Artificial intelligence helps to successfully reconstruct the face of the Egyptian pharaoh from a mummy

Ramses II is noted as one of the greatest, most powerful and celebrated pharaohs in ancient Egyptian history.

Ramses II (also known as Ramses the Great) was the son of Seti I and Queen Tuya. He was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and is widely regarded as one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

Ramses II was also the most famous and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom - the most powerful period of ancient Egypt. His successors called him "The Great Ancestor".

In Greek sources he is known as Ozymandias , a transliteration from Greek to part of Ramesses' throne name: User-maat-re Setep-en-re) – "The Chosen One of Ra".

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Mummified pharaoh Ramses II.

Ramses II led several military expeditions south to Nubia, as evidenced by the inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein.

The early part of his reign focused on the construction of cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and used it as the main base for his campaigns in Syria. At the age of fourteen, he was appointed prince regent by his father Seti I.

He is believed to have ascended the throne as a teenager and is known to have ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC.

The historian (and ancient Egyptian cleric) Manetho records that Ramses II reigned for 66 years and 2 months, and most Egyptologists today believe that he ascended the throne on May 31, 1279 B.C.

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Passport of pharaoh Ramses II.

Estimates of his age at death also vary, but the two numbers 90 or 91 are considered most likely. During his reign, Ramses II held thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals - more than any other pharaoh. In it, the first festival is held after 30 years of the pharaoh's reign, and then every three years.


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He was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. His body was then moved to a secret royal burial site, which was discovered by archaeologists in 1881. Today, Ramses II's mummy is on display in the Egyptian Museum.

In 1975, French doctor Maurice Bucaille examined the mummy in the Cairo Museum and found it in very bad condition. French President Valerie Giscard d'Estaing convinced the Egyptian authorities to send the mummy to France for restoration. In September 1976, Ramses II's mummy was greeted at Paris-Le Bourget airport with military formalities worthy of a king, and then taken to the laboratory at the Musée de l' Home.

The mummy was subjected to forensic examination by Professor Pierre-Fernand Ceccaldi, principal forensic expert at the Criminal Identification Laboratory in Paris. Professor Ceccaldi determined that: "The perfectly preserved hair shows some additional evidence - especially in terms of pigmentation: Ramses II was a redhead "cymnotriche leucoderma" - i.e. a skin type. bright with wavy red hair".

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Recreate the appearance of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II (1303 - 1213 BC) using artificial intelligence.

Later, microscopic examination of Ramses II's hairline revealed that the king's hair was indeed originally red. This allows the assumption that he comes from a family of red hair. This information has not only physical value but also historical significance because in ancient Egypt, people with red hair were considered to be associated with the god Set - the killer Osiris, and the name of Ramses II's father was Seti I, which means "disciple of Set".

After being irradiated to kill fungi and insects, the mummy was brought back from Paris to Egypt in May 1977.