Monday, November 05, 2007

Morbid Fascination

Isn't it slightly morbid how we can be obsessed about mummies.  They are dead people!  If we dug up a 2 year old body it would be considered disgusting and an act of degradation, yet if we uncover a 3000 year old body then it is fascinating. A petrified body somehow takes away the fear factor of death and decay and allows us to examine the specimen as if it is no longer an actual human.

King Tut's body was unwrapped and put on public display for the first time ever.  The Mummy was unearthed 85 years ago by Howard Carter.  The king was 19 when he died, and scientists have spent the past  2 years restoring the damaged mummy.  From the restoration and a CT scan, they have been able to determine that he was not did not die violently, was not murdered, and more than likely died from an infection due to a hip fracture.

He is now resting in a climate controlled box, with only his head and feet showing.

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