A few years ago an X-ray was performed of Tutankhamun’s famous golden funeral mask.
Archaeologists believed that the mask was composed of a single piece, in fact it consists of multiple parts and was ᴀssembled with a very precise welding invisible to the naked eye. This says a lot about how advanced the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians was.
The mask is 54 centimetres high, 39.3 centimetres wide and 49 centimetres deep: it consists of two layers of high quality gold, ranging in thickness from 1.5 to 3 millimetres, weighing 10.23 kilograms. X-ray crystallography determined that the mask contains two different gold alloys: one, the lighter, is 18.4 carats for the face and neck, and one 22.5 carats for the rest of the mask.
This discovery literally left the scientists of the field speechless: the researchers, in fact, did not expect that the ancient Egyptian civilization had managed to reach this level of technological advancement, especially in the field of leagues and the gold industry.
Tutankhamun’s mask is one of the most important examples of artistic and technical achievement of ancient Egyptians (in the New Kingdom). The head of the mummy wrapped in the coffin had to be covered. According to the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians, the golden mask, activated by a particular spell, (n. 151b of the Book of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ), it would have ensured greater protection for the king’s body.
The exact representation of the King’s facial features allowed his soul to recognize him and return to his mummified body, thus ensuring his resurrection.
The head is covered by the royal bonnet and the forehead bears the emblems of royalty and protection: the vulture and the ureo (or cobra).
The gold foils used in this wonderful mask are shaped together through heating and hammering techniques. The eyes are obsidian and quartz and the eyebrows and eyelids are inlaid with lapislazzuli. The large necklace inlaid with semi-precious stones and stained glᴀss ends with hawk heads.
