Ch 4- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues

 

Ch 4- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues

Understanding the Text

Question 1:
Give reasons for the following:
(i) King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
Answer:
The mummy of King Tutankhamun has earned world wide fame for the riches it was buried with. There is also speculation about the manner of his death and his age at the time of death. Hence King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.

(ii) Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.
Answer:
Howard Carter’s investigation was resented because he used unscientific methods and illegitimate ways. He was focusing more on treasure and less on cultural and historical aspects.

(iii) Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
Answer:
Carter found that the ritual resins had hardened. The result was that Tut’s body had
been cemented to the bottom of his solid gold coffin. Proper force could not move the resins. Even the scorching sun failed to loosen the resins. So he got the resins chilselled away to raise the king’s remains.

(iv) Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures.
Answer:
The people of ancient Egypt believed in resurrection of the dead. Their kings were extremely rich. So Tut’s body was buried with gilded treasures. Their eternal brilliance was meant to guarantee resurrection. Things of everyday use were also buried with the king.

(v) The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.
Answer:
Tutankhamun means “living image of Amun”. He was a major god in ancient Egypt. King Amenhotep IV who changed his name to Akhonaten smashed the images of Amun and got his temples closed. Tut oversaw a restoration of the old ways. He changed his name to express his belief in Amun.

Question 2:
(i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as ‘wacky’.
Answer:
Akhenaten means the servant of the Aten i.e. the sun disc. He moved the religious capital from the old city of the Thebes to the new city of Akhetaten, known now as Amarna. He smashed the images of Amun, a major God and closed his temples. These deeds led Ray Jonson to describe Akhenaten as ‘Wacky’.

(ii) What were the results of the CT scan?
Answer:
The results of the C.T. scan were quite encouraging. 1700 digital X-ray images in cross-section were created. A gray head appeared on screen. Neck vertebrae were quite clear. The images of hand, ribcage and skull were equally bright. These revealed that nothing had gone seriously wrong with Tut’s body

(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
Answer:
The advances in technology have helped in improving forensic analysis. Many scientific tests can be carried out to determine the causes of crime. These include X-ray, ultrasound, C.T. scan, post mortem, autopsy and biopsy. All these help in diagnosis and provide exact information.

(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned— in death as in life”
Answer:
King Tut’s mummy was the first one to be X-rayed by an anatomy Professor in 1968. On 5 January 2005 CT scan created virtual reality and produced life-like images. King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned. Thus in death as well as in life Tut moved regally ahead of his countrymen.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
Why is 5th January 2005 significant in Tutankhamun’s saga?
Answer:
On this date for the first time Tutankhamun was removed from his tomb and taken to a C.T. scanner brought there to probe the lingering mysteries surrounding this young ruler.

Question 2:
How was the atmosphere when Tut’s body was taken for C.T. scan?
Answer:
Violent wind raised ghost like shapes of dust. Bulging clouds moved quickly across the desert sky and hid the stars in the grey sky.

Question 3:
How did the visitors to Tut’s grave pay their respects to him?
Answer:
They gazed at the murals on the walls and peered at Tut’s gilded face on his mummy shaped outer coffin lid. Some visitors read from guide book in whisper. Others stood silently.

Question 4:
What according to A.R. Williams were the thoughts of the visitors who stood silently near Tut’s grave?
Answer:
Perhaps some of them were thinking deeply over Tut’s untimely death in his teens. Others might be trembling with fear and wondering if the Pharaoh’s curse was really true.

Question 5:
What was the Pharaoh’s curse? Who refers to it and in what context?
Answer:
The pharaoh’s curse was that death or misfortune would fall upon those who disturbed him. The silent visitors are the first to refer to it. Later on a guard joked nervously when the million dollar scanner stopped functioning because of sand in a cooler fan.

Question 6:
“The mummy is in very bad condition because of what Carter did in the 1920s.” Who was Carter? What did he do to the mummy?
Answer:
Howard Carter was a British archaeologist. He discovered Tut’s tomb in 1922 after many years of futile searching. Carter’s men removed the mummy’s head and cut off almost every major joint to remove the golden adornments.

Question 7:
What problem did Carter face when he reached the mummy ? How did he find a way out?
Answer:
Carter found that the ritual resins had become quite hard. These had fixed Tut to the bottom of his solid gold coffin. The heat of the sun could not melt it. So the solid resins had to be chiselled away to free the King’s remains from the box.

Question 8:
How did Carter defend his action of cutting the mummy free?
Answer:
Carter said that if he hadn’t cut the mummy free, thieves would certainly have found a way of avoiding the guards. Then they would have tom apart everything forcibly to remove the gold.

Question 9:
List some of the adornments and golden objects on Tut’s body.
Answer:
Precious collars, inlaid necklaces and bracelets, rings, amulets, a ceremonial apron, sandals, sheaths for fingers and toes and the inner coffin and mask. All of them were made of pure gold. His coffin was of solid gold.

Question 10:
Why do you think the royals carried so much gold to grave?
Answer:
There were two reasons: first, the royals were extremely wealthy. Secondly, they thought or hoped that they could take their riches with them to the great beyond.

Question 11:
What is so special about the contents of Tut’s tomb?
Answer:
Stunning artifacts in gold found in Tut’s tomb remain the richest royal collection ever found. These caused a sensation at the time of the discovery. Even now they get the most attention.

Question 12:
Which evidence proves the burial of Tut in March or April?
Answer:
Tilt’s shroud was found adorned with faded garlands of willow and olive leaves, wild celery, lotus petals and cornflowers. Since some of them are available only at the end of winter season, Tut must have been buried in March or April.

Question 13:
How did Carter’s men treat Tut’s body while removing gold?
Answer:
They removed the mummy’s head and cut off every joint to remove the golden adornments. Then they reassembled the remains on a layer of sand in a wooden box and filled it with soft material to hide the damage caused by chiselling.

Question 14:
What startling fact came to light in 1968 through X-ray?
Answer:
In 1968, an anatomy Professor X-rayed the mummy. He revealed a startling fact. Tut’s breast-bone and front ribs were missing beneath the resin that covers his chest with a thick layer.

Question 15:
How can CT scan prove more effective than the X-ray?
Answer:
In CT scan, hundreds of X-rays in cross section are put together like slices of bread to create a three-dimensional virtual body. X-ray provides only a two-dimensional image.

Question 16:
Which two questions still linger about Tut?
Answer:
Two questions still remain unanswered. The first is: “How did Tut die?’ The second one is, “How old was he at the time of death?”

Question 17:
How has Archaeology undergone change in the twentieth century?
Answer:
The change is in two ways: approach and techniques. Now Archaeology focuses less. on treasure and more on the fascinating details of life and interesting mysteries of death. Secondly, it uses more sophisticated tools including medical technology.

Question 18:
How was Tut’s body carried to the C.T Scanner?
Answer:
Workmen carried Tut from the tomb in his wooden box. They climbed a ramp and a flight of stairs in the sand outside. Then they rose on a hydraulic lift and went into the trailer that held the scanner.

Question 19:
What snag did the million dollar scanner develop? How was it set right?
Answer:
The million dollar scanner had stopped functioning because of sand in a cooler fan. Two men ran to an office nearby and brought a pair of white plastic fans. These substitute fans worked well enough for the scanner to work.

Question 21:
How was the atmosphere when the CT scan of Tut was over?
Answer:
It was nearly midnight. The wind that blew in the evening had now stopped. The dust storm and clouds had. cleared off. The winter air lay cold and still. Just above the entrance to Tut’s tomb stood Orion—the soul of Osiris, the god of afterlife.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
How has Tut’s mummy fascinated the scientists and commoners alike over the previous decades?
Or
Give a brief account of the exploration of Tut’s mummy from 1922 to 2005.
Answer:
King Tutankhamun was the last of his family line. His funeral marked the end of a dynasty. He was laid to rest laden with gold as the royals in Tut’s time were extremely wealthy and thought they could take their riches with them. His tomb was discovered by Howard Carter, a British archaeologist in 1922, more than 3000 years after his death. The rich royal collection’ of jewellery and golden artifacts fascinated Carter. Visitors thronged the boy King’s tomb. The particulars of King Tut’s death and its aftermath are not clear. In 1968, more than 40 years after Carter’s discovery, an anatomy Professor X-rayed the mummy. He revealed a startling fact. The breastbone and front ribs of Tut were missing. On 5 January 2005 a CT scan was done to obtain precise data for an accurate forensic reconstruction of King Tut. It was hoped that it would offer new clues about his life and death. Thus Tut’s mummy has been the centre of fascination throughout the previous decades.

Question 2:
“He was the last of his family line.” What do you learn about Tut’s dynasty from the extract ‘Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues’?
Answer:
Tut’s grandfather, Amenhotep III, was a powerful Pharaoh who ruled for almost four decades at the height of the dynasty’s golden age. His son Amenhotep IV promoted the worship of the Aten, the sun disc. He changed his name to Akhenaten, or “Servent of the Aten”. He moved the religious capital from the old city Thebes to the new city of Akhetaten. He further shocked the country by attacking Amun, a major God, breaking his images and closing his temples. Thus the wacky king started one of the strangest periods in the history of ancient Egypt. After Akhenaten’s death, a mysterious ruler named Smenkhkare appeared briefly and departed without leaving any sign. Then a very young Tutankhaten took the throne. He is widely known today as king Tut. The boy king soon changed his name to Tutankhamun, “Living image of Amun.” He supervised the restoration of the old ways. Tutankhamun ruled for about nine years and then died unexpectedly. The details of his passing away are not available. The modem world has speculated about what happened to him. How did he die and how old was he at the time of his death?” are two unanswered questions.

Question 3:
Why did Tut’s body have to undergo a C.T. scan? How was it carried out and what results did it yield?
Answer:
A veil of mystery surrounded Tut’s life and death. Old methods of archaeology did not provide satisfactory clues to the circumstances of his death and his age at the time of demise. An X-ray of the mummy in 1968 further complicated the confusion. CT scan was undertaken to create a three dimensional virtual body.
A scanner was taken in a trailer to the sandy area near Tut’s tomb. Tut’s body was carried there from his tomb in a box. The CT machine scanned the mummy head to toe, creating 1700 digital X-ray images in cross section. Tut’s entire body was scanned in 0.62 millimetre slices.
The C.T. scan produced clear images of Tut’s head, neck vertebrae, ribcage, hand and skull. The results proved satisfactory. A team of specialists in radiology, forensics and anatomy are busy probing the secrets lying buried in Tut’s grave with his body.