章 221: Chapter 221: Museum, Knowledge, Legacy (Edited)
The Egyptian National Museum is a two-story stone building, with the galleries on the ground floor arranged clockwise according to the development of ancient Egyptian history, from the times of the Old Kingdom to the era of Roman domination. However, unfortunately, Abdullah sought a smaller audience, so Tom and Hermione did not visit the galleries in chronological order. After the visit, they were taken to the first floor of the museum, which is dedicated to thematic rooms, such as the coffin room, the mummy room, the jewelry room, the painting room, the funerary objects room, the prehistoric relics room, the Tutankhamun room, the papyrus room, and many more.
On the first floor, instead of rushing to the famous Tutankhamun room, Abdullah headed to the mummy room in the southwest corner of the first floor, which, according to Abdullah, is the most fascinating part of the Egyptian museum. It houses the mummies of over 20 Egyptian pharaohs and their consorts, who have survived for thousands of years and remain in perfect condition, with visible hair and nails.
"This is the mummy of Ramses II, from the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, which existed between 1317 and 1251 BCE, over three thousand years ago, but his remains are the best preserved. This pharaoh was the first in Egyptian history to conclude a peace treaty with a foreign enemy, the Hittites, hence the name of this room [War and Peace]." Abdullah introduced Tom to the mummies in the mummy room.
He even asked Tom to come closer and see the face of the legendary pharaoh. [Note] Ramses II is considered one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt. He led the army at the age of 10, ascended the throne in 1213 BCE, lived for 90 years, and reigned for 67. His reign marked the last great era of the New Kingdom of Egypt.
Tom became interested in the mummy of such a pharaoh, so he approached.
Ramses II's mummy was so well-preserved that one could see his appearance before his death. The mighty pharaoh had been reduced to a withered corpse, devoid of the aura of power and splendor, but wrapped in a fine linen cloth for all to see.
Tom was separated from the noblest man in the world by a glass case.
Perhaps the pharaohs thought their empire and royalty would last as long as the pyramids, but time has taught them that all of this is nothing but sand in the desert, that rain and wind will blow it away. The mighty empire vanished, the solid pyramids crumbled, and only the most fragile flesh of the pharaohs survived.
Ramses II's mummy, unearthed in 1881, was so poorly preserved that in 1974 it was found to be infested with fungi and insects, and it had to be sent to France for conservation and restoration...
Instead of letting Tom dwell on the memory of ancient Egypt, Abdullah took him to the legendary Tutankhamun Room. Inside, there are over 1,700 excavated objects. "The Golden Mask," "The Golden Coffin," "The Golden Throne"... Each of these artifacts could be a museum treasure on its own, but here they are piled up. This is the legacy of ancient Egypt, the last reverberations of a brilliant civilization.
Tutankhamun, with his short reign and lack of accomplishments, had such a lavish burial, but what about all the other famous pharaohs? A pharaoh like Ramses II, who ruled for 67 years, couldn't have been buried with less than Tutankhamun, right?
Unfortunately, thousands of years of excavations have nearly destroyed them. It's possible that there were more magnificent funerary objects than the "Golden Mask" or the "Golden Throne," but most of them were unearthed by tomb raiders, who took the gems and melted the gold...
"The Golden Mask was made to resemble the king's appearance, with an eagle and a cobra representing the rulers of Upper and Lower Egypt.
His golden coffin is made of 450 pounds of pure gold, the most exquisite and grandiose goldsmithing in the history of humanity."
Tom closely examined the intricately carved and painted golden coffin. Hermione followed suit, not drawn to the golden coffin or the golden face, but instead gazing intently at Tutankhamun's throne. It wasn't the throne's shine that interested her; it was the portrait on the backrest of the throne that truly captivated her.
"You see, the armrests on the front of the seat depict an eagle with a snake's head, representing the royalty of Upper and Lower Egypt," Abdullah began, pointing to the portrait on the seat, noticing that Hermione's attention wasn't focused on the treasure or the royalty. "The backrest of the throne portrays the royal family, with the queen in the sunlight, gazing at the beloved queen. In the sunlight, the queen affectionately caresses the king on the throne, and they look at each other in harmony. It is said that the innermost chest of Tutankhamun's golden coffin was unearthed with a bouquet of withered flowers, a sign of the queen's enduring love."
Indeed, Hermione was fascinated by the pharaoh and queen's love story.
"So?" she asked.
"So?" Abdullah froze for a moment and flashed a bitter smile. There were many artifacts in this museum that he couldn't name or contextualize, but the story of Tutankhamun's chamber, which he had studied well, meant that he truly knew it.
But he couldn't say it.
What could he do? Tell the girl in front of him that Tutankhamun had died at the age of eighteen, that the powerful had seized the throne after his death, that his beloved queen had been taken by the powerful, that she had given birth to a son, and that no history had been written since then?
He couldn't say it, as he looked into Hermione's expectant eyes.
All he could do was helplessly shake his head, saying that he didn't know.
Hermione felt a bit disappointed.
The three of them left Tutankhamun's chamber and headed to the papyrus room, where Tom saw a familiar face: Dr. Hunter and an elderly gray-haired man standing in a corner of the room, the lights dimmed so that if Tom hadn't been observant, he wouldn't have distinguished them. Following Tom's line of sight, Abdullah also spotted the elderly man and was slightly taken aback.
"Curator Siddiq?" He was a little surprised, not expecting to see the museum director here. What surprised him even more was that their arrival had alerted the two men, and one of the commissioner's guests had greeted them.
"Doctor, I didn't expect to see you here." Hermione approached Hal and greeted him.
"Yes, Dr. Siddiq was a friend of my father." Dr. Hunter smiled and nodded, while pulling Tom and Hermione closer. "Look!"
A dodecagon appeared before them.
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