King Seqenenre Tao II’s mummy was originally buried at Dra’ Abu el-Naga’, and later reburied at Deir el-Bahari in his original coffin. It was discovered in the Deir el-Bahari cache (“DB320”), revealed in 1881.
The body of this king, who died in his forties, was poorly preserved. However, the brain is still in the cranial cavity and the mummy’s mouth still has a complete set of healthy teeth. His mummified head depicting his battle wounds.
Mummy of Seqenenre Tao, the Brave
The king’s head is covered with horrific wounds: a dagger thrust behind the ear, after which, perhaps, blows rained down upon him. Mace blows smashed his cheek and nose and a battle-axe cut through the bone above his forehead.
As shown by a literary tale of later date, Seqenenre was contemporary with Apophis, one of the last great Hyksos kings. According to the tale, the Hyksos ruler provoked a quarrel by claiming that hippopotamuses at Thebes were disturbing his sleep at his delta capital in Avaris, 400 miles (644 km) away. Unfortunately, the preserved text ends with Seqenenre and his court pondering a suitable response.
Second Intermediate Period, 17th Dynasty, ca. 1560-1555 BC. Now in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), Cairo. JE 2609
