Nov 4, 2007, 16:21 GMT
Luxor, Egypt - The world can now gaze at the face of one of ancient Egypt's most intriguing rulers, King Tutankhamun, whose mummy was exhibited Sunday in a showcase inside his tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings.
An archaeological worker looks across at the face of the linen-wrapped mummy of King Tut as he is removed from his stone sarcophagus in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007. The mummy of the 19-year-old pharaoh, whose life and death has captivated people for nearly a century, was placed in a climate-controlled glass box in the tomb, with only the face and feet showing under the linen covering. EPA/Ben Curtis
The mummy of the boy king, believed to have died in his teens about 3,000 years ago, was removed from its golden sarcophagus and placed in a climate-controlled case inside the tomb.
It is exactly 85 years ago today that the British explorer, Howard Carter, discovered the Pharaoh's burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings and packed with golden treasures as well as 5,000 objects - everything a king would need in the afterlife.
'Everywhere the glint of gold,' Carter cried in awe when he uncovered the objects.
The deaths of some members of Carter's archaeological team following the discovery of the chamber, as well as his sponsor, Earl Carnavon, gave rise to the myth of the 'mummy's curse' afflicting the ones who dared to open King Tut's tomb.
In contemporary Egypt too, Carter is not held in high esteem.
Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawas, blamed him for the 'very bad' condition of the king's mummy.
Hawas said three-dimensional CAT X-rays and a radio scan, which the mummy underwent in 2004, revealed that it was in a very bad condition and was divided into 18 solid pieces.
Carter had removed the mummy from its sarcophagus in 1925 and used sharp tools to remove the golden mask from the mummy's face and more than 100 amulets embedded in the body, Hawas asserted.
But Carter is not the only one to blame, mass tourism is a contributing factor. Millions of tourists drawn to the Valley of the Kings, the resting place of many ancient Egyptian royals, bring humidity and heat into the tombs.
Archeologists fear this movement is exacerbating the preservation of King's Tut mummy.
Hawas argues that placing the mummy in a showcase would protect it from humidity and heat, but some Egyptian archaeologists disapprove of the move.
The mummy is in a very bad condition as the head, legs and arms separated from the body, the trunk and genitals are missing and the chest is in a very bad condition, said Ahmed Salih Abdullah, an Egyptian mummification expert.
But Hawas dubbed his critics 'ignorant'.
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