The exhibition 'Tutankhamun's Funeral' will feature jars, lids, bowls, floral collars, linen sheets, and bandages that were used at King Tut's mummification and the rites associated with his burial and related objects. These include a sculpted head of the youthful Tutankhamun and several facsimile paintings depicting funerary rituals. Archival photographs from the early 20th century by Harry Burton, the Museum's expedition photographer, will provide an evocative background.
In 1908, more than a decade before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, American retired lawyer and archaeologist Theodore Davis made a remarkable discovery. While excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, he unearthed about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron, bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The significance of the find was not immediately understood, and the objects entered the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a mystery. It was only several years later, after further excavations and study, that the Museum’s Herbert E. Winlock was able to identify them: the small cache contained the remains from the embalming and funeral of King Tut. These objects now get their own exhibition - Tutankhamun's Funeral - which runs at New York's Met until November 6th.
Interest in Tut – fuelled by the various mysteries surrounding him, including his untimely death, and the curse that supposedly afflicts all who tamper with his tomb – continues to run high, as proven by the abundance of videos dedicated to the boy king on the web. They range from lengthy investigations into his early demise, to examinations of some of the incredible treasures and ritual objects found in his tomb, plus one performance of a memorable comedy song and dance routine.
Possibly one of the creepier Heritage Key Daily Flickr Finds that I've picked out from our Flickr pool, but this photograph of the remains of this Egyptian Mummy housed in the British Museum captivates me. The angle it's taken at, looking at its profile as it stares upwards gives the impression that there's still life in this millennia old corpse. The open jaw gives the mummy an eerie feeling, with the clarity of each tooth bared.
Did 'mummy paper' - paper made out of recycled mummy bandages - exist for sure? Worchester librarian S.J. Wolfe believes it is not the myth historians believe it to be. Ms Wolfe recently published her book 'Mummies in Nineteenth Century America' about the import of mummies in the USA in the 1800's. Her research into what happened to these 560 'honorary guests' to the USA's carnivals and exhibitions (often further dismemberment and a travelling life) lead the researcher to what she calls a smoking gun: proof that 'mummy paper' is not an urban myth.
The ancient Egyptians weren’t the only ones that mummified their dead for the sake of posterity. In more modern times, there have been multiple examples of mummification, using a range of weird and wonderful techniques from simple embalming to submerging the cadaver in a chemical-filled preservation tank, or perfusing it with wax, effectively rendering the corpse a giant human candle.
Here we examine ten of the most famous examples of modern mummies, their stories, and some of the methods used to preserve them for eternity. The deceased range from an Argentinean First Lady, a Soviet Head of State and various members of a powerful Tuscan political dynasty, to Japanese monks, Catholic Saints and one blatantly bonkers leader of a modern American religious and philosophical cult (who can even mummify you if you fancy it).
Highlighted Quote:
"Each day, the monks would ring a bell to indicate to people outside that they were still alive. When the bell ceased tolling, the tomb was sealed."
Three ritual beds were found inside the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62), made up of four pieces of gilded wood and bound together with hooks and staples. Assembly instructions were painted on the beds in black paint, with each bed representing a different animal deity.
In 1908, more than a decade before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, American retired lawyer and archaeologist Theodore Davis made a remarkable discovery. While excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, he unearthed about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron, bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The significance of the find was not immediately understood, and the objects entered the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a mystery. It was only several years later, after further excavations and study, that the Museum’s Herbert E. Winlock was able to identify them: the small cache contained the remains from the embalming and funeral of King Tut. These objects now get their own exhibition - Tutankhamun's Funeral - which runs at New York's Met until November 6th.
Thanks to the 
