Where is the Body of Akhenaten? | Lost Pharaoh of Egypt's 18th Dynasty 

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I always figured his body was destroyed or intentionally desecrated in a way that would make it's preservation virtually impossible. Having a bunch of incredibly powerful and incredibly angry priests having it out for you usually does that.

It's kind of amazing that any royal bodies are left at all. One is hard-pressed to find king bodies in other parts of the world. Not just cremation, but deliberate desecration. Akhenaten's empty tomb is the norm. For example, the spectacular tomb of Theodoric the Amal mostly still exists in Ravenna, Italy, but his Arrian heretic body is nowhere to be found. Egypt is lucky to have so many royal bodies.

Ever since I read a historical fiction book about Nefertiti and Akhenaten as a kid I’ve been fascinated by them- great video as always

In my opinion, I believe Akhenaten was buried at Amarna, and then reinterred at KV-55 after it was abandoned, even as a heretic, he was still a pharaoh, especially if this reinterment was done during his son’s reign. I believe the mummy found in that tomb is Akhenaten.

Happy to find a channel that is interesting and presents the information in an entertaining way without all the ancient ‘technology’ rubbish. The difference in someone that has an open mind, reason and facts.

That KV55 sarcophagus is interesting. The gold face has been ripped off and there was also a hieroglyphic inscription on it that gave the name of the occupant which has been erased. This would kinda fit with wanting to erase Akhenaten as he was not exactly flavour of the month. Cool globe by the way.

I've wondered if Akhenaten's remains were destroyed because he was such a heretic. Or maybe buried in a way that his remains were not identifiable or even preserved in the normal manner in order to deny him an afterlife?

Also, I think Akhenaten is incredibly interesting for his political weaponization of religion. In my view, he didn’t change the religion to Aten worship out of belief, but in an effort to reconsolidate power around the Pharaoh which the cult of Amun had taken for itself, you eliminate Amun, you eliminate their power entirely.

I really like how you get the real archeological debates out there, not the bogus debates that pseudoscience wants to have. Also, in my own uneducated opinion - the Egyptians seem to have been pretty rigid about pharaoh burials. I'd put money on Thebes! Also they seem to have been sticklers for tradition and keeping up appearances - I can almost picture the priests in Thebes anxiously wringing their hands and waiting for Akhenaten to die, so they could back to doing things the proper way.

Always appreciate the wide range of topics you cover.

I'll tell you straight up, I have no idea where his body is, because I'm an economist and have no clue about ancient history. But I LOVE your videos. I feel like I learn a lot from them. Thanks! (If only those globes were of the Star Wars universe!)

Great subject, great commentary. Thanks, Doctor. His name rings down through the ages. Akhenaton has historical mystery clout like few others. King Arthur, Joan D'Arc. People who make history that is talked about centuries and millennia later. Your videos always have a comprehensive authority to them--like if Edward R. Murrow had been a historian.

First of all: Akhenaten was surely burried in his own tomb at Akhetaten. There can be little doubt about that, as many artifacts and remains of a king's burial where found there, most of them carrying his names, including his sarcophagus, shabtis, canopic chest etc. Just see G. T. Martin, The Royal Tomb at El-Amarna I. The Objects, London 1974. He concludet on page 105 Nr. 9b: "Akhenaten was buried in the Royal Tomb in or shortly after Year 17. [Summarizing the material, he goes on:] There can no longer be any room for doubt that Akhenaten was buried there." Secondly, concerning the tomb KV 55, there is no evidence at all that this mummy could be someone else than Akhenaten himself. Smenkhkare is often mentioned but none of the objects in the tomb bares his name! Just see the original publication of T. Davis, The Tomb of Queen Tiyi, London 1910. This attribution was only led by the assumption, that the mummy was a man who died young, which we now know better (Davis himself beliefed, the mummy was that of queen Tiyi). Even though there where rumours about an inscription mentioning Smenkhkare on the inside of the mostly destroyed sarcophagus - only the lid was found in a good condition - these rumours where proofen wrong when the remains of the sarcophacus where rediscovered and reconstructed. On the other hand: the canopic jars sure where originally made for Kiya, a secondary wife of Akhenaten, but where altered, most likely for Akhenaten, before all inscriptions where eventually removed, see M. Gabolde, Under a Deep Blue Starry Sky, in: P. J. Brand and L. Cooper, Causing His Name To Live, Leiden/Boston 2009, p. 109-120. The same goes for the sarcophagus, even though no traces of alteration where found in the examination of A. Grimm/S. Schoske, Das Geheimnis des goldenen Sarges, Munich 2001. The best piece of evidence is however the presence of magic bricks. They state that Akhenaten was buried here and protected by the old gods! In combination with the fact, that the tomb was originally seald with king Tutankhamuns seal, it is most likely that here Akhenaten was reburied after Akhetaten was abandoned. And the DNA analysis lines in with these historical facts perfectly. So there is little mystery in my opinion. And sorry for any language errors I may made - I'm not a native speaker.

Tushratta - my new favorite name form the ancient world! Thanks, Doc! For those who don't know, Mitanni is modern-day Syria.

Given the treatment of Akhenaten's legacy by the following Pharaohs it seems strange not imagine that the body was desecrated/destroyed or maybe never actually mummified.

You’re the best, Dr. Miano!

It makes me so happy when you upload!

Splendid lecture! This is what I m expecting from you. Thank you so much for your exhaustive and honest description. You are the best!

Egyptology without the BS. Thanks, Dr. The Miano!

In a effort to destroy any traces of him would they have destroyed his body (thereby also ensuring that he is unable to get a proper afterlife)? I have always wondered based on the length they went to make him dissapear from history.

I was under the impression that the mummy DNA project back in the 90s/00s had established almost without doubt that the KV55 mummy is Akhenaten.

Good stuff. Also a nice globe!

Always filling me with enlightenment! Love all your videos man!!!!

Fascinating video as always!

Your latest work have been great 👍👍 love it 😊

Loving Revelations and Opening of Awareness 😊😊😊 Blessings

The fact that the face of the KV sarcophagus seemed to be chipped off suggests that it was Akhenaten.

UnchartedX channel will now release a video about the unknown ancient technology that causes your globe to mystically rotate. It is impossible to achieve today.

Please talk more on symbolism of everything you show and do it’s really easy to learn from you then reading or searching for it 🙏 Thanks 😊

Oh my god!! Hopes and dreams answered with that globe thing!! And in a vid about Akhenaten, no less. *turns into happy little puddle on the floor* Have been following your channel for a year or so now, and I truly appreciate the logical and passionate way you present researched analysis (and let’s be honest, the pure mastery of your satire!). Thank you, from Australia 🇦🇺

I am convinced that Akhenaten was the Pharaoh of the biblical Exodus. It’s amazing to study this period of time.

Love these videos.

Akhenated face well known. Maybe he super star of history. Very distinct features. Maybe super model of egypt pharao.

An extra interesting video, thank you prof.

I really enjoy these videos.

Great video David. Do you think your likely to make a video about Hatshepsut at some point? She's one of the most fascinating pharaohs to me for some reason.

Inside our hearts

Thank you for this educational video friend. Amen 🙏.

You’ve been uploading weekly??? But RU-vid hasn’t mentioned you in months! Excellent content, as always!

I imagine there's at least a chance that his mummy was eaten or turned into home remedies by rich 16-19th century Europeans, who apparently did that sort of thing quite often.

Great video

yeah I always thought his body was never found. Then I heard something this year, 2023, that they have the mummy. I guess that is what you referred to.

Try looking in Arkengarthdale, in Yorkshire, England. This is a criminally underrated place name, that I may never get to use again.

Thanks!

The KV55 theory is the most accurate according to current evidence. Is it absolutely certain? No, but historical science is like that. The idea that Akhenaten was returned to Thebes after his death doesn't sit well with the image of him as a damned heretic, but there is no evidence that he was considered such under the reign of Tutankhamun. Much like how some religions practice posthumous baptism or other similar rituals, Akhenaten might have been treated as returning to the old gods alongside his son. Horemheb was the one who wanted to get rid of him, not Tutankhamun. That Horemheb got rid of everyone between himself and Amenhotep III suggests that the damnatio memoriae was much later, leaving plenty of time to move Akhenaten back to the Valley of the Kings.

Thankyou for your interesting lecture on Akhenaten I concur with everything you have said nothing more has been found in the last seventy years on this Pharoah, I got the Egyptology bug when I was ten & I still find it intriguing, I read everything I can get my hands on. I've seen the mummy case they may be his, its beautiful as are TUTANKHAMEN'S coffins & treasure.

I think it might be the same scrutinized study that identified The Younger Lady in KV35 as Tutankhamons mother and KV55s brother/husband? Regardless if The Younger Lady is king tuts mother or not, she occupies my brain. The way she looks to be sleeping serenely contrasted by the huge hole/gash in the side of her face and the hole in her upper torso just kinda hurts. Not knowing who she is makes that even more tragic because I can really see her as a person rather then just a mummy. I think the other people in her tomb are more or less identified but then we have mostly figured out who she probably isn’t? Also how their three bodies were found in situ also made me feel things. And if she is Tuts mother it’s also sad since tuts mother wasn’t really mentioned anywhere. The state of her body and her confusing identity just leaves a lot up for interpretation but rather than speculating I’m just a bit heartbroken. I’m well aware that my facts could be off but if someone has better, more reliable info I beg you to correct me hahaha. I just want to know more about KV35YL!!!

Thanks 👍 I really enjoyed it, I just subed 👍

Because he was a hybrid between a human and an alien, the aliens took his body back to his father's country/planet.

cool info

The globe should be placed on that middle shelf on the right side. The one with the several blue books. That's the first advert I've actually watched ina while, usually just fast forward thru em.

I have been to Egypt many times since the 1970s and have had an avid interest in Ancient Egypt since I was about 6 yrs old. In line with that I read anything/everything on Egypt I could lay my hands on. At some point I came across a reference to S'menkhare which held that this pharaoh was actually Nefertiti who had taken on the role of pharaoh after the death of Akhenaten. Sadly, I cannot find the reference now as I moed house - not only house, but also country. Alas, many items were displaced or lost in the move. However if anyone else has come across such a theory, I'f be glad to have the reference.

We lost the opportunity to test whether his DNA accurately contained alien genes.

In case anyone is unaware of it, I can recommend "Akhnaten an Opera in three acts based on the life and religious convictions of the Egyptian Pharaoh (Amenhotep IV),written by the American composer Philip Glass in 1983. The libretto is by Philip Glass in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel.

The Globe is awesome Doctor Miano🌏 Thanks for always uploading informative/entertaining videos💙

The sponsor was coool 🎉

i feel the combination dna and grave goods point to kv55 being Akenaten.....no grave goods would lend more credence for dna contamination....which face it dna contamination can occur in any time or such....if we go with dna contamination....then using tbe tool in courts....and this happens some....but the small chance would mean not using the tool at all because of the possibility

Am I the only one who can’t stop looking at that glance over his shoulder?!!!

Mount Nebo is significant because of its role in the Old Testament. The Bible says that Mount Nebo was where Akhenaten lived out his final days

This globe would fit well on Irvin Finkel's office. Something a wizard like him should have.

I always thought being how radical he was religiously that his body wouldn't have been buried like the other pharaohs. His tomb could have still been built as that was the custom but he wished something totally else for his body.

Another theory was that Akhenaten was forced to abdicate the throne after a coup plot, and was killed with his followers of Aten in the Sinai desert by Horemheb, or Seti.. Regardless its a fascinating mystery that I hope gets discovered to solve what actually happened, and where he actually is. Thanks for the video!

My guess? He got chucked in the Nile. "Oh swim, great Pharaoe. No? Ahhn have a nice day."

Please do an episode on how Darius the great came to power (who killed bardiya/Cambyses) etc

Great video as always :) but one thing - calling Akhenaten's religion "monotheism" is probably not accurate, it's more like henotheism, with some signs of cult of other gods even. Of course it's possible that it was something like monotheism in the making and eliminating belive in other gods was Akhenaten final goal, but it wasn't established really.

Cool globe!

So many people make the mistake of calling Akhanaten a monotheist but this is the belief that there is only one god. In fact, he was a henotheist in that he believed many gods existed but worshipped only one. I think his worship of the Aten was political but also deeply personal. His father had started to worship Aten as an important, seperate divinity at the end of his life and even idenitified himself with the Aten. Although many kings called a particular god their father, given that Amenhotep III saw himself AS the Aten, I wonder how much of Akhen aten's Aten worship was bound up in worship of Amenhotep III. as for his body, I think for once I agree with Hawass and that kv55 is the most likely.

You missed out the really fringe theory that Akhenaten died in Moab on Mount Nebo under the nickname Moses. Buried there by God Himself, according to the more accurate translations of Deuteronomy.

Akhenaten was murdered by Maya and Rennefer in the Priests of Amun. Akhenaten was more about self glorification. It’s apparent he had a pitiful existence. His son, Tut ankh Amun (Tutankhamen) was the first real mortal human king. Moses was the adopted son of Akhenaten. They lived in the household of Amenhotep III.

What i fear is that the missing mummies were destroyed during eighteenth to early twentieth century. A lot of mummies were used for seances, egyptian brown pigment, mummie unwrapping parties, or destroyed during the robbery of their tomb. I don't think we will ever find the missing mummies. I thought it was Nefertiti had her husband assassinated.

I wish we could have high quality full genome sequencing of all the pharaohs and average Egyptians at the time. The whole debate of how Sub-Saharan African vs how Eurasian were they and how that changed each dynasty, is fascinating to me. And I would love to know how Egypt fits into the larger mythological context of Africa, which seems to be really understudied compared to Eurasian mythology. Also interesting would be what are the similarities, shared elements and differences between African and Eurasian mytholgy and cultute. How much of the shared elements is from "recent" migrations like R-V88, how much is from common ancestry.

It’s amazing how his successors tried to erase his name from history yet now, he gets more attention than many other egyptian pharoahs. I guess their idea backfired.

I gotta believe anything he had built including his tomb the materials were 'repurposed'.

The globe is very cool indeed. I might get it.

Good stuff. Can you do a video on Schlieman's Troy? Is it real or not?

Hey Dr. Milano, I was wondering if you’d have any interest in commenting on the latest Total War release about to come out in October. It’s set in the Bronze Age Collapse focused on Egypt and the Levant? Just wondering if I can bring together one of my favorite history tubers and game series. Even if just as a visualizer. I know they put a lot of effort into rendering cities.

Was he one of the ones that the Victorians ate? That globe is amazing, imagine what an ancient Egyptian would have made of it 🤯

I always found it interesting that these kings talked about being buried eternally etc. The fact is they would have no control after a few years. . You would have thought that they would have known that nothing is eternal on earth.

Your moustache looks like a mountain with snow on the top 😂🥸🏔️ pretty cool 😎

Didn't they possibly identity his body ? It was found in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. I'm pretty sure they did

I suspect the final resting place of Meketaten (wherever that mummy was moved to after the burial in Armana) may be the key.

Great... now every time that globe is on screen I get fixated on watching it rotate 😂 🌜🌎🌍🌏🌎🌍🌏🌎🌛🌞

I read a comment in one of the late GM Trevelyan's books that priest ridden societies ultimately fail. I have wondered if that was part of the reason for the demise of ancient Egypt as a powerful world force. If I recall he was explaining how the English found it relatively easy to overcome the Celtic tribes of Ireland as their druids ruled the roost. Chieftains (aka Kings) took their advice I think? I'm not sure if he was right but the later Tudors certainly knew that the only way they could rule effectively was to smash, often literally, the power of the church and to appropriate all the church owned lands and buildings to fill their own coffers. Societies where religion is not the most powerful force do seem, while not perfect, more egalitarian than those where the priests hold too much political power. Wolves in sheeps clothing?

I'm really enjoyed your video. I have read that AMENHOTEP III was also a aten worshiper and taught Akenaten this but A III played the political game and didn't make a lot of waves So AKENATEN was not the only aten believer but he just could not tolerate the priests and did what ge did. Love this whole part of Egypt's history. The other thing I wanted to say is I don't trust anything that Hawass says.

While I have no strong opinion on the location of Akhenaten's body, I do have a related question. I recall reading several years ago an interpretation of the DNA of two infant girls (related to Tut) that posited that the KV55 mummy could be Tutankhamun's grandfather, but not his father. However, I don't remember whose analysis that was or where I read it. Do you know anything about that line of reasoning?

Santorini volcano damaged the health of the descendants of Amenhotep 2. The reason for the plagues and poisoning of the river. A huge climatic event has long hitting damage.

It seems like folks were bothered when Amenhotep 3 married Tiye...maybe she was outside the family tree. The offspring were obviously shunned by the priesthood and doomed the fate of the 18th dynasty. I think they fed Akhenaten to Sobek....😲

Appropriate somehow that the Egyptian authorities make it so difficult and mysterious to study the ancient world. Oooooo mysterious.

How cool does akenhaten look I would love to have known him

I could see how it's possible that someone else related to Akhenaten and Tutankhamen might have been buried in KV55. However, it seems to strain credibility that two different mummies could have been contaminated with genetically similar DNA. Perhaps you could comment on that.

I remember hearing he was not only considered a heretic, but his reforms and projects also came close to beggaring Egypt. Personally, I think his body was likely either buried in an unmarked and likely empty tomb or destroyed.

I've loved your work since I found the channel, though I can't afford superthanks or memberships or whatnot. Still, I like & comment for the Almighty Algorithm. On a side (but very important) note, please, please take time to tell your loved ones you love them EVERY chance you get. Tomorrow is not a given; you're never promised the next sunrise. ~ ~ ~ ~ "And don't let it break your heart. I know it feels hopeless sometimes. But they're never really gone as long as there's a memory in your mind." _Hold On To Memories_ Dave Draiman, Disturbed 💔💔

It is due to mysteries such as thus, that DNA needs to be extracted from all the mummies currently being held by the antiquities ministry. It can be taken from either teeth or from an deep bone sample.

did the new Aten religion also include mummification? Maybe the reason we only have bones of Akhenaten is because he was buried for a time at Amarna without mummification and the body was no longer suited for mummification (because of decay) when he was reburied in Kv55

Well, since you invite speculation, my guess is that his body was probably preserved. It would behoove his wife and his vizier to do so. Likewise to continue with the worship of Aten as essential to their legitimization. Horeb (sp?), being inclined to the old theology would not want to destroy the body, but to return to the rites and traditions, and thus the Valley of the Kings. Akhenaten wouldn't be treated particularly well, but would have to be treated regally. One question: Did the language of the time (either Hieroglyphic or Demotic) have capital letters? We tend towards initial capitals in English usage, but where their differences in the characters? This is a speculation on characterization as Akhenaten vs AkhenAten or even Akhen Aten.

Very interesting video. I suggest you study about Aten’s religion eschatology. There was no afterlife in the way it was understood by ancient Egyptian religion. This could be one of the main reasons why Akhenaten was so hated as afterlife was so important for ancient Egyptians. Therefore there could be no Akhenaten’s mummy nor treasure. Dead people, based on Aten’s religion eschatology, slept during night and their spirits woke up when sun rose to join alive people and rest of alive creatures to worship Aten at the Amarna Temple.

His daughters/inlaws fled to Spain and then to the British Isles..his grandson is buried at the Mound of Hostages Ireland and his daughter is Buried under megalithiic slabs in Ireland after being killed in battle with Celts and Picts

i don't know what is like now but kids in the 50's would have a globe in their room.

We really don't know where Ankhenaton was buried! There is so much destroyed!