Get to know more about Royal Parade mummies’ history

The long-waited Royal Parade is a few hours away as it is scheduled for Saturday, April 3.

Therefore, archaeologist Tamer Al Menshawi reviewed the history of the 22 Royal Parade mummies.

Al Menshawi initiated that several senior kings and queen of the New Kingdom of Egypt era were buried in the Theban Necropolis, Luxor, however, their tombs were robbed during the reign of the 20th dynasty.

So, during the reign of the 21st dynasty, the priests restored the robbed mummies and re-buried them in two different burial sites. Those sites are lately known as DB320, and KV35.

The DB320 was unearthed by some residents in 1875, and they robbed various antiquities from the site until 1881.

The tomb contained the mummies of Seqenenre Tao, Amenhotep I, Ahmose I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Thutmose III, Seti I, Ramesses II, Ahmose-Nefertari, Nodjmet, and Isetemkheb D among others.

Regarding KV35, it was discovered in 1898 in the Valley of the Kings. It carried the mummies of Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Merneptah, Seti II, Siptah, Ramesses IV, Ramesses V, and Ramesses VI.

It also contained a number of mummies that belonged to senior royalties.

In 1886, all DB320 mummies have been transported to the Museum of Bulaq, Cairo amid a great mood of mourning by the residents.

A breathtaking celebration was organized for receiving the mummies at the museum headed by Tewfik Pasha, the archaeologist narrated.

Moreover, Gaston Maspero, the director of the Egyptian Authority of Antiquities, untied the cloth that covered several mummies such as Seqenenre Tao, Thutmose I, and Ramesses II.

After that, the mummies were displayed at one of the royal palaces in Giza before they were finally placed at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir in 1902.

In 1931, they were moved to Saad Zaghloul burial and they were kept at the site until 1936.

At this year, the mummies returned to the Egyptian Museum, furthermore, a specialized hall of displaying them was inaugurated by President Mubarak in 1994.

Finally, the mummies are about to be placed in a new final destination which is the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.

Contributed by: Rana Atef