Ramses, the destruction of mumification.

An example is in order. we've hopefully covered a basic idea of what constitutes reality within postmodern philosophy. now, we have the opportunity to apply that which we've learned to something more tangible than a hypothetical farmer. (from my last post)

        The mummy of Ramses is a glowing example of the destruction of the real. Ramses is by many considered the greatest pharaoh Egypt has ever had. called "Ramses the great" by many, he accomplished much in his life, and perhaps more in death. Ramses like many great Egyptian figures of ancient times was mummified, preserved by techniques that stand as a symbol of ancient Egypt, just as recognizable as the great pyramids in which we has entombed. upon its discovery, the Ramses mummy was to be brought to a museum in America, but, after exposure to air, it would start to disintegrate. once in America, great care was taken to preserve the mummy, new additives, modern day preservatives, temperature moderators, and the likes were all used to keep the mummy from falling apart.

        this, is the destruction of the mummy. in its being preserved by hands not of ancient Egypt, what the mummy represents is lost more than had it fallen apart in the bottom of the pyramids. the mummy, everything it represented, was the mysterious ability to mummify things that the ancient Egyptians had. when we have to preserve it, when we have to keep that mummy together, it no longer is that mummy, for it cannot represent the ancient techniques of mummification, if we preserve it.

       the mummy has since been returned to Egypt, to be held in the Cairo museum. but, what really is being given to the Egyptians? the mummy no longer bares any resemblance to what it once was, it is as real now as if they'd reconstructed it from Papier-mâché. the Egyptians are receiving a testament to western culture's ability to preserve something, not ancient Egypt. now, the mummy is a symbol, but it doesn't mean what it once did. it now hides that there is no more reality in it. in keeping the mummy preserved, and in sending it back to Egypt, we are simply trying to mask that it isn't real anymore. should the mummy be destroyed now, it wouldn't be the object of ancient Egypt that ceases to be -- that happened when they removed it from the pyramids -- no, it would be a shot at our ability to present the fake, the simulation of the real, as the real itself.