Mummy of Ramesses I

Mummy of Ramesses I

The tomb of Ramesses I was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1817. Egyptian authorities from Thebes rescued many of the grave goods from the tomb after discovering it had been looted, but several mummies had already been removed.

This mummy, likely to be that of Ramesses I, was among them. It was stolen from the Royal Cachette in Deir el-Bahari by the Abu-Rassul family of grave robbers and sold by Turkish vice-consular agent Mustapha Aga Ayat at Luxor to Dr. James Douglas, who brought it to North America around 1860. 

Ramesses I's mummy first surfaced on the Western art market as part of the collection of the private Niagara Falls Museum in Niagara Falls, Canada. Douglas had purchased numerous antiquities, including mummies, for his friend Sydney Barnett, the son of Thomas Barnett, founder of the museum. After 130 years, this extensive global collection of antiquities, ethnographica, human remains, taxidermy, etc., passed to the family of the late William (Billie) Jamieson.

Ramesses I resided in the Niagara Falls Museum until it was closed and the entire collection deaccessioned. The Carlos Museum of Emory University acquired the mummy in 1999. In 2003, the Carlos Museum returned the mummy to Egypt after research suggested it was most likely that of Ramesses I.

As with all identified Pharaos, Ramesses I remains a very important individual in Egyptian national conciousness. His mummy is now on display, with the honor befitting a Pharaoh, at the Luxor Museum in Egypt.

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Human Remains – skeletons, mummies

New Kingdom, Pharaonic Egyptian

William Jamieson

Niagara Falls Museum

Carlos Museum

Egypt

Damien Huffer

Jason Felch