Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen
The discovery of Hatshepsut's mummy has been widely reported.
The Discovery Channel is presenting a special on this--check you local listings.
From the Discovery Channel's website:
...More powerful than Cleopatra or Nefertiti, Hatshepsut was Egypt's greatest female ruler. And then she disappeared. Egypt's preeminent archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, investigates several mummies that may well be the remains of this powerful queen...
It seems poor Hatshepsut was rather sickly toward the end of her life. It also appears she may have struck a rather Goth-like figure, with black & white fingernail polish, a receding hairline, with long red hair streaming down her.
(mummy pic: BBC)
2 comments:
What a picture!!! I find it so painfully ironic that the Egyptians intense beliefs about death and the sacredness AND opulence of their tombs has led to their dead being on display in so many museums! They would feel so incredibly desecrated....or would they? Maybe it is one way they have made sure they live on.
That IS some pic! She still looks hot to me! :)
There's a great deal of evidence she suspected and feared the proscription that ultimately occurred after her death. She went to great lengths trying to outmaneuver those intent on erasing her name from history. The recent discovery that she secretly buried statues of her grandparents at the base of her great Obelisk, is a case in point. It was long thought that her body had been destroyed, either willfully by Thutmose III, or thoughtlessly by tomb robbers. But her priests were wise enough carry on a sort of "shell game" with her body, secreting it into the wrong coffin.
Dr Zahi Hawass has demonstrated his respect for the mummies in his charge, and has stated that he will make sure they are protected forever. (Tombs were suppose to be maintained with prayers, visits, and offerings.) Hawass is even trying to make sure they are grouped together, in their proper family associations, as they were intended to spend eternity together. He even reported suffering nightmares when he temporarily broke-up a family unit! Of course, he is a good showman. But I feel what's going on now is a far cry from the scientific and cultural crimes committed during "mummy unwrappings" of the Victorian era. I can't help thinking Hatshepsut would be pleased, thousands of years after her death, that we'd still talking about her, learning even more, taking care of her, and celebration her contributions to history.
Thanx for posting.
cheers,
Gene
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