The royal mummies of ancient Egypt:An odyssey of discoveries and a fascinating source of data

Thanks to mummification, the physical remains of many rulers of ancient Egypt are still observable today and constitute a valuable source of information. By evaluating the age at death and sometimes elucidating the degree of kinship and circumstances of death, our knowledge of ancient Egyptian history becomes more precise. Different pathologic conditions have been found and the evolution of the mummification process can be seen through time.The most spectacular discovery was that of Tutankhamen’s mummy, the single totally undisturbed tomb, associated with a fabulous treasure.The mummy of Ramses II has been extensively studied, the only one that flew to Paris where an irradiation was delivered in order to eradicate a destructive fungal infection.The identification of Akhenaten’s mummy and the explanation for his peculiar appearance are still unsolved problems.Noticeably, many Royal mummies remain of uncertain identity or undiscovered hitherto.