King Tutankhamun’s mummy could not be separated from the coffin since the resins and unguents had penetrated the wrappings, adhering the body itself to the coffin.
Ultimately, the body had to be chiseled out. The torso was cut in half at the level of the hips to remove the pelvis and legs from the coffin. The arms were disarticulated at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists in order to continue the unwrapping of the torso and to remove bracelets; each body part was treated with H๏τ paraffin wax to stabilise it.
PH๏τos of King Tutankhamun’s mummy, when it was it discovered and the modern day. The eyelids and ears seem to have fallen off, and the skullcap is gone.
The hands and feet were later reattached with resin. Lastly, H๏τ knives were used to remove the head and neck from the mask.
To view the condition of the teeth, Derry made an incision around the inner edge of the jaw and across the throat; this damage was repaired with resin. This thorough disarticulation of the body “gave clear views of the ends of each of the relevant bones, allowing the anatomists to make an accurate estimate of the king’s age”.
