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Was Rameses II a Redhead?
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Wally: [QB] (Probably only his embalmer knows for sure...) There are four factors which would account for the red color of Rameses' hair, none of which would exclude the other factors. A) The obvious effects of x-radiation upon the mummy B) The Embalm-ment Process Sir Gaston Maspero who unwrapped the mummy of Rameses II, one of the first to see the face of the Pharaoh writes: [QUOTE] "on the temples there are a few sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite thick, forming smooth, straight locks about five centimeters in length. White at the time of death, they have been dyed a light yellow by the spices used in the embalm-ment...the moustache and beard are thin...The hairs are white, like those of the head and eyebrows...the skin is of earthy brown, splotched with black...the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the face of the living king." Valley of the Kings by John Romer, Castle Books, p184 [/QUOTE] (A significant observation was also made by Maspero to the effect that the mummy had a 'low brow' or was prognathous, which in ethnological terms indicates a Negroid individual. ) C) The practice of dying gray hair The Ancient Egyptians used a variety of methods to eliminate Gray hair. Henna dyed the natural black hair an auburn color, while turning the unpigmented gray hairs a bright orange. Hair would sometimes be dyed after death. Rameses II is an example. Examine the photo of the Afar elder... [URL=http://www.geocities.com/wally_mo/people.html]http://www.geocities.com/wally_mo/people.html[/URL] D) A natural red head In her book "Ramesess - Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh" (sic!), Joyce Tyldesley references the French examination of the pharaoh and their conclusion that Rameses II had naturally red hair. This is predicated upon one true factor that would serve to give credence to the scientific evaluation of the mummy's hair: -- The Seti/Ramessid dynasty was originated by royals from the North, specifically the Delta region. Blacks, especially during this epoch, were heavily mixed with foreign whites and/or Asiatics, and tended to be lighter than those of the valley. So the existence of Blacks with red hair was probably a common occurrence, about as much as it is amongst present day African Americans, for example. It's debatable, however, how socially acceptable this would be to the population, for as Diop points out that when a Kemetian encountered someone with white skin and red hair, they would kill that person. Was it then socially acceptable to be Black with red hair? [This message has been edited by Wally (edited 11 September 2004).] [/QB][/QUOTE]
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