Monday, September 29, 2014

Who has the remains of Tutankhamen and the relics of his tomb—is it in an appropriate place?

The mummy of Tutankhamen (also known as Tutankhaten and
"King Tut") rests in a climate controlled case in his tomb, in a climate controlled box.
This box allows tourists to see the mummy of the "boy king" (who died when he was
eighteen or nineteen).


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...the linen-wrapped mummy was removed from its
golden sarcophagus [and placed in a] climate-controlled glass box. The case was designed
to prevent the heightened rate of decomposition caused by the humidity and warmth from
tourists visiting the
tomb.



The tomb is located in
the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The mummy and the artifacts discovered in 1922 by
Howard Carter created quite a stir throughout the world—not just in archaeological
circles. Because Tut's tomb and the artifacts it contained were so well preserved, this
pharaoh of Egypt has realized greater recognition after his death than during his
lifetime. While his mummy remains in his tomb, many of the artifacts discovered buried
with his mummifed corpse have traveled around the world several times, starting in the
1970s and again with the turn of the century.


Tut and the
artifacts belong to Egypt. They are national treasures. The iconic mask of Tutankhaman's
mummy remains in Egypt and will never travel again because it is too fragile. It would
seem that the mummy is given a great deal of care and respect: without the climate
controlled environment in which it rests, the mummy would deteriorate with time, and
nothing of the young pharoah would remain but the contents of his tomb. In this way the
world has been able to learn a great deal about Egytian history, familial relationships
in Tut's era (especially about Tut's parents), his cause of death, and a way of life
that had been (in the past) surrounded by mystery.

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