Presented by 
Wm. Max Miller, 
M. A.
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Introduction

Quickly Access Specific Mummies With Our  
Mummy Locator 

Or
View mummies in the following Galleries:

XVII'th
Dynasty

Gallery I

XVIII'th
Dynasty

Gallery I

Gallery II

Gallery III

 Gallery IV
Featuring the controversial KV 55 mummy. Now with a revised reconstruction of ancient events in this perplexing tomb.

Gallery V
Featuring the mummies of Tutankhamen and his children. Still in preparation.

XIX'th
Dynasty

Gallery I 
Now including the
mummy identified as
Ramesses I

XX'th
Dynasty

Gallery I

XXI'st
Dynasty

Gallery I

Gallery II

  Unidentified  Mummies

Gallery I
Including the mummy which some experts believe may be that of Nefertiti.

Gallery II
Including the KV 60 mummy found by Donald P. Ryan

About the Dockets

Inhapi's Tomb

Acknowledgements

Links

Using this website for research papers

Project Updates
See what's new at the T. R. M. P.

The Hall of Records
Archived Update Reports

Biographical Data about William Max Miller
 

Special Exhibits

Updated!
The Treasures of Yuya and Tuyu
  View the funerary equipment of Queen Tiye's parents!

New!
 Tomb Raiders of KV 46!
How thorough were the robbers who plundered the tomb of Yuya and Tuyu? How many times was the tomb robbed, and what were the thieves after? This study of post interment activity in KV 46 provides some answers.
 

Updated!
Special KV 55 Section!
========
Follow the trail of the missing treasures from mysterious KV 55.

KV 55's Lost Objects: Where Are They Today?

The KV 55 Coffin Basin and Gold Foil Sheets

KV 55 Gold Foil at the Metropolitan

Mystery of the Missing Mummy Bands

KV 35 Revisited
See rare photographic plates of a great discovery from Daressy's Fouilles de la Vallee des Rois.

Unknown Man E  
Was he really
buried alive?

The Tomb of Maihirpre
Learn about Victor Loret's important discovery of this nearly intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Special Section!
Tomb Robbers!
Who were the real tomb raiders? What beliefs motivated their actions? A new perspective on the ancient practice of tomb robbing!

Special Section!
Spend a Night
with the Royal Mummies
Read Pierre Loti's eerie account of his nocturnal visit to the Egyptian Museum's Hall of Mummies.

Special Section!
An Audience With Amenophis II Journey once more with Pierre Loti as he explores the shadowy  chambers of KV 35 in the early 1900's.

Most of the images on this website have been scanned from books, all of which are given explicit credit and, wherever possible, a link to a dealer where they may be purchased. Some images derive from other websites. These websites are also acknowledged in writing and by being given a link, either to the page or file where the images appear, or to the main page of the source website. Images forwarded to me by individuals who do not supply the original image source are credited to the sender. All written material deriving from other sources is explicitly credited to its author. 
Feel free to use  material from the Theban Royal Mummy Project website. No prior written permission is required. Just please follow the same guidelines which I employ when using the works of other researchers, and give the Theban Royal Mummy Project  proper credit on your own papers, articles, or web pages. 

--Thank You
 

This website is constantly developing and contributions of data from other researchers are welcomed.
Contact The Theban Royal Mummy Project at:
anubis4_2000@yahoo.com

Background Image:  Wall scene from the tomb of Ramesses II (KV 7.) From Karl Richard Lepsius, Denkmäler (Berlin: 1849-1859.)
 

XVIII'th Dynasty Gallery II
Learn more about the 18'th Dynasty here, here, and here.

Amenhotep I (c. 1551-1524 B.C.)
18'th Dynasty
Provenance: DB 320
Discovery Date: 1860? (official discovery 1881)
Current Location: Cairo Museum JE 26211; CG61058

Click here for biographical data

Details: The mummy of Amenhotep I is in good condition and has never been unwrapped. It was found with a floral garland, a cartonnage funerary mask, and an orange shroud. A wasp was also found in the coffin. X-rays published in 1967 reveal a bead girdle and a small amulet still within the mummy wrappings. They also show a post-mortem fracture of the lower right arm, which Reeves thinks was probably caused by re-wrapping done in the XXI'st Dynasty. Although broken, the kings arms had been placed across his chest in what was to become the standard position for king's mummies. Amenhotep I was found in a replacement coffin (which Reeves thinks was part of same group of coffins that Tuthmosis II's replacement coffin came from) originally made for a mid-18'th Dynasty priest named Djehutymose and subsequently reinscribed by the reburial party for Amenhotep I. (See photo of coffin from Ian Bolton's Egypt: Land of Eternity site.) The coffin also has inscriptions supplying other reburial data (see Coffin Docket translations below.) Reeves notes a similarity between this coffin and that of Tuthmosis II, leading him to conclude that Tuthmosis II (see below) may have been reburied a month before the latter king's own restoration occurred. (Source Bibliography: ASAE 34 [1934], 47f.; CCR, 7f.; DRN, 212, 253; EM, 91; EMs, 37, ill. 38; MiAE, 79, 89, 91, 122, 157, 208, 315, 316, 318, 322, 323, ills. 88, 265, 266; MMM, 26, 35, 37, 75, 86, 87, ill. 76; MR, 536f., pl. 4b; RM, 18, pl. XIII;  XRA, 1A13-1B8; XRP, 101, 102, 128ff., 131, 132, ill. pp. 18, 32-33.)

Other Burial Data:
Original Burial: AN B 
Official Inspections: Year 16 of Ramesses IX'th
Restorations: Year 6 & Year 16 of Smendes
Reburials: (i.) in tomb of Inhapi (WN A?) by Year 10 of Siamun; (ii.) In DB 320 no earlier than Year 11 of Shoshenq I (Source Bibliography: DRN, 253.)

 Coffin Dockets: 

(i.) "Yr 6  4  prt  7 Smendes/Pinnudjem I: On this day the high priest of Amon-Re king of the gods Pinudjem (sic.) son of Piankh commanded renew the burial (whm krs) of king (nsw) Djeserkare son of Re Amenophis l. p. h. by the overseer of the double treasury Pa..." (Source Bibliography: [transcr., photo.]; DRN, 235; GPI, doc. 3; 536f. [facs., transcr.];  RNT, 249 [4b]; TIP, 418 [10].)

(ii.) "Yr 16 4 prt 11. The high priest of Amon-Re king of the gods Masaharta son of king (nsw Pinudjem commanded to renew the burial (whm krs) of this god by the scribe of the treasury and scribe of the temple Penamun son of Sutymose (?)" (Source Bibliography: CCR, 8, pl. 7 [photo][27].)
                              
Photo Credit: MR1 (Cairo, 1881), reprinted in KMT, (3:4) 40. Recent color images of the unwrapped mummy of Amenhotep I may be viewed at the Eternal Egypt website.

Source Abbreviation Key

Tuthmosis I (?) (c. 1524-1518 B.C.?)
18'th Dynasty
Provenance: DB 320
Discovery Date: 1860? (official discovery 1881)
Current Location: Cairo Museum CG61065; JE26217

Click here for biographical data

Details: The mummy of "Tuthmosis I" had been thoroughly plundered in antiquity,  but his body remained basically intact except for missing hands. Smith calls attention to the excellent state of preservation of the mummy and notes the "firmness and durability of the skin and tissues." The bandages had been soaked in resin, and, from the condition of the ears, G. E. Smith concluded that they had been plugged with balls of resin as in the case of Tuthmosis II and Tuthmosis III. Smith remarked that the mummy's genitalia had been treated in an unusual manner, having been somehow flattened against the perineum and thereby giving the erroneous impression that the man had been castrated. This may have resulted from over-desiccation during the embalming process. Maspero noted that the mummy's teeth were worn, and believed the man was over fifty at the time of his death. 
    The mummy was found in coffins (CG 61025) originally made for Tuthmosis I by Tuthmosis III (see Herbert Winlock, JEA 15, [1929], 59, n. 3.) Winlock had observed that the the outer coffin would "fit snugly" into the KV 38 sarcophagus (JEA 15, ibid.) Reeves notes textual similarities between inscriptions on the inner coffin and the KV 38 sarcophagus lid (DRN, 18, n. 51.)  The coffins had been appropriated, redecorated, and reinscribed by Pinudjem I for his own use (see photo of coffins from CCR [Cairo, 1909.]) Reeves, after considering the size of the appropriated coffins, believes that Tuthmosis I also originally had a third, inner coffin which is now lost, and that this coffin might have been similar to that in which Tutankhamen was found (DRN, 18, n. 50.) 
    Since there were no dockets on the bandages or coffins, the identification of this mummy is still a matter of dispute. Maspero believed it to be the body of Tuthmosis I because (to him) the head bore a "striking resemblance" to those of Tuthmosis II and Tuthmosis III. Smith gave further support to this identification by concluding that the technique of embalming employed dates the mummy to a period later than Amosis and earlier than Tuthmosis II. However, prevailing opinion currently denies that the body is that of Tuthmosis I because of the position of the arms, which are not crossed over the chest as on all pharaoh's after Amenhotep I. One recent theory, as noted by Ikram and Dodson,  proposes that this mummy is actually that of Ahmose-Sipairi, the alleged father of Tuthmosis I. (For more on identifying royal mummies, read Edward F. Wente's article, Who Was Who Among the Royal Mummies. Then see Royal Mummies Musical Chairs by Dennis Forbes  for more on this topic. Also click here to read Marianne Luban's very well-argued theory about the identity of the mummy traditionally labeled "Tuthmosis I.".) (Source Bibliography: DRN, 17, 203, 244; EM, 91; EMs, 37, ill. 38; EMbm, 53;

Other Burial Data: 
Original Burial: The original tomb of Tuthmosis I is still not known with certainty. Since two tombs (KV 38 and KV 20) and two sarcophagi (one from each tomb) are associated with this king, the circumstances surrounding his burial are far from clear. Loret, who discovered KV 38 in 1899, believed that this was the tomb of Tuthmosis I referred to by the architect Ineni, who described on the walls of his own tomb how he had secretly designed the king's sepulcher, "no one seeing, no one hearing." (Learn about Ineni's tomb at Ian Bolton's Egypt: Land of Eternity website.) KV 38 obviously had been connected to Tuthmosis I, as evidenced by the presence of an empty sarcophagus (RS, 52ff.) and canopic chest inscribed for this king. However, in 1903, Howard Carter excavated KV 20 and discovered another sarcophagus inscribed for Tuthmosis I along with a sarcophagus belonging to Hatshepsut (ASAE 6 [1906], 119.) The question arose concerning which of the two tombs associated with this king was the the original place of his burial. After studying the architectural design of KV 38, John Romer dated it to a time no earlier than the reign of Tuthmosis III (JEA 60 [1974], 121f.) Proponents of Romer's dating scheme therefore point to KV 20, known to be the tomb of Hatshepsut, as the original tomb of Tuthmosis I. They argue that Queen Hatshepsut wished to be buried with her father and had his tomb modified to accommodate her own burial. Tuthmosis III, wishing to erase Hatshepsut's memory,  subsequently prepared KV 38 (complete with a new sarcophagus) for Tuthmosis I, and had the king removed from the dead queen's offensive presence and reburied in the the newer tomb (DRN, 18.) Proponents of Loret's initial appraisal of KV 38 as the original resting place of Tuthmosis I contend that Hatshepsut had KV 20 prepared for herself and then removed her father's mummy from KV 38 into this tomb. Tuthmosis III subsequently restored Tuthmosis I to his original tomb, where a new sarcophagus awaited him (cf. Herbert Winlock in JEA 15 [1929], 56ff.; and Hayes, RS, 6ff.) Both theories account nicely for the existence of two sarcophagi for Tuthmosis I, but the correctness of either is still very much an open question. (Source Bibliography: ASAE 6 [1906], 119; DRN, 17f.; JEA 60 [1974], 119ff; see especially George B. Johnson in KMT, [3:4], 64-81; RS, 6ff., 52ff.; )

Reburials: (i.) By Hatshepsut in KV 20? By Tuthmosis III in KV 38? (ii.) in tomb of Inhapi (WN A?) during Year 7-8 of Psusennes I; and (iii.) in DB 320 after year 11 of  Shoshenq I. (Source Bibliography: DRN, 244.)

Photo Credits: Black & white photo from RM (Cairo, 1912,) pl. XX. Color photo of young visitor to the Royal Mummy Room smiling at the mummy currently identified as Tuthmosis I by Amr Nabil/AP Photo. For  high resolution images of Tuthmosis I see the University of Chicago's Electronic Open Stacks copy of Smith's The Royal Mummies (Cairo, 1912) Call #: DT57.C2 vol59. plates XX, XXI, XXII. Recent color photos of the mummy of Tuthmosis I (from AFP/Getty Images) may be seen here and here.

Source Abbreviation Key

Tuthmosis II (c. 1518-1504 B.C.)
18'th Dynasty
Provenance: DB 320
Discovery Date: 1860? (official 1881)
Current Location: Cairo Museum CG61066; JE26212

Click here for biographical data

Details: The mummy of Tuthmosis II was unwrapped by Gaston Maspero on July 1'st, 1886. It had been severely damaged in antiquity and was restored by G. E. Smith on September 22, 1906. Smith chronicles the history of injuries that this mummy sustained at the hands of thieves: the right leg was severed from the body; the abdominal wall was broken away; ribs were badly broken; the right arm was cut off just below the elbow; the left arm was broken off at the shoulder, and the neck and face had been cut in several places with a sharp instrument. 
    Tuthmosis II's fingernails and toenails had been neatly trimmed. His ears and nostrils had been plugged with linen soaked in resin, and remains of the embalming wound (which had been mostly obliterated when the abdominal wall was hacked away) indicated that it had been fusiform, large and gaping. Although Maspero reported the presence of the king's genitals when he unwrapped the mummy in 1886, Smith could find no definite remains of them when he examined the mummy twenty years later. He comments that they may originally have been flattened out and pressed against the perineum as in the case of the alleged mummy of Tuthmosis I above. 
    Maspero believed that Tuthmosis II died young, at around age 30. He based his conclusion on the condition of the king's teeth, which were not badly worn. However, Smith pointed out that the ruler's overbite (a well-known characteristic of the Tuthmosids) could have effected dental wearing and therefore concluded that Maspero's dentally based age estimate was doubtful. Smith noted that Tuthmosis II was practically bald and that the skin of his face was wrinkled, facts which made him conclude that the king was older than 30 when he died. No obvious cause of death was found during the examination of the mummy, but Maspero, Smith,  Ikram and Dodson all report that the ruler's skin is covered with scab-like patches that may be symptomatic of some as-yet unknown disease which may have claimed his life. Smith, however, thought that the skin eruptions could have been caused post mortem by reactions of the tissues with the embalming materials.
    The mummy was equipped with a floral garland, and an outer shroud covered the remains of the original wrappings. The shroud had a 21'st Dynasty inscription which dates the reburial of Tuthmosis II to Year 6  3 prt 7 of Smendes/Pinudjem I (see Linen Docket translation below.) Tuthmosis II was found in a coffin originally belonging to an unidentified man, also of the 18'th Dynasty. (See photo of coffin from Ian Bolton's Egypt: Land of Eternity site.) (Source Bibliography: CCR, 18;  DRN, 203, 209; EM, 91; EMs, 37, ill. 38; MiAE, 28, 88, 255, 258, 315, 318, 322,  323, ill. 355; MMM, 35, 37, 87, 88; MR, 545ff.; RM, 28ff.; XRA, 1C7-1D3; XRP, 101, 133, 136, 137, ill. 36.)

Other Burial Data:
Original Burial: Unknown. KV 42? WN-A? or DB 358? 
    George B. Johnson, in a paper appearing in KMT ([10: 3] 20-33, 84-85) presents a careful consideration of the theories that KV 42 is the tomb of Tuthmosis II. The tomb was first attributed to this king by Arthur Weigall in 1910 (GAE, 224-225.) William C. Hayes, after his study of sarcophagi and architectural tomb development in the Valley of the Kings, wrote in 1935 that KV 42 was probably a tomb of Tuthmosis II that had never been used (RS, 2, pl. II; 34, 36f., 141.)  Most recently (in 1990) Erik Hornung also attributed the tomb to Tuthmosis II. (HE, 204.)
    KV 42, which is located in the south-western end of the Valley of the Kings, may have been discovered by the workmen of Victor Loret in 1898-1899 (see Johnson, KMT [10: 3] 20). If so, Loret never reported the tomb, and, in 1900, Boutros Andraos and Chinouda Macarios (after receiving permission from Howard Carter to excavate in the Valley) claimed the discovery of KV 42 for themselves (ASAE II [1901], 196-198.) The tomb had a cartouche shaped burial chamber and royal proportions, and architecturally seemed part of the series of tombs beginning with the tomb of Tuthmosis I (KV 38) and ending with the tomb of Tuthmosis III (KV34.) Howard Carter inspected the tomb and discovered canopic jars inscribed for Senetnay, the wife of Sennefer, who was a mayor of Thebes during the reign of Amenhotep II. Based on their presence, Carter tentatively suggested that KV 42 might be Sennefer's tomb (ASAE II [1901], 196-198. cf. T. G. H. James, HCPT, 76.) Twenty years after his first inspection, Carter discovered the foundation deposits of Meryt-Re Hatshepsut near the entrance to KV 42, and cautiously concluded that the tomb had been prepared for her. Still influenced by the discovery of Senetnay's canopic jars in the tomb, Carter now proposed that Sennefer had appropriated the tomb from Meryt-Re Hatshepsut (ToT, [vol. I], 84.)
    Elizabeth Thomas also rejected the idea that KV 42 was the tomb of Tuthmosis II. Persuaded by the evidence of Meryt-Re Hatshepsut's foundation deposits and the cartouche shaped burial chamber, she suggested that KV 42 was a royal tomb dedicated by Meryt-Re Hatshepsut for the use of one of her sons or grandsons (RNT, 70-80.) The theory that KV 42 was the tomb of Meryt-Re Hatshepsut is the one currently accepted by most Egyptologists including Romer (TVK, 253), Wilkinson & Reeves (CVK, 103) and Roehrig (KMT [10: 3], 27 and n. 17.)
    Based on his analysis of the kheker frieze in the burial chamber, George B. Johnson presents persuasive evidence that KV 42 post-dates the death of  Tuthmosis II by many years. This frieze is stylistically different from kheker decorations in other 18'th Dynasty royal tombs, and is virtually identical to the kheker frieze from the Dier el-Bahri chapel of Tuthmosis III, to such an extant that Johnson believes they could have been painted by the same artist (KMT [10: 3], 28f., 31.) On still other stylistic grounds, Johnson dates the rectangular quartzite sarcophagus found in the burial chamber of KV 42 to the reign of Tuthmosis III, and confidently attributes the ownership of the tomb to Meryt-Re Hatshepsut (KMT [10: 3], 84.) Sarcophagus specialist Edwin C. Brock also finds no evidence indicating that KV 42 belonged to anyone other than Meryt-Re Hatshepsut (KMT [10: 3], 33 [sidebar.]) 
    If KV 42 is not the tomb of Tuthmosis II, then where was the original burial of this king? According to Reeves the recent proposal of WN-An lacks solid evidence in favor of the claim that this is the missing tomb of Tuthmosis II (DRN, 18, 24, 253-54). Johnson mentions an inscription on a statue of a certain Hapuseneb, now in the Louvre, which records the intriguing fact that Tuthmosis II had commissioned this vizier and high priest of Amen to "conduct the work upon his cliff tomb because of the great excellence of my plans." (KMT [10: 3], 84.) The lost tomb of Tuthmosis II, described here as a "cliff tomb," may be similar in placement to the original tomb of his wife, Hatshepsut, before she became king.
Restoration or Reburial in new tomb (evidence is unclear): Year 6 of Smendes/Pinudjem I. At this time, Tuthmosis II was given a new coffin and re-wrapped. 
Reburial: (i) Possibly in tomb of Inhapi (WN A?) along with Amenhotep I,  in Year 6 of Smendes/Pinudjem I.; and (ii) in DB 320 after Year 11 of Shoshenq I.. (Source Bibliography: ARE, 161-162; ASAE II [1901] 196-198; CVK, 103; DRN, 18, 24, 253-54; GAE, 224-225; ) 

Linen Docket: "Yr 6  3 prt 7 Smendes/Pinudjem I, 'On this day the high priest of Amon Re king of the gods Pinudjem son of the high priest of Amun Piankh commanded the overseer of the great double treasury Payneferher to repeat the burial (whm sm3) (rebury?) king (nsw) Aaenre (sic.) l. p. h.'"(Source Bibliography: DRN, 234, no. 13; GPI doc. 2; MR 545 f. [facs., transcr.]; RNT, 249 [4a]; TIP, 418 [9].)

Photo Credit: RM (Cairo, 1912,) pl. XXIII.
For high resolution images of Tuthmosis II see the University of Chicago's Electronic Open Stacks copy of Smith's The Royal Mummies (Cairo, 1912) Call #: DT57.C2 vol59. plates XXIII, XXIV. Recent color images of the mummy of Tuthmosis II may be viewed at the Eternal Egypt website.

Source Abbreviation Key

Hatshepsut? (c.1473-1458 B.C.)
18'th Dynasty
Provenance: KV 60
Original Discovery Date: 1903 by Howard Carter
Rediscovery: June 27-July 4, 1989, by Donald P. Ryan
Current Location: Left in a protective box in KV 60 since its rediscovery by Donald P. Ryan in 1989, this mummy was moved to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in order to facilitate its examination. Presumably, it remains there.
Biographical data on Hatshepsut: click here

Details: KV 60, the tomb in which the mummy above was found, was discovered by Howard Carter in 1903 near the entrance to the tomb of 20'th Dynasty Prince Montuherkopeshef (KV 19.) Carter entered the tomb but never had it cleared, probably because it did not contain the kind of treasures in which Theodore Davis, who was funding Carter's work at the time, took interest. After resealing the tomb, Carter more or less abandoned his discovery, and only wrote a brief report about the tomb in which he noted the presence of two mummies left in the burial chamber. Both mummies were of females, and one was contained in a coffin trough (Cairo Museum Temp. Reg. # 24/11/16/1) bearing the inscription: "sdt nfrw nsw in m3^ct hrw." Carter and Percy Newberry (who was also present when the tomb was entered) thought the In named in the inscription was one of the nurses of Tuthmosis IV. H. W. Helch and Elizabeth Thomas, however, identified In as Sitre, who also bore the name In and was one of the nurses of Hatshepsut. 
    Three years after Carter's discovery, Edward Ayrton entered KV 60 and removed the mummy in the coffin for shipment to Cairo, but conducted no further work in the tomb. Since neither Carter or Ayrton had drawn maps indicating the exact location of the tomb, the whereabouts of KV 60 and its remaining occupant became forgotten.
    On June 27'th, 1989, Egyptologist Donald P. Ryan rediscovered the lost KV 60 after a search that only lasted 20-30 minutes! After systematically clearing the pit in which a steep flight of steps led downward into the tomb, Ryan finally entered KV 60 on July 4'th. The tomb had been thoroughly pillaged in antiquity. Ryan and E. A. O. inspector Mohamed el Bialy had to step cautiously over wooden coffin fragments, mummy wrappings, and pieces of broken pottery which were scattered about the entrance corridor. They reached the undecorated burial chamber (a room measuring approximately 5.5 by 6.5 meters and 2.0 meters in height) and saw the mummy of the unknown woman left by Carter and Ayrton in the middle of the floor. (See color photo of mummy in situ on Donald P. Ryan's website.)
    The mummy was that of an obese older woman approximately 1.55 meters tall. Egyptologist/coroner Mark Papworth, who examined the body, found the teeth to be well worn and noted that the embalming wound was located in the pelvic floor rather than in the side, this unusual position probably being necessitated by the woman's corpulence (cf. the mummy of 21'st Dynasty High Priest Masaharta.) Ryan described the mummy as being mostly unwrapped and excellently preserved. He noted that some strands of reddish-blonde hair lay on the floor beneath the mummy's head. Whether the color of the hair was natural or the result of  reactions with the embalming materials is currently unknown to me. Ryan described the mummy's head as bald. It is possible that the hair fell out post mortem, perhaps as the result of the bandages being roughly removed by thieves. The hair could also conceivably be the remains of a wig worn by the woman in life or later placed on her head by the embalmers. 
    Although no inscriptions were found which could help identify the woman, her burial in the Valley of the Kings attested to the high social position she once held. She was found with the remains of what had once been an expensive, high-status burial. Ryan discovered a fragment of a coffin face-piece in a niche in the entry corridor which was disfigured by adze-marks, indicating that it had once been covered with thick gold foil that had been greedily hacked off by thieves. In the burial chamber, across from the entrance, lay a pile of the mummified food offerings associated with wealthy burials. Most significantly, the mummy's arms are positioned in a "royal pose" similar to that found on the mummy of Queen Tiye from KV 35: the left arm is crossed over the chest with the left hand clenched, thumb extended, fingernails painted red and outlined in black; the right arm is extended along the right side of the body with the hand unclenched and the fingers extended.
    Confidently dated to the 18'th Dynasty, found in the Valley of the Kings with the remnants of an expensive burial, and accompanied by the mummy of Hatshepsut's nurse Sitre, the KV 60 mummy with its regally positioned arms caused researchers to wonder if it could be the mummy of Hatshepsut herself, cached in KV 60 after necropolis officials discovered that her original tomb, near-by KV 20, had been disturbed by thieves. Ryan noted that the reverse side of the fragmentary coffin face-piece found in the wall niche had a notch at the chin which could have been used to hold a false beard. He made the highly relevant observation that only one18'th Dynasty female, sufficiently important to merit a burial in the Royal Valley, wore a false beard: the female king, Hatshepsut-Maatkare.
     In 2007, Dr. Zahi Hawass, current Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced that the KV 60 mummy had been identified as Hatshepsut. A molar attributed to Hatshepsut had been found in a box inscribed for the famous 18'th dynasty female ruler in the DB 320 cache. When Hawass examined the KV20 mummy, he noticed that it was missing a molar. Subsequent dental examinations revealed that the Hatshepsut molar from the DB 320 box fit into the gap in the jaw of the KV 20 mummy. Based on this dental match, Hawass confidently announced that the mummy of Hatshepsut had finally been identified. (Read about this identification at the website of Dr. Hawass.) Other more cautious investigators await the confirmation of DNA testing before unreservedly accepting this identification.   

(Source Bibliography: ASAE 4 [1903], 176f.; DEM,  67; DRN, 139, 157, 201, 244-245; Donald Ryan in KMT [1:1], 34-39, 58-59, 63; RNT, 137.)

Tuthmosis III (c. 1504-1450 B.C.)
18'th Dynasty
Provenance: DB 320
Discovery Date: 1860? (official discovery 1871)
Current Location: Cairo Museum CG61068; JE26213

Click here for biographical data

Details: The mummy of Tuthmosis III was unwrapped by Emile Brugsch in July of 1881 and then subsequently rebandaged, only to be unwrapped a second time in 1886. Maspero records in Les Momies Royales that the mummy was covered with a greasy, whitish layer of material containing putrid human fat. Originally thought to be natron by Dr. Mathey,  G. E. Smith identified this substance as an "efflorescence of fatty acids." 
    The mummy had been badly damaged in antiquity and "repaired" by members of the reburial party, who reinforced it with four wooden oars (see photo of wrapped mummy from MR1 [Cairo, 1881].) The head was broken off at the neck; the arms and legs were detached; both arms were broken at the elbows, and the feet were broken off. The right arm and forearm were tied to a piece of wood by a mass of fine linen. The king's left hand is clenched, indicating that he had once been holding an object (perhaps a ceremonial scepter or flail) which robbers had stolen.
    The 11 cm. embalmer's incision on the left side cuts a diagonal line from hip bone to pubes, and Smith records that through its narrow aperture one can see the resin soaked linen used to fill the body cavity after the internal organs had been removed. Resin treated wads of linen had also been used to plug up the nostrils. Unable to find any traces of the genitals, Smith believed that they had been removed, probably during the embalming process. Tuthmosis III  was short, standing only 1.5 m (just over 5 ft.) in height, and, since no sign of hair remained on the scalp, Smith concluded that he had been completely bald. Smith especially notes the skull, which he describes as "very remarkable for it's large capacity [and] pentagonoid form." As in the case of the mummy of Tuthmosis II (cf. above), large portions of Tuthmosis III'rd's skin were covered with what appears to be a rash of some sort, perhaps caused by an illness or by the action of the embalming salts, oils and resins on the skin after death. 
    Strings of beads, made variously of carnelian, gold, lapis lazuli, and green felspar were found on the shoulders lying upon the innermost bandages. (Reeves states that the beads were found beneath the innermost bandages, but Smith quite clearly says that they were not touching the mummy's skin and found on top of the innermost layer of wrappings.) A bracelet on the right arm was also revealed much later by X-rays. Tuthmosis III was found in his original coffin (Cairo Museum CG 61014) which Reeves thinks might have been the second innermost coffin of a nested set. All the surfaces of this coffin have been adzed over and the eye inlays removed. However, the inscriptions on the interior of the coffin remain intact. (See photo of coffin from CCR [Cairo, 1909] pl. 14.) (Source Bibliography: CCR, 19f.; DRN, 209, 214; 92; EM, 92; EMs, 37, ill. 39; MiAE, 84, 89, 91, 116-17, 122, 128, 160, 209, 210, 226, 255, 258, 269, 315, 318, 322, 323, ills. 79, 301, 358, 359, 386, 415;  MMM, 37, 57, 87, ill. 17, 36, 174; MR, 547f., pl. 6, a; RM, 32ff.; XRA, 1D5-1E2; XRP, 133, 136ff., ill. 38.)

Other Burial Data:
Original Burial: KV34
Reburials: (i) dismantled at the same time as the tomb of Hatshepsut  (KV 20) and reburied in tomb of Inhapi (WN A?) during reign of Pinudjem I; and (ii) in DB 320 after year 11 of Shoshenq I.. (Source Bibliography: DRN, 245.) 

Photo Credit: RM (Cairo, 1912,) pl. XXVIII. Color photo of Tuthmosis III as he appears today in the Royal Mummy Room at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is from Al Ahram.

For  high resolution image of Tuthmosis III see the University of Chicago's Electronic Open Stacks copy of Smith's The Royal Mummies  (Cairo, 1912) Call #: DT57.C2 vol59. plate XXVIII. Recent color images of the mummy of Tuthmosis III may be viewed at the Eternal Egypt website.

Source Abbreviation Key

Amenhotep II (c. 1543-1419 B.C.)
18'th Dynasty
Provenance: KV35
Discovery Date: March 9, 1898, by Victor Loret
Current Location: Cairo Museum CG 61069

Click here for biographical data

Details: Amenhotep II was one of only two pharaohs to be found in their own tombs. The mummy sustained damage in antiquity: the head was broken off; the front abdominal wall was missing; the spine was broken; and the right leg and thigh were separated from the body and from each other. Amenhotep II had been rewrapped and given a shroud (with Linen Docket--see translation below) by the priests in charge of restoring his tomb after it had been plundered. (See below for Reeve's dating of this restoration.)  
    The king had been tall for his times and stood at 1.8 m (6 ft)--much taller than either his father or son. His body is that of a robust, strongly built individual. At the time of the ruler's death, his hair was graying and he had developed a bald spot on the back of his head. According to G. E. Smith, the arms of Amenhotep II were crossed with the forearms parallel and lower down than on most other kingly mummies. Although Smith reports in 1924 (in EM, 93,) that the hands of the mummy were not tightly clenched, his 1912 account (in RM, 37,) states that the fingers of the right hand were tightly closed, with the thumb extended. The left hand was also closed, but Smith states that the fingers were not as tightly clenched as those of the right hand. Unlike the mummy of his father, Amenhotep II retained his genitals, and he had been circumcised. His teeth were well worn but in good condition. As in the case of the mummies of Tuthmosis II and Tuthmosis III (cf. above), the body of Amenhotep II was also covered with raised nodules, which Smith thought could have been caused either from a disease or by the action of the embalming materials with the skin. (Flickr member hhrahman77 has posted a good color close up of the facial profile of Amenhotep II's mummy that clearly shows these nodules. See photo here. The same photographer posted another recent photo of Amenhotep II in the Royal Mummy Room on 6/1/08.) 
    Amenhotep II was found in a replacement cartonnage coffin which had been inscribed for him. (See photo of coffin lid and mummy from ASAE III [1902.]) This was found in a large sarcophagus in the burial chamber of the king's tomb (see photo from BM.) According to Loret, the mummy had a floral garland ("...au cou une guirlande de feuilles...") a small boquet of mimosa flowers ("...une petit bouquet de mimosa...") and a floral crown or headpiece ("...une bouquet de fleurs et sur les pieds une couronne de feuillage...) (quoted in DRN, 195.) Howard Carter, writing later, described the mummy as having on his breast "a few flowers and some foliage of the olive tree." (quoted in HCBT, 61.) Impressions of jewelry (including that of some kind of pectoral ornament) were found in the dried resins which had been used in the embalming process. A large bow, which had either been broken or cut in two, was found with the mummy.
    Many objects, most of which were in a damaged condition, were found in the tomb (see Special Exhibit: Funerary Objects from the Tomb of Amenhotep II on navigation bar at left). With the king, in side rooms off the burial chamber, were also found the mummies of other New Kingdom rulers and notables (see KV 35 link above.) (Source Bibliography: BIE, [3 ser.] 9 [1898], 108; DRN, 192-199, 210, 215, 245; EM, 92; EMs, 37, 39, 45, ill. 40; HCBT, 61; MiAE, 38, 79, 84, 96, 132, 282, 285, 315, 316, 318, 324, ills. 330, 411, 413d, 415, 425; MMM, 38, 39, 40, 84, 87, 88; RM, 36ff.; XRA, 1E3-1F1; XRP, 112, 113, 115, 116, 135, 136, 137, 138ff., 142, 157, 159, 166, ill. 39.)

Other Burial Data:
Original Burial: KV 35 (see link above.)
Inspections/Restorations: Reeves cannot provide a very precise account of all the post-interment activity in KV 35 because the archeological evidence is difficult to interpret. He tentatively dates one inspection/restoration of KV 35 in Year 8 of Ramesses VI, and another in Year 13 of an unspecified king. At this time, the cache of royal mummies was placed in room Jb (see diagram.) Next (and probably not long afterward) the three mummies found in room Jc were placed in the tomb, all perhaps originally in room Jd (although only the Unidentified Boy can first be placed here with any degree of certainty, as is indicated by the discovery of his mummified toe in this chamber. See BIE [3 ser.] 9 [1898], 106.) This was followed by a period of more illicit pillaging, in which thieves ransacked the mummies. Finally, restorers put the contents of the tomb back in order, and moved the three unwrapped mummies into room Jc before sealing the tomb. (Source Bibliography: )

Linen Docket: According to Loret, this simply gave the prenomen of Amenhotep II: "('Le prenom d'Amenophis II'): Akheperure." (Source Bibliography: DRN, 232.)