Archaeologists Digitally Unwrap Mummy of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep I

For the first time in thousands of years archaeologists have unwrapped the mummy of Pharaoh Amenhotep I digitally.

Discovered 140 years ago in the Deir el Bahari temple in Luxor southern Egypt the mummy of Pharaoh Amenhotep I who ruled from 1525 to 1504 BCE was left untouched to preserve the mask and wrappings.

But CT scans have now revealed new information about the pharaoh and his burial. Researchers got to see how Amenhotep the second king of the 18th Dynasty was mummified and buried. He was the first pharaoh to cross his arms over his chest and unusually his brain was not removed from his head.

The scans also show that Amenhotep’s mummy was lovingly restored by the priests of the 21st Dynasty who ruled 400 years after his death. The priests reattached the head and neck to the body with a resin treated linen band and covered a hole in the abdominal wall with a band under which they placed two amulets. They also rewrapped the detached left arm and reattached it to the body.

Amenhotep I was reburied by these priests in a cache at the royal Deir el Bahari temple complex near Luxor to keep it safe.