NCERT Solution of Class 11 English Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
Summary of Class 11 English Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues is a chapter that 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.
Class 11 English Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
Question-Answers of Class 11 English Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
I. Give reasons for the following.
Question 1 (i)
King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
Answer
King Tut’s life and death have been a mystery. In order to reveal that mystery, his body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
Question 1(ii)
Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.
Answer
Howard Carter’s investigation was resented because he used unscientific methods to cut the body away from the wooden base. He also focused more on the discovery of gold than on the fascinating details of Tut’s life and the mysteries of his death.
Question 1 (iii)
Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
Answer
The solidified resins had cemented Tut’s mummy to the bottom of his coffin. There was no way to remove the mummy from the coffin. So Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins.
Question 1 (iv)
Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures.
Answer
In Tut’s time kings were extremely wealthy and believed in rebirth. They believed that they could take their wealth with them. They believed that they will need them in their afterlife. That is why Tut’s body was buried with gilded treasures.
Question 1 (v)
The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.
Answer
Tutankhamun means ‘Living image of Amun’. He was a major god in ancient Egypt. King Amenhotep smashed the images of Amun and closed his temples. Tut oversaw a restoration of the old ways. He also changed his name to express his belief on Amun.
Class 11 English Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
II.
Question 2 (i)
List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
Answer
Akhenaten means the servant of the Aten i.e. the sun disc. He moved the religious capital from the old city of the Thebes to the new city of Akhetaten, known now as Amarna. He smashed the images of Amun, a major God and closed his temples. These deeds led Ray Jonson to describe Akhenaten as ‘Wacky’.
Question 2 (ii)
What were the results of the CT scan?
Answer
The CT scan revealed King Tut’s neck vertebrae, a hand, several views of the rib cage, and a skull transection. Everything indicated that nothing serious had gone wrong.
Question 2(iii)
List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
Answer
Diagnostic imaging can now be done with computed tomography. The CT machine can take hundred of X-ray images in cross section. These images can be put together like slices of bread. They give us a three-dimensional true view of the body.
Question 2 (iv)
Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned — in death, as in life…”
Answer
According to this statement, King Tut was the first pharaoh whose mummified body was scanned 3,300 years after his death. When he was alive, he was a well-known figure. Even though he was only a boy, he was intelligent and practical, making bold decisions and restoring lost customs and traditions that his father had destroyed. He ruled for nine years, but he died unexpectedly, leaving the cause unknown.
Class 11 English Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
