02/06/2025
🟠Mummy of king Thutmose III
Measuring approximately 1.63 metres (5 feet 4¼ inches) in height, Thutmose III’s hands were crossed over his chest in the Osirian pose, symbolising his hoped-for resurrection in the afterlife. Now housed in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, the mummy shows signs of arthritis, dental abscesses, and age-related wear, suggesting he died in his fifties or early sixties. Despite its damaged state and lack of original amulets or a golden mask (likely removed during tomb plundering) the mummy of Thutmose III remains a profound testament to his enduring legacy as both a formidable warrior-king and a symbol of Egypt’s complex interplay between reverence and vulnerability.
It appeared that his wrappings were hastily applied, evidence of the secondary reburial rather than the original burial’s full ceremonial process. No funerary mask or significant amulets have been found associated with him, likely removed during the initial tomb plundering. His body is disarticulated, with limbs detached and parts of the torso damaged, though the skull and many teeth remain intact, still visible from the king's "smiling" appearance.
Modern examinations, including those cited in the book “Scanning the Pharaohs” by Zahi Hawass and Sahar Saleem (2016), suggest that Thutmose III was approximately 50–60 years old at his death, with wear on his teeth and signs of arthritis and dental abscesses indicating chronic health issues common to his era. His cranial structure shows a long, narrow face with a prominent aquiline nose, consistent with other mummies of the 18th Dynasty.
Egyptian Treasures USA TODAY