On the first day of July, we had a family pilgrimage to Seattle to see the King Tutankhamen exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. Grandma and Grandpa Black, Deke, Debby and Dory, and Cindy, Dave, Lindsay and Nathan all joined us.
Just a day or so before our pilgrimage, the Great Wheel in Seattle opened up, so we had to do that too. Despite Owen and I having an eensy weensy fear of heights, we made it through just fine…I coped by making some inappropriate jokes about the Wheel being brand new, not fully tested, a few bolts missing…who knew what could happen. I don’t think Owen appreciated the humor.
After the Great Wheel, we hurried off to the Pacific Science Center to see the Egyptian artifacts, 3,000 to 5,000 years old (that’s a LOT older than anything I’ve ever come close to!). The exhibit was incredible, and is still going on through January 2013, if you’re in the Seattle area.
Posing with the artifacts was a big no-no, so this photo of Dory and I is blurry…apparently there was something fascinating about the back of this pharaoh's throne.
A sampling of some of the artifacts…
The jewelry was in better shape than most of the “jewelry” in my collection. It was quite intricate and colorful.
Here were some of the highlights. I think I have them paired up correctly.
The largest image of King Tut ever unearthed; a 10-foot quartzite statue found at the site of the funerary temple of his high officials
A dazzling and intricate gold canopic coffinette that held King Tut’s mummified stomach (I think this one’s right…if not, cool little artifact anyway).
Gold sandals and finger and toe coverings found on King Tut’s mummy. Seriously. These were on his fingertips and feet when he was discovered in 1922. Cool, huh?
The exquisite gold death mask of Psusennes I—this was stunning.
An imposing colossal bust of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), King Tut’s father (and just a note—they’ve done DNA analysis from King Tut, and determined that his mother and father were brother and sister).
And finally, there is a recreation of Tut’s mummified body—the actual body is in Egypt, and I believe has never left the country. There was some information at the end of the exhibit that talked about the mystery of Tut’s death…for many years, it was thought that he was murdered because of an “injury” to his skull. That has been determine to be posthumous, though. Scientists have determined that he was most likely in bad health, had a club foot (maybe walked with a staph?), and probably died from an infection.
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