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Sun
artist's last impression of Ramses
©
Nathan Benn, Corbis
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To
ensure that the Ramses the Great's Ka
and Ba
can easily locate his mummy when the time comes for them to return, steps
will be taken to make his corpse resemble, as closely as possible, his appearance
in youth.
In
his last years, Ramses was stooped from the effects of extreme age. The
embalmers will break the pharaoh's spine to restore Ramses's body to its
original regal height of 3
1/3 cubits and allow the pharaoh-god to lie comfortably flat in his
coffin.
Ramses's
gray hair, fabulously red-gold in his youth, will be dyed with henna
to replicate its youthful hue.
The
embalmers will maintain the pharaoh's distinctive, hook-nosed profile by
packing his nose with peppercorns and inserting a small animal bone to support
the nostrils.
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