DAV PUBLIC SCHOL PRATAP VIHAR, GHAZIABAD

CLASS – XI SUBJECT – ENGLISH

TOPIC : Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues

Introduction of the Lesson

Written by A.R. Williams, this chapter is about the last heir of the powerful Pharaoh Dynasty,
Tutankhamun, who died when he was a teenager after ruling for nine years. He died in a
mysterious way, this chapter throws light over all the possible mysteries – the curse, where his
tomb lies, his life and ultimately death. Egyptians believe that there is life after death and that is
the reason why the Pharaohs were buried with wealth and everyday use items

Summary
Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues is a chapter which gives us an in-depth insight of
Tutankhamun, the last ruler of the powerful Pharaoh Dynasty in Egypt. He was a teenager when
he died and his death was a mystery. Some speculated that he was murdered. He ruled in Egypt
and its empire for centuries. In 1922, his tomb was discovered by Howard Carter, a British
Archaeologist. After 80 years, he was taken from his resting place for CT scan which offers to
solve the mystery of his life and death by creating a forensic reconstruction.
Tut’s father or grandfather, Amenhotep III, was a very powerful Pharaoh who ruled over a
period of forty years. His son, Amenhotep IV, thrived him and began the strangest period in the
history of Egypt. He promoted the worship of Aten (the sun disk). He changed his name to
Akhenaten meaning servant of the Atens. He also moved the religious capital from Thebes to the
new city of Akhenaten, called Amarna. Further, he attacked Amun, a god, smashed his images
and closed his temples. Another mysterious ruler succeeded him who died soon. Next,
Tutankhamun, also known as Tut, sat on the throne and ruled for nine years. He worshipped god
Amun in the old ways. However, he died mysteriously.
When Tut’s mummified body was discovered, he was laid with lots of gold, wealth and everyday
items like a bronze razor, games, clothes, cases of food and wine. Carter discovered him after
searching for many years. After researching on the treasures, he decided to investigate his three
nested coffins. Some parts of the Tut’s treasures in the tomb were already looted.
His tomb was rock-cut, 26 feet underground, which had wall paintings. On the outer coffin, Tut’s
face was gilded. In the first coffin, he found the garlands of olives, lotus petals, and cornflowers.
It showed that he was buried in the months of March or April. The third and final coffin put
Carter into trouble. The resins used to cement Tut to the bottom of the solid gold coffin was
hardened enough making it impossible to move. He put the coffin in the sun for several hours in
hope for the resins to loosen up but it didn’t work. Finally, he removed the resins with the help of
chisel and hammer. Carter felt he didn’t have any other choice as to if he hadn’t cut the mummy
from limb to limb, thieves would have looted the gold. His men first removed his head, then they
cut off every joint. After removing the body parts, they placed it on the layer of sand in a wooden
box and put it at the original place.
In 1968, the mummy was X-rayed by an anatomy professor, revealed few facts – his breast bone
and front ribs were missing.
Later, on January 05 2009, Tut was taken for CT (Computed Tomography) scan which takes
hundreds of X-Rays and creates a three-dimensional image. The night of the scan, the workmen
carried his body from the tomb in a box. They climbed ramp and stairs and lifted it on a
hydraulic trailer that held the scanner. The scanner stopped working which paused the procedure.
After using a pair of spare fans, the scan was finally done. After three-hours, his body was taken
back to his tomb where his body is resting in peace.
 

Question and Answers

Understanding the Text
1. Give reasons for the following.
(i) King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
Ans: King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny because of his history, his
treasures which he was buried with and to know the reason behind his death.
 
(ii) Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.
Ans: Howard Carter’s investigation was resented because of his unscientific methods to cut off
his body from the tomb. He also focused more on Tut’s wealth and less on to solve the mystery
of Tut’s life and death.
 
(iii) Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
Ans: Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains because the body
was cemented to the bottom of the solid gold coffin as the resins had hardened. No force could
move the body away and keeping the body in the sun, under 149 degrees Fahrenheit also did not
help.
 
(iv) Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures.
Ans: Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures as the ancient Egyptian royals were
extremely wealthy. They also believed that the royalty would take all the treasures with them in
their afterlife.
 
(v) The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.
Ans: Tutankhamun means ‘Living image of Amun’. Amun was a major god of ancient Egypt.
Amenhotep III smashed and closed his temples, later Tut restored his temples and beliefs back in
his empire. That is why he changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun to choose his
belief in the god.
 
2. (i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
Ans: According to Ray Johnson, the Akhenaten was wacky because of the following reasons:

i. ·         He smashed and closed Amun’s images.

ii. ·         He worshipped Aten, sun’s disk
iii. ·         He moved the religious capital from the city of Thebes to the new city of
Akhenaten, called Amarna
iv. ·         He changed his name to Akhenaten

 
(ii) What were the results of the CT scan?
Ans: The results of the CT scan were astonishing which was 1700 digital X-rays cross-
sectioning each other to make a three-dimensional image. A grey head appeared and his
vertebrae were shown. The images of the hand, ribcage, and skull were shown which were so
clear.
 
(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
Ans: With the advancement in technology, it has been made possible for many scientific tests to
be carried out in a more accurate way to determine the cause of a crime. X-Ray, CT scan, Post
mortem, biopsy, and autopsy are now possible.
 
(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned — in death,
as in life...”
Ans: Tut’s mummy was the first one to be X-rayed in 1968 and later, in 2005, the first to be
scanned through Computing Tomography (CT). CT scan revealed new three dimensional images
of his body which answered many questions.
 
Talking about the Text
Discuss the following in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of
view.
1. Scientific intervention is necessary to unearth buried mysteries.
Ans: For:
To understand the mysteries and history of the past, it is necessary to unearth certain buried
mysteries. It can help get the answers to the questions and gives us an idea about past lives and
how they used to live. Example – the scientific intervention of Indus Civilization.
Against:
There is no doubt that scientific intervention can be useful but it exploits with the valuable assets
of the buried. We can utilize the money involved in the investigation of the mummies to help
develop the resources.

 
2. Advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events.
Ans: For:
With the advanced technology, it helps us to know about the past and those who were involved.
Such as through CT scan, it was possible to get an idea about King Tut and his body. It helped
solve mysteries about death. It provides data for forensic reconstruction and satellite images help
find burial sites. Through different software, date and time of an event occurred in the past can
be calculated.
Against:
After CT scan result images of Tut, still, no conclusion could be drawn. Instead of focusing and
using the time and money on past events, the government should focus on the present and future.
 
3. Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.
Ans:
For:
Every religion has its own tradition, rituals and funerary practices which must be respected. It
should not be disturbed as Carter did with King Tut’s tomb.
Against:
There are many speculations made for ancient history, traditions, rituals and funerary practices
which should be cleared in order to know the truth. The people living in modern time should
follow anything which can danger their lives or make the conflict between communities.
 
4. Knowledge about the past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.
Ans: For:
Knowledge of past events and important personalities help us understand where our roots are
from. It helps us to know how our modern world was formed gradually. From past experiences
and lessons, we learn not to commit the same mistake or we are gradually more alert. Knowing
about King Tut’s life and getting answers to the questions helped us understand Pharaoh Dynasty
and the Egypt Empire.
Against:
Always digging the past doesn’t help as it only wastes the time and resources. No one can
change the past and we cannot change what already has happened. So, we should focus on what
present and future will bring for us and we must work to make our tomorrow better. Ranting
about what happened yesterday cannot help us.

 
Thinking about Language
2. What do you think are the reasons for the extinction of languages?
Ans: A language can become extinct due to many reasons. If the world adapts with technology
and advancement, they make changes accordingly. Example, the Sanskrit language cannot be
seen used on a daily basis by people. However, in ancient times, it was a language used both
verbally and in writing. Also, if some level of restrictions is imposed on a certain class of people
not to use a language. It can become extinct gradually.

 
3. Do you think it is important to preserve languages?
Ans: Yes, it is very important to preserve languages as it helps us to understand our culture and
traditions. It helps in cultural development and it helps us to connect with the important past
events. It gives us knowledge about literature and the history of the language.

 
4. In what ways do you think we could help prevent the extinction of languages and
dialects?
Ans: We could help prevent the extinction of languages and dialects in the following ways:
1. By including the teaching of languages and dialects in school and college curriculums
2. By promoting the use of language and dialects verbally.
3. By conducting seminars and plays to pass the knowledge of the languages and dialects to
normal people.
4. By inviting people to take a few months course about learning languages and dialects.

 
Working with Words
1. Given below are some interesting combinations of words. Explain why they have been
used together.
(i) ghostly dust devils                    (vi) dark-bellied clouds
(ii) desert sky                      (vii) casket grey
(iii) stunning artefacts                   (viii) eternal brilliance
 (iv) funerary treasures                 (ix) ritual resins
(v) scientific detachment              (x) virtual body
Ans:
(i) ghostly dust devils – It refers to the anger of the dusty winds by frightful movements on those
people who tries to disturb the king.
(ii) desert sky – it refers to the dusky sky of the desert.
(iii) stunning artifacts – It refers to the beautiful items which were found in the tomb.
(iv) funerary treasures – the gold items which were kept while burying the king because
Egyptians believed that there is an afterlife.
(v) scientific detachment – it refers to the indifference towards science.
(vi) dark-bellied clouds – dark clouds containing rain
(vii) casket grey – It refers to the stars were covered by dark-bellied clouds the way jewels are
kept in a casket box
(viii) eternal brilliance – it refers to the timeless luster and shine of the gold and other valuable
items of the king
(ix) ritual resins – it is a customary duty in the process of burying a dead body
(x) virtual body – three dimensional body created by CT scan.

 
2. Here are some commonly used medical terms. Find out their meanings.

CT MRI Tomography Autopsy Dialysis ECG Post Angiography Biopsy

Scan Mortem

 
CT scan - It is a three-dimensional scan of a body with the help of hundreds of X-Ray in cross-
section together

MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a medical examination by the help of strong magnetic field
and radio waves to create a detailed image of the organs of the body
Tomography – a technique used to display a cross-section of a human body using hundreds of X-
rays or ultrasound
Autopsy – a post mortem examination used to discover the cause of death of the dead person
Dialysis – the process of purification of blood with the help of a machine which works as a
substitute for kidney
ECG – Also known as Electrocardiography, it is a process to test the signs of heart disease by
recording the electrical activity through small electrodes attached to the chest, arms and legs
Post Mortem – an examination of a dead body to know the cause of the death
Angiography – radiography of blood or lymph vessels
Biopsy – examination of tissue removed from a living being to know the reason for the disease