When we’re born the last thing on anyone’s mind is death. All anyone can really ask for is a happy, healthy baby and for the infant to live a long prosperous life. Unfortunately, as you take your first breath the countdown to death starts. Today we don’t really start thinking about death until we’ve somehow experienced it for ourselves or we start getting older. Some of us questions what happens to us when we die, where do we go, does it hurt, will I ever see my loved ones again, will I be with God? Although we don’t have answers to these questions, we can look at past cultures to help open our minds to the possibilities. Today when we die we don’t really plan it out or start preparing from months or years. Due to the fact that we don’t know …show more content…
Some may look at it and pay no mind but others would see the great value it has and its contributions to modern society. The mummy case of Djedmaatesankh isn’t just a coffin but a piece of art and comes with an untold story that we are now unlocking. This mummy case is just one of many artifacts from ancient Egypt that helps us better understand that time. From this one artifact, we looked at Egyptians gods, their belief in the afterlife, their customs, their rituals, their architecture, and their way of life. I started off this program with questions some may have about death although I don’t have the answers to them the mummy case of Djedmaatesankh gives you an insight into what the ancient Egyptians believed. Unfortunately, that’s all the time I have for today’s program. Join me next week when hope on a boat and sail north towards ancient Greece.
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The grandeur with which Egyptians regarded their funerary customs does not come without explanation. They delighted in tying the occurrences of the natural world with supernatural dogma, and their burial practices exemplified this deluge of religion. A special deity was even attributed to cemeteries and embalmers: Anubis (Fiero, 46). Due to this deep sense of religion, a fixation with the afterlife developed within their culture. The Egyptian afterlife, however, is not synonymous of heave, but, rather, of The Field of Reeds, a continuation of one’s life in Egypt meant “to secure and perpetuate in the afterlife the ‘good life’ enjoyed on earth” (Mark 1; “Life in Ancient Egypt” 1). The pursuit of this sacred rest-place prompted the arousal of intricate Egyptian funeral rituals.
The discovery of King Tutankhamen tomb in 1922 has caught the attention of the world. The ancient Pharaoh's tomb is the only known find that is in its original state. Thieves have not looted the tomb (Sayre, 2011). According to Rompalske (2000), in Egypt's Valley of the Kings was King Tutankhamen tomb found. Nearby burial sites were long been looted by grave robbers or damaged by floodwaters. Somehow, the tomb remained undisturbed for 3,000 years. This undisturbed condition is significant because the world only knew of what contents should be in a Pharaoh's tomb from ancient writings. The world has never before seen the actual contents of a Pharaoh's tomb intact. Additionally, right at the time of the tomb discovery and before breaching the sealed door, an elderly British romantic novelist Marie Corelli, who specializes on the supernatural wrote of an ominous warning, a "Mummy's Curse", that anyone who intrudes into a sealed tomb will suffer or die (Marchant, 2013). The recipient of Corelli's warning is the renowned British Archeologist Howard Carter and his financier George Herbert, a very wealthy fifth Earl of Carnarvon. It is the intention of this report to identify the mystery surrounding the curse and to dispel or validate its accuracy.
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Judgment before Osiris, a painted papyrus from the Egyptian Book of Dead, Dynasty 19, at present located in the British Museum is an important artifact that aids in the study of the funerary practices that were one of the most important aspects of ancient Egyptian civilization. This papyrus contains not only hieroglyphs but also illustrations and these are generally placed in the coffin in the belief that the dead person could use them in the afterworld or in the event of resurrection.
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Term Paper: Coffin of Tentkhonsu The Egyptians during this period took ample time and detail on the mummification process to ensure a successful transition from the netherworld to rebirth. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, 1025-980 B.C., it’s a depiction of how the Egyptians valued and honored their elite members of society, as well as their gods. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, itself dates back to the III intermediate period in Egyptian culture. The Egyptian believe was to join Osiris, whom was believed to have ascended to Netherworld and accomplished eternal life.
The Oriental Institute featured an exhibit focused on the development of ancient Middle East Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East 1919–20 January 12 - August 29, 2010. And this was the exhibit I found most intriguing and most i...
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