A gold and lapis lazuli collar of king Psusennes I originally found in his tomb at Tanis.John Campana / CC BY 2.0
Posted on 03/17/2025 3:56:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Montet's discovery on the eve of the Second World War was that of a tomb of a relatively obscure pharaoh of the 21st Dynasty of ancient Egypt by the name of Psusennes I. Psusennes was the third ruler of his dynasty, which ascended to power at the onset of the Third Intermediate Period, a time of political turmoil in Egypt.
During this era, the country's kingship was fragmented, and the country was divided between Upper and Lower Egypt. While the pharaohs of the 21st Dynasty governed from Tanis, their influence was primarily confined to the Lower Egypt delta region. Meanwhile, Thebes was the stronghold of the High Priest of Amun, who presided over Upper Egypt...
In ancient Egyptian culture, gold was considered the flesh of the gods, while silver was believed to be their bones. Although gold was more abundant in ancient Egypt, silver was even more valuable as it had to be imported from Western Asia and the Mediterranean.
As such, the solid silver coffin found in Psusennes' tomb was a testament to his immense wealth and power. Furthermore, the exceptional craftsmanship of the metal objects found inside the tomb, including the silver coffin, suggests that Psusennes also commanded the manpower needed to produce such luxurious items.
Psusennes' silver anthropoid coffin was found within a pink granite coffin, which in turn was encased within a granite sarcophagus. Interestingly, the granite sarcophagus once belonged to a 19th Dynasty pharaoh, Merenptah, who was the successor of Ramesses II.
The mummy of Psusennes itself had not survived the ages, and instead of an intact body Montet only found a pile of bones, black dust and various funerary items, including a gold mummy board and a spectacular solid gold mask which would have covered the pharaoh's face.
(Excerpt) Read more at ancient-origins.net ...
A gold and lapis lazuli collar of king Psusennes I originally found in his tomb at Tanis.John Campana / CC BY 2.0
I don’t remember ever hearing about that place.
It’s Awesome!
Merenptah or Merneptah is the pharaoh who mentions Israel in a text (c. 1220 B.C.), showing that the Israelites were in the Land of Canaan by then.
Must have been a real nuisance to fill out forms.
Think of all the good this wealth could have created if it had been used instead of buried.
The keywords, both spellings, sorted:
Oh boo hoo.
So it would be acceptable for our political leaders to steal the gold from Ft Knox and be buried with it?
That’s a brainless comment. The pharaoh didn’t have to steal it, he owned it, and was overlord of the entire population, which means he and his officials directed all economic activity.
A fake version was used in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.
In 1979 I visited Egypt, and among other things, I saw about 2/3 of the old Cairo Museum (not the Grand Egyptian Museum that is about to open). One of the exhibits I saw in there was the treasures from the tombs found by Montet at Tanis. Unlike the treasures of Tutankhamun, the Tanis collection, including the silver coffins of Psusennes and Shoshenk, was small enough to fit in one museum gallery of normal size. When I saw the Tanite stuff, my first impression was: “That’s not so great.” I had already seen what Tutankhamun had (what did not go on tour, anyway), and the artwork on the artifacts of Tanis was cruder.
As for why the mummy of Psusennes was not preserved, keep in mind that the royal mummies we have came from the western Egyptian desert, the Valley of the Kings and neighboring areas. As long as flood waters did not get to them, they were kept absolutely dry. By contrast, the Tanis tombs were buried under a temple in the Nile delta, where the humidity is higher.
Didn’t the pharaoh really acquire much of his wealth by theft? Did the prior generations in his family pay taxes on income and property or did they exempt themselves from paying any taxes? Did they use taxes on the serfs to build up their own wealth. Technically you can say that is not stealing defined by the pharaoh’s laws. I think most was acquired by stealing. I believe God would view it as stealing as well.
You can believe whatever you want, a) you don’t speak for God, and b) you’re an ignorant troll and stalker, operating under yet another bogus nick.
Correct. Always, when considering the afterlife, one must bear in mind that it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!
I didn’t say I spoke for God.
I just responded to your responses. That isn’t trolling.
Enjoy your nick, whatever that is. Bye.
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