Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries by Brian Haughton (beginner reading books for adults txt) 📕

bodies from Lindow Moss had six fingers, others had spinal problems or foreshortened limbs, and such people may have been chosen for sacrifice because they were seen as being physically set apart by the gods. We must also remember that bogs are treacherous places, and we cannot rule out the possibility that some of the socalled bog burials are the result of misadventure. People may simply have fallen in and drowned. Others could be the remains of paupers or women who died in childbirth and were buried in unconsecrated ground. This could be the explanation for the careful burial of the girl from Meenybradden in Ireland. Nevertheless, considering the vast array of possible scenarios, it is obvious that there can never be one single explanation for the gruesome but compelling mystery of the bog bodies.

the Mysterious Life and Death of Tu1ankhamun

Photograph by Michael Reeve. (GNU Free Documentation License).

The gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun, in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.

Howard Carter's spectacular discovery in 1922 of the almost intact tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun, in the Valley of the Kings, inspired an interest in ancient Egypt that endures to this day. Indeed, the fabulous gold mask of Tutankhamun has become the popular image of Egyptian civilization. But these dazzling treasures have put the actual person behind the golden mask in the shade. The real life of the boy king of Egypt was short and

somewhat mysterious; his parentage remains uncertain as does the date of his accession to the throne. Until recently, the cause of Tutankhamun's death was also completely unknownwas it a hunting accident, or did he die from a disease? Or could he have been murdered?

Tutankhamun remains a mystery despite Carter's discovery. The tomb was full of riches, more than 2000 objects in all, and the mummy of the boy pharaoh was found contained within three golden coffins. But there was practically no documentation recovered from within the tomb, which makes it very difficult to put together an accurate story of Tutankhamun's life. It is believed that his parents may have been the heretic 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled Egypt from 1367 B.C. to 1350 B.C. (or 1350 B.C. to 1334 B.C.) and his mysterious second wife, Kiya. Akhenaten had taken the unprecedented and revolutionary step of replacing the traditional old gods of Egypt with a single sun god called the Aten. Thus, Tutankhamun's name at birth was actually Tutankhaten (Living Image of the Aten) and was only changed to Tutankhamun (Living Image of Amun) a year or two into his reign, when polytheism was restored to Egypt. Tutankhamun seems to have come to the throne at the age of nine, perhaps around 1334 B.C., and ruled for about 10 years. Because the new pharaoh was so young and had no living female relatives old enough, much of the considerable responsibility of his kingships (and his personal upbringing) must have been in the care of Ay, his chief minister, and Horemheb, commander-in-chief of the army.

Shortly after becoming king, Tutankhamun married his half-sister Ankhesenamun, a daughter of Akhenaten and his first wife, Nefertiti, and granddaughter of the chief advisor to the king, Ay. There is very little information about the reign of Tutankhamun, who ruled first from Akhenaten's city of Amarna, on the east bank of the Nile about 250 miles north of Luxor, before moving to his new capital at Memphis, 12 miles south of modern Cairo on the west bank of the Nile. It was Horemheb and Ay who

were probably responsible for persuading the new pharaoah to relinquish the religion of Aten, and start to return to the old ways. Preserved on his restoration stelae-at the Temple of Karnak at Thebes-are descriptions of the steps taken by Tutankhamun to bring back the old gods and traditions, which included founding a new priesthood and embarking on building and restoration programs at the temples of the ancient gods.

The pharaoh and his wife did have two known children, both stillborn girls, whose mummies were discovered in his tomb. The only other fact that is known is that when he was about 19 years old, Tutankhamun's life was mysteriously cut short. Many have viewed it as suspicious that as soon as Tutankhamun was old enough to make his own decisions and take on the role of leader of his people-rather than share it with Ay and Horemheb-he was dead. After Tutankhamun's death, his widow Ankhesenamun married Ay, her own grandfather. A signet ring bearing the names of Ay and Ankhesenamun (and seemingly representing this union) has been found. This marriage enabled Ay, who had no royal blood, to inherit the throne. Ankhesenamun disappears from the records soon after the marriage, suggesting that she was murdered, possibly at the instigation of Ay. Shortly after the death of her husband and just before she vanished forever from history, she wrote one of the most startling letters ever recovered from the ancient world.

The letter, sent by an Egyptian "royal widow" has been dated to the end of the 18th Dynasty, and was found in the archives of the Hittite capital of Hattusa (modern Bogazkale) in Turkey. The document had been sent to King Suppiluliumas I of the Hittites, an emerging power in the Near East at the time and an obvious danger to Egypt. Part of the document states, "My husband has died and I have no son. They say about you that you have many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. Never shall I pick out a servant of mine and make him my husband! I am afraid!" The Hittite king at first expressed suspicion at the motives of Ankhesenamun, but after sending a messenger to Egypt to investigate the situation, who brought back a second letter from the Egyptian queen, he agreed to the marriage and sent his son, the Prince Zannanza, to Egypt. However, the prince only got as far as the Egyptian border before he met his death,