Ramses the Great's Mummy: The Pharaoh Who Would Not Die

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the extraordinary afterlife of Ramses II—not in myth, but in the preservation and rediscovery of his actual body. They trace how Egyptian embalmers spent seventy days preparing the pharaoh for eternity, using techniques that would keep his features recognizable for over three thousand years. The conversation follows the mummy's journey from the Valley of the Kings to a secret royal cache at Deir el-Bahari, where priests of the 21st Dynasty reburied him to protect him from tomb robbers. They discuss the moment in 1881 when Egyptologist Émile Brugsch uncovered the cache, and the later decision to send Ramses to Paris in 1976 for conservation—the only time an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has traveled abroad for medical treatment. Along the way they touch on CT scans, pollen analysis, and what Ridley Scott's portrayal got wrong. Along the way, they touch on CT scans, pollen analysis, and what modern science has revealed about the king's age, health, and red hair. This is the story of a pharaoh who really would not die. #RamsesII #Mummy #Egyptology #DeirElBahari #Mummification #CTScan #Paris #Pharaoh #AncientEgypt #Kemet #ValleyOfTheKings #Cache #ÉmileBrugsch #GastonMaspero #RedHair #Artiosclerosis #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo