…AND DID YOU PACK YOUR CASE YOURSELF, SIR?
The ancient Egyptian mummy of famous King Rameses the Great, or Rameses II as he is more commonly known had his own real-life passport! On the passport it listed his occupation as “King (deceased)”!
In 1974, the mummy had to be flown from the Cairo Museum to Paris where experts could examine it’s rapidly deteriorating condition. Scientific analysis in Paris revealed a fungal infection, for which the ancient cadaver was treated. The examination also revealed old battle wounds and bone fractures in addition to the Pharaoh’s poor circulation and arthritis.
The king was an incredible 90 years old when he died, after a rule of 67 years – at a time when the life expectancy was only a few decades. He was also taller than average, about 6 feet tall in comparison to the average Egyptian at just over 5 feet.
By the time of his death, Ramesses was suffering from severe dental problems and was plagued by arthritis and hardening of the arteries. When he finally died, he was about 90 years old. He had outlived many of his wives and children and left great memorials all over Egypt, especially to his beloved first queen Nefertari. Nine more pharaohs would take the name Ramesses in his honour, but few ever equalled his greatness. Nearly all of his subjects had been born during his reign and thought the world might end without him.
Ramesses II did become the legendary figure he so desperately wanted to be, but this was not enough to protect Egypt. New enemies were attacking the empire which also suffered internal problems and it could not last. Less than 150 years after Ramesses died, the Egyptian empire fell, his descendants lost their power and the New Kingdom came to an end.
