| Recently, while happening across my first sketch, it struck me that the drawing resembled some ancient portaits of Akhenaten. Suddenly, I recalled the words of Victor Loret and, taking his article out of my files, re-read it carefully. After that, I did a new reconstruction of a profile view of the mummy and had no trouble re-creating a likeness of Neferkheperure from it. For the first time I realized that the odd shape of the skull of the mummy, which culminates at the nape of the neck in a boney projection, would have caused a "bump" on the neck just like the one 18th Dynasty artists show in some of Akhenaten's portraits and cartoons! Nevertheless, it is not the mummy we know as "Seti II" that Loret described as having umbelliferae at the neck or upon which he noticed the name of Akhenaten--but the one he indicates was lying next to it. Yet, if "Seti II" is Akhenaten, there would have been a correct dynastic progression of the mummies lying in KV35--straight from Amenhotep II, in his stone sarcophagus, through Akhenaten. Otherwise, if "Seti II" is really that ruler, then he would be, according to our understanding of the royal succession, out of order because he is followed by the mummy now considered to be Merneptah, who himself appears to be followed by Siptah and Ramesses V. These are the kings in the back row of the side-chamber, according to their place in the notes of Loret: Thutmose IV -- Amenhotep III -- Seti II -- Akhenaten/Merneptah -- Siptah -- Ramesses V Those in the shorter front row are: Unknown Woman D [7] -- Ramesses VI -- Ramesses IV Therefore, on the face of it, the kingly collection seems rather randomly positioned by the ancient reburial commission, but let us not forget that Loret did not make up his list until after the mummies had been moved into the next room. Also, it must be recalled that KV35 was a Thutmosid tomb, not a Ramessid one, so that the Ramessid "stowaways" may have just been put in as an afterthought, but a conscious effort may have been made to reunite as many of the Thutmosid family as possible with their great ancestor, Amenhotep II, and place them in the proper order of their reigns. Smith, examining the mummy as "Seti II", remarked: "There is little resemblance to the other XIXth Dynasty pharaohs in Seti IInd's features, but they recall in a striking manner those of the XVIIIth Dynasty." This statement is true to a remarkable degree. The mummy in question, pronounced by Dr. Smith to be middle-aged, has the pentagonoid cranium, also seen on the mummy of Tutankhamun and others (which will be discussed shortly). No other royal mummy has a flatter skull except for the platycephalic Thutmose III. The pronounced Thutmosid over-bite of the mummy is certainly very much in evidence, and so is the under-slung jaw, quite long in this case. The nose is high-bridged but not especially lengthy. Here are some measurements of the head of this mummy as compared with those of Tutankhamun and the unknown individual in KV55, who is surely a relative of both Tutankhamun and Akhenaten. KV35 individual KV55 individual Tutankhamun length of skull 187 mill. 190 mill. 187 mill. breadth of skull 141 " 154 " 155.5 " min. frontal breadth 97 " 98" 99" circumference 520 " 542 " 547 " length of body 1m. 64 mill 1m 66 mill 1m 68 mill If "Seti II" can possibly be Akhenaten, he is somewhat shorter than the younger members of his family and his cranium is narrower. However, the mummy thought to be that of Amenhotep III is shorter still, so perhaps each generation took on a bit of height. GO TO NEXT PAGE |