had broken. Over 90 species of fungi were growing on the mummy. If they were allowed to proliferate, the mummy would soon disintegrate.
The scientists first thought of using a cold treatment to destroy the fungi, but it was feared that this would dry the mummy too much and damage it severely. Heat and gas treatments were also considered to kill the fungi, but were discarded as too risky. Finally, a proposal from the French Atomic Energy Commission provided the solution. The mummy was irradiated for nine hours with gamma rays. The fungi were destroyed. The mummy was undamaged.
The mummy’s wrappings and wooden casket were restored (its sarcophagus had long since disappeared), and it was placed in an airtight glass case equipped with an electric fan and filters to remove bacteria.
Ramesses was ready to return to Egypt. But one problem remained. The glass case would have to be opened in Cairo so that the mummy could be positioned for display, but if unfiltered air reached it, bacteria would grow and the mummy would begin to decay again. To solve this problem, a huge, inflatable plastic ball was constructed. Tools were placed inside the glass display case. When the case was put inside the ball, a person could work on the case using gloves that had been built into the ball.
In the spring of 1977, Ramesses joined the other mummies on display in the Cairo Museum. But Ramesses did not remain on view for long. In October of 1980, the late President of Egypt, Anwar el-Sadat, ordered the mummy exhibit closed on the grounds that it violated Islamic religious tenets by failing to show adequate respect for the dead. The exhibit remains closed, although the mummies may still be studied by scholars and researchers. Ramesses II is restored, but in this case, as so often happens with reports of archaeological finds, the public will learn of the restoration secondhand, or not at all.
This article is adapted from “The Pharaoh’s Odyssey,” by Dean Lionel Balout, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 9, 1979, p. 2.
Everyone knows what a mummy is. We’ve all seen them in museums or seen photographs of them in newspapers and magazines. A mummy is a dead body, preserved to last through eternity. The most famous mummies come from Egypt; they are the bodies of the Pharaohs, the ancient kings of Egypt. The tombs of the Pharaohs were long the prey of grave robbers. In their greed for the treasures buried with the Pharaohs, thieves unwrapped each layer of cloth that had been wound around the bodies and took each jewel that had been placed inside. Although this unwrapping deprived […]
You have already read your free article for this month. Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.
Already a library member? Log in here.
Institution user? Log in with your IP address or Username