King Seti I was one of the most important pharaohs of the New Kingdom period of ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt from 1294 BC to 1279 BC. After his death, Seti I’s mummy was embalmed using traditional ancient Egyptian mummification techniques and placed in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor. This tomb was discovered by the Franco-Tuscan expedition in 1817.
When the stone sarcophagus containing the mummy was opened, archaeologists were amazed to find that after over 4,300 years, the mummy still retained the facial features of King Seti I. This demonstrated the sophisticated embalming techniques of the ancient Egyptians. Today, Seti I’s mummy is still on display at the Cairo Museum for people to gaze upon the face of the mighty pharaoh who ruled ancient Egypt over 4 millennia ago.