Response
My reasons for choosing the mummy of Tutankhamun as my human remain for this exhibition is that his tomb was just about unharmed and had remained hidden for thousands of years and not greatly disturbed from grave robbers, he was only nine years old when he became the Pharaoh of Egypt, and the mummy of Tutankhamun remained untouched. It has given an insight to the mummification process and royal burials, and is the most famous and significant archaeological discovery of the modern era. Tutankhamun’s mummy has also led to the DNA testing of other mummies, and his death is Egypt’s most popular mysteries. Some ethical issues raised with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s mummy are consent when working and researching, and the violation of his medical privacy. The problem is the concept of consent having any meaning for someone who had died such Tutankhamun. Scientist consider that a person who has died was likely to have consented to research. Tutankhamun may have possibly been happy with the research that has given him fame but he might have been against the gossip about the several diseases that he might of suffered from which also leads to the issue of violation of medical privacy. Should intimate and embarrassing information such as Tutankhamun’s diseases, missing penis, and habits be revealed to the public, researchers disagree and argue that exploration and revealing of sensitive information would require consent if it was performed on modern humans. The problem that is faced is that Tutankhamun isn’t around to give his consent and raises questions whether scientist and researches have the right to perform and release of information to the public and the world. Also a number of presentational issues have been raised such as desecration of Tutankhamun. From the over 2,000 CT scans performed on Tutankhamun it has created a virtual autopsy and it has produced a sickening portrayal of the pharaoh showing his full-length inelegant body. His face looks distinctly unhealthy, with bad teeth and presenting a pharaoh with hereditary problems. Another presentational issue is the preservation and maintenance of the mummy. After the first examination done by Carter care was not taken. The mummy was not re-wrapped after 1926 and this has led to extensive deterioration of the body due to the exceedingly hot external elements over the duration of 42 years. Furthermore various limbs have been surgically removed in exchange for the jewellery and death mask. Both of Tutankhamun’s hands were removed, so to was his legs from the pelvis, and even his head was detached in order to remove his death mask. Also his right ear and penis was missing. This has caused the body to not be presented in is natural state like it was first discovered and the mummy of Tutankhamun is rarely displayed as every time it is taken out of its coffin and from preservation it further weakens the body.