04/06/2024
Mummy of Seqenenre Tao, the Brave
King Seqenenre Tao IIโs mummy was originally buried at Draโ Abu el-Nagaโ, and later reburied at Deir el-Bahari in his original coffin. It was discovered in the Deir el-Bahari cache (โDB320โ), revealed in 1881.
The body of this king, who died in his forties, was poorly preserved. However, the brain is still in the cranial cavity and the mummyโs mouth still has a complete set of healthy teeth. His mummified head depicting his battle wounds.
As shown by a literary tale of later date, Seqenenre was contemporary with Apophis, one of the last great Hyksos kings. According to the tale, the Hyksos ruler provoked a quarrel by claiming that hippopotamuses at Thebes were disturbing his sleep at his delta capital in Avaris, 400 miles (644 km) away. Unfortunately, the preserved text ends with Seqenenre and his court pondering a suitable response.
Second Intermediate Period, 17th Dynasty, ca. 1560-1555 BC. Now in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), Cairo. JE 2609
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