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Ramses the Great Dies
  The Pharoah's Death   The Reign of Ramses the Great   Preparing the Pharoah for the Afterlife  
          Preserving the Pharoah's Earthly Form  
  Restoring Ramses to  Youth
  The Pharoah's Final Resting Place


photo of Ramses' mummy

Sun artist's last impression of Ramses

© Nathan Benn, Corbis

 
  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.

dingbatIn 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.

dingbatRamses's gray hair, fabulously red-gold in his youth, will be dyed with henna to replicate its youthful hue.

dingbatThe 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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