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Primary sourcePhotograph1889

Unwrapped Mummy of Ramesses II

Emil Brugsch · 1889

A photograph taken in 1889 showing the unwrapped mummified head of Ramesses II, documenting the preserved remains of the pharaoh.

This photograph documents the actual physical remains of Ramesses II after his mummy was unwrapped in 1889.

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Sepia photograph in profile of the unwrapped mummified head and upper neck of Ramesses II. The hair is intact, the nose is prominent, and the skin is dark and leathery. Handwritten label reads 1883 Ramses II at lower left.
Emil Brugsch, photograph of the unwrapped mummy of Ramesses II, 1889.

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph taken in 1889 by the German Egyptologist Emil Brugsch. It shows the unwrapped mummified head and upper neck of Ramesses II, with hair still intact.

Why it matters

The photograph was made when the royal mummy caches were being rediscovered and studied, letting scholars like Brugsch examine pharaohs directly for the first time in modern history. It is one of the earliest visual records of Ramesses II's physical remains, connecting the ancient king to modern science.

Look closer

  • Why might scientists in 1889 have wanted to photograph an unwrapped royal mummy?
  • What does the handwritten label tell you about how the image was recorded and used?
  • What questions does this image raise about respect for the dead in historical research?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ramses II (Ramses the Great) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Two clay cuneiform tablets on a clear acrylic stand against a red background. The larger tablet is broken into several fragments, covered in dense wedge-shaped writing. A smaller tablet fragment sits at lower right, also inscribed.Document

Primary source

Egyptian–Hittite Peace Treaty

c. 1258 BCE

Sepia photograph of the facade of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt, with four seated colossal statues of Ramesses II carved into the rock. A small standing man at lower left shows scale. A doorway lies between the middle statues, and hieroglyphs are carved across the upper wall.Photograph

Secondary source

Abu Simbel Temple Colossi

Pascal Sébah · 1875

Facade of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel carved into a sandstone cliff under a clear blue sky. Four seated colossal statues of a pharaoh flank the central doorway, with a sand-covered walkway leading up to the entrance.Artifact

Primary source

Abu Simbel

Ramesses II · c. 1273 BCE

Sepia photograph of the Abu Simbel temple facade in Egypt. A colossal seated stone statue of a pharaoh with a striped headdress dominates the right. Beside it stands a statue of a falcon-headed god wearing a sun disk. Relief carvings and hieroglyphs cover the wall, and a small seated man at the bottom gives scale. Caption reads Abou Simbel, Gd Temple, Le dieu Soleil Ra et Rhamses II, P. Sébah.Photograph

Secondary source

Facade Detail of Abu Simbel Showing Ramesses II and Ra

Pascal Sébah · 1875

Sepia photograph of the ruined Ramesseum temple at Luxor, Egypt. Four fallen-headed colossal seated statues stand before a sandstone gateway with carved hieroglyphs on its lintel. A broken statue lies in the foreground, and a small figure sits near the base of the statues. Desert and a column are visible on the left.Photograph

Secondary source

Ramesseum Colossi in Ruins

Pascal Sébah · c. 1875

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