Sunday, October 11, 2009

Identifying Queen Hatshepsut


The mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, the most powerful female pharaoh, has finally been identified. An investigative team led by Dr. Zahi Hawass went deep into the Cairo Museum and sorted through thousands of mummies before narrowing it down to four. They used scans to match the mummies with unique physical traits the Hatshepsut had. However, the mummy was proved to be Hatshepsut’s when a missing tooth from a box with her name fit perfectly into one of the mummy’s mouth. As a part of the 18th dynasty, Hatshepsut declared herself a pharaoh by taking power when her husband died and her stepson was too young to rule himself. She was most likely the first female pharaoh. Her rule was considered prosperous but also seen as taboo by some because she was not a man. Yet, in the present day the identifying of her mummy is being celebrated and is considered the most significant discovery since King Tut’s tomb was found untouched by tomb raiders.
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/quest/lost-queen/program/program.html



Shilpa A.
Period 3

No comments: