Ramses II’s Face Reconstruction Utilizing the Pharaoh’s Mummified Remains
Introduction
At the height of ancient Egypt’s glory, a king ascended the throne and left an indelible mark on history. This was Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great. He was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty and is considered the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom—the most powerful period of ancient Egypt. His successors and later Egyptians called him “The Great Ancestor.”
The Story
Ramesses II, known in Greek sources as Ozymandias, from the first part of his regal name, Usermaatre Setepenre, “The Chosen of Ra.” He led several military expeditions into the Levant, reasserting Egyptian control over Canaan. He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein. The early part of his reign focused on building cities, temples, and monuments.
At fourteen, Ramesses II was appointed prince regent by his father, Seti I. It is believed that he ascended the throne in his late teens and ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. Manetho, a Greek historian, attributes Ramesses II a reign of 66 years and 2 months. Most Egyptologists today believe he assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Season of the Harvest, day 27.
Ramesses II had an incredibly impressive reign, celebrating an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals—the first held after 30 years of a pharaoh’s reign, and then, every three years thereafter. He died at the age of 90 or 91, a figure considered most likely.
Upon his death, Ramesses II was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings; his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881. Today, this mummy is on display in the Egyptian Museum.
Conclusion
In 1975, Maurice Bucaille, a French doctor, examined the mummy at the Cairo Museum and found it in poor condition. French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing succeeded in convincing Egyptian authorities to send the mummy to France for treatment. In September 1976, the mummy was greeted at Paris–Le Bourget Airport with full military honors befitting a king, then taken to a laboratory at the Musée de l’Homme.
Professor Pierre-Fernand Ceccaldi, the chief forensic scientist at the Criminal Identification Laboratory of Paris, examined the mummy and determined that Ramesses II had red hair, a feature associated with the deity Set. After being irradiated in an attempt to eliminate fungi and insects, the mummy was returned from Paris to Egypt in May 1977.
With his illustrious life and career, Ramesses II remains an immortal symbol of the power and grandeur of ancient Egypt. His achievements are not only marked in history but are also remembered through the ages.
