Ramses II's Mummy and the Science of Immortality

Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History · Sep 25, 2026 · 8m · transcript

We often think of Ramses II as a living god, but today we look at what happened when he finally died. In 1974, French Egyptologist Bernard Bruyere noticed something strange about the pharaoh’s mummy: it was being attacked by beetles. This small discovery led to one of the most famous moments in forensic history. When Ramses was sent to Paris for repair, researchers were shocked to find that his body showed clear signs of severe arthritis and gum disease. But the real surprise came later, when a team from the University of Montreal analyzed his remains in the 1990s. They discovered that Ramses…