CBSE Class 11 English Lesson 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Question Answers (Important) from Hornbill Book
Class 11 English Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Question Answers – Looking for Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues question answers (NCERT solutions) for CBSE Class 11 English Hornbill Book Chapter 3? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising Class 11 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Our solutions provide a clear idea of how to write the answers effectively. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Chapter 3: Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues now. The questions listed below are based on the latest CBSE exam pattern, wherein we have given NCERT solutions to the chapter’s extract based questions, short answer questions, and long answer questions.
Also, practising with different kinds of questions can help students learn new ways to solve problems that they may not have seen before. This can ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the subject matter and better performance on exams.
- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues NCERT Solution
- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Extract Based Questions
- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Short Answer Questions
- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Long Answer questions
- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Extra Question Answers
Related:
- Discovering Tut the Saga Continues Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings
- Discovering Tut the Saga Continues MCQs
- Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Character Sketch
Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues NCERT Solutions
Understanding the Text
1. Give reasons for the following.
(i) King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
Ans: King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny because of his history, his treasures which he was buried with and to know the reason behind his death.
(ii) Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.
Ans: Howard Carter’s investigation was resented because of his unscientific methods to cut off his body from the tomb. He also focused more on Tut’s wealth and less on to solve the mystery of Tut’s life and death.
(iii) Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
Ans: Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains because the body was cemented to the bottom of the solid gold coffin as the resins had hardened. No force could move the body away and keeping the body in the sun, under 149 degrees Fahrenheit also did not help.
(iv) Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures.
Ans: Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures as the ancient Egyptian royals were extremely wealthy. They also believed that the royalty would take all the treasures with them in their afterlife.
(v) The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.
Ans: Tutankhamun means ‘Living image of Amun’. Amun was a major god of ancient Egypt. Amenhotep III smashed and closed his temples, later Tut restored his temples and beliefs back in his empire. That is why he changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun to choose his belief in the god.
2. (i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
Ans: According to Ray Johnson, the Akhenaten was wacky because of the following reasons:
- · He smashed and closed Amun’s images.
- · He worshipped Aten, sun’s disk
- · He moved the religious capital from the city of Thebes to the new city of Akhenaten, called Amarna
- · He changed his name to Akhenaten
(ii) What were the results of the CT scan?
Ans: The results of the CT scan were astonishing which was 1700 digital X-rays cross-sectioning each other to make a three-dimensional image. A grey head appeared and his vertebrae were shown. The images of the hand, ribcage, and skull were shown which were so clear.
(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
Ans: With the advancement in technology, it has been made possible for many scientific tests to be carried out in a more accurate way to determine the cause of a crime. X-Ray, CT scan, Post mortem, biopsy, and autopsy are now possible.
(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned — in death, as in life…”
Ans: Tut’s mummy was the first one to be X-rayed in 1968 and later, in 2005, the first to be scanned through Computing Tomography (CT). CT scan revealed new three dimensional images of his body which answered many questions.
Talking about the Text
Discuss the following in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of view.
1. Scientific intervention is necessary to unearth buried mysteries.
Ans: For:
To understand the mysteries and history of the past, it is necessary to unearth certain buried mysteries. It can help get the answers to the questions and gives us an idea about past lives and how they used to live. Example – the scientific intervention of Indus Civilization.
Against:
There is no doubt that scientific intervention can be useful but it exploits with the valuable assets of the buried. We can utilize the money involved in the investigation of the mummies to help develop the resources.
2. Advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events.
Ans: For:
With the advanced technology, it helps us to know about the past and those who were involved. Such as through CT scan, it was possible to get an idea about King Tut and his body. It helped solve mysteries about death. It provides data for forensic reconstruction and satellite images help find burial sites. Through different software, date and time of an event occurred in the past can be calculated.
Against:
After CT scan result images of Tut, still, no conclusion could be drawn. Instead of focusing and using the time and money on past events, the government should focus on the present and future.
3. Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.
Ans:
For:
Every religion has its own tradition, rituals and funerary practices which must be respected. It should not be disturbed as Carter did with King Tut’s tomb.
Against:
There are many speculations made for ancient history, traditions, rituals and funerary practices which should be cleared in order to know the truth. The people living in modern time should follow anything which can danger their lives or make the conflict between communities.
4. Knowledge about the past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.
Ans: For:
Knowledge of past events and important personalities help us understand where our roots are from. It helps us to know how our modern world was formed gradually. From past experiences and lessons, we learn not to commit the same mistake or we are gradually more alert. Knowing about King Tut’s life and getting answers to the questions helped us understand Pharaoh Dynasty and the Egypt Empire.
Against:
Always digging the past doesn’t help as it only wastes the time and resources. No one can change the past and we cannot change what already has happened. So, we should focus on what present and future will bring for us and we must work to make our tomorrow better. Ranting about what happened yesterday cannot help us.
Thinking about Language
2. What do you think are the reasons for the extinction of languages?
Ans: A language can become extinct due to many reasons. If the world adapts with technology and advancement, they make changes accordingly. Example, the Sanskrit language cannot be seen used on a daily basis by people. However, in ancient times, it was a language used both verbally and in writing. Also, if some level of restrictions is imposed on a certain class of people not to use a language. It can become extinct gradually.
3. Do you think it is important to preserve languages?
Ans: Yes, it is very important to preserve languages as it helps us to understand our culture and traditions. It helps in cultural development and it helps us to connect with the important past events. It gives us knowledge about literature and the history of the language.
4. In what ways do you think we could help prevent the extinction of languages and dialects?
Ans: We could help prevent the extinction of languages and dialects in the following ways:
1. By including the teaching of languages and dialects in school and college curriculums
2. By promoting the use of language and dialects verbally.
3. By conducting seminars and plays to pass the knowledge of the languages and dialects to normal people.
4. By inviting people to take a few months course about learning languages and dialects.
Working with Words
1. Given below are some interesting combinations of words. Explain why they have been used together.
(i) ghostly dust devils (vi) dark-bellied clouds
(ii) desert sky (vii) casket grey
(iii) stunning artefacts (viii) eternal brilliance
(iv) funerary treasures (ix) ritual resins
(v) scientific detachment (x) virtual body
Ans:
(i) ghostly dust devils – It refers to the anger of the dusty winds by frightful movements on those people who tries to disturb the king.
(ii) desert sky – it refers to the dusky sky of the desert.
(iii) stunning artifacts – It refers to the beautiful items which were found in the tomb.
(iv) funerary treasures – the gold items which were kept while burying the king because Egyptians believed that there is an afterlife.
(v) scientific detachment – it refers to the indifference towards science.
(vi) dark-bellied clouds – dark clouds containing rain
(vii) casket grey – It refers to the stars were covered by dark-bellied clouds the way jewels are kept in a casket box
(viii) eternal brilliance – it refers to the timeless luster and shine of the gold and other valuable items of the king
(ix) ritual resins – it is a customary duty in the process of burying a dead body
(x) virtual body – three dimensional body created by CT scan.
2. Here are some commonly used medical terms. Find out their meanings.
CT Scan | MRI | Tomography | Autopsy | Dialysis | ECG | Post Mortem | Angiography | Biopsy |
CT scan – It is a three-dimensional scan of a body with the help of hundreds of X-Ray in cross-section together
MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a medical examination by the help of strong magnetic field and radio waves to create a detailed image of the organs of the body
Tomography – a technique used to display a cross-section of a human body using hundreds of X-rays or ultrasound
Autopsy – a post mortem examination used to discover the cause of death of the dead person
Dialysis – the process of purification of blood with the help of a machine which works as a substitute for kidney
ECG – Also known as Electrocardiography, it is a process to test the signs of heart disease by recording the electrical activity through small electrodes attached to the chest, arms and legs
Post Mortem – an examination of a dead body to know the cause of the death
Angiography – radiography of blood or lymph vessels
Biopsy – examination of tissue removed from a living being to know the reason for the disease
Class 11 English Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Question Answers Lesson 3 – Extract Based Questions
Extract-based questions are of the multiple-choice variety, and students must select the correct option for each question by carefully reading the passage.
A. He was just a teenager when he died. The last heir of a powerful family that had ruled Egypt and its empire for centuries, he was laid to rest laden with gold and eventually forgotten. Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, the modern world has speculated about what happened to him, with murder being the most extreme possibility. Now, leaving his tomb for the first time in almost 80 years, Tut has undergone a CT scan that offers new clues about his life and death — and provides precise data for an accurate forensic reconstruction of the boyish pharaoh.
Q1. Who is “he” in the above passage?
Ans. King Tut
Q2. Who is the author of the chapter from which the above extract is taken?
Ans. A.R. Williams
Q3. What do you understand about the word “pharaoh”?
Ans. It is a title given to the kings and queens of ancient Egypt.
Q4. Find a word from the given extract which means the same as “form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence:”
Ans. Speculated
B. Carter—Howard Carter, that is — was the British archaeologist who in 1922 discovered Tut’s tomb after years of futile searching. Its contents, though hastily ransacked in antiquity, were surprisingly complete. They remain the richest royal collection ever found and have become part of the pharaoh’s legend. Stunning artefacts in gold, their eternal brilliance meant to guarantee resurrection, caused a sensation at the time of the discovery — and still get the most attention. But Tut was also buried with everyday things he’d want in the afterlife: board games, a bronze razor, linen undergarments, cases of food and wine.
Q1. Who found King Tut’s mummy?
Ans. Howard Carter
Q2. What was the mummy laden with?
Ans. Mummy was laden with gold.
Q3. Why were kings laden with riches?
Ans. It was believed that mummies could enjoy the riches in the afterlife.
Q4. What is artefact?
Ans. An artefact is a man-made object.
C. Carter really had little choice. If he hadn’t cut the mummy free, thieves most certainly would have circumvented the guards and ripped it apart to remove the gold. In Tut’s time the royals were fabulously wealthy, and they thought — or hoped — they could take their riches with them. For his journey to the great beyond, King Tut was lavished with glittering goods: precious collars, inlaid necklaces and bracelets, rings, amulets, a ceremonial apron, sandals, sheaths for his fingers and toes, and the now iconic inner coffin and mask — all of pure gold. To separate Tut from his adornments, Carter’s men removed the mummy’s head and severed nearly every major joint. Once they had finished, they reassembled the remains on a layer of sand in a wooden box with padding that concealed the damage, the bed where Tut now rests.
Q1. What made Carter cut the mummy free?
Ans. Carter cut the mummy free as he was afraid of the thieves.
Q2. Identify the literary device used in “glittering goods”
Ans. Alliteration
Q3. What belief did ancient Egyptians hold?
Ans. Ancient Egyptians believed that they could take their riches with them posthumously.
Q4. What do you understand by the word “circumvent”?
Ans. Here, circumvent means to find a way around an obstacle especially cleverly or illegally
D. The world’s most famous mummy glided head first into a CT scanner brought here to
probe the lingering medical mysteries of this little understood young ruler who died more
than 3,300 years ago. All afternoon the usual line of tourists from around the world had
descended into the cramped, rock-cut tomb some 26 feet underground to pay their respects.
1. Which part of the mummy was first put into the CT scanner?
A. Hand
B. Head
C. Legs
D. None of the above
Ans – B. Head
2. Which word as used in the extract means ‘investigate’?
A. Lingering
B. Descended
C. Probe
D. Understood
Ans – C. Probe
3. The tomb was constructed in
A. Earth
B. Wood
C. Gold
D. Rock
Ans- D. Rock
4. To whom is ‘younger ruler’ being referred to in the above extract?
A. A king
B. Tut
C. A new scale
D. The operator of CT scanner
Ans- B.Tut
5. How deep was the tomb?
A. 3300 years
B. 26 feet
C. About 26 feet
D. None of the above
Ans- C.About 26 feet
E. The boy king soon changed his name to Tutankhamun, ‘living image of Amun,’ and oversaw a restoration of the old ways. He reigned for about nine years — and then died unexpectedly.
Regardless of his fame and the speculations about his fate, Tut is one mummy among many in
Egypt. How many? No one knows. The Egyptian Mummy Project, which began an inventory
in late 2003, has recorded almost 600 so far and is still counting.
1. Why has the phrase ‘boy king’ been used for Tut?
A. He awarded every boy of his kingdom
B. He was very young when he became king
C. Boys of his kingdom liked him
D. All of the above
Ans- B. He was very young when he became king
2. For how many years Tut ruled?
A. Less than nine years
B. More than nine years
C. Nine years
D. About nine years
Ans- D. About nine years
3. How many mummies are there in Egypt?
A. About 600
B. More than 1000
C. No one knows exact number
D. Numbers are confidential
Ans- C. No one knows exact number
4. When was the Egyptian Mummy Project started?
A. 1992
B. 2003
C. 1999
D. 2002
Ans- B. 2003
5. Which of the following was not done by Tut
A. He changed his name to Tutankhamun
B. He restored old ways
C. He ruled for far more than nine years
D. All of the above
Ans- C.He ruled for far more than nine years
Class 11 English Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Question Answers (including questions from Previous Years Question Papers)
In this post we are also providing important short answer questions from the Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues for CBSE Class 11 exams for the coming session.
1. Who was Howard Carter? What was his discovery?
Ans. Archaeologist Howard Carter was from Britain. In 1922, more than 3300 years after King Tut’s passing, he finally found his tomb after years of searching. Tut had passed away at the age of 19, but nobody knew how he died. His great family had controlled Egypt for generations, and he was their last emperor. Many thought that the king passed away under mysterious circumstances and that there was a good chance that he had been murdered.
2. Why did King Tut’s mummy have to undergo CT scan?
Ans. The mummy of King Tut has earned worldwide fame for the riches it was buried with. The manner of his death and his age at the time of death also caused a significant deal of discussion. King Tut’s body was ordered to be scanned in light of this dispute in order to look into the unsolved medical riddles surrounding his life and passing away.
3. Which questions still linger about Tut?
Ans. The two main unanswered questions surrounding Tut are how he died and how old he was when he passed away. He was the last of his family’s lineage, and his funeral marked the end of a dynasty, although it was not known exactly how he died or what happened next.
4. Why was Tut’s dead body subjected to CT scrutiny?
Ans. In order to determine the reason for Tut’s demise, his deceased body was treated to X-rays in 1968 and a CT scan in 2005.
5. In 1968 what was the startling fact revealed by a professor of anatomy about king Tut?
Ans. An anatomy professor X-rayed King Tut’s mummy in 1968, some 40 years after Carter found his tomb. He disclosed the surprising truth that his breastbone and front ribs are absent behind the resin that covers his chest. All of them were shocked.
6. What did the tourists do at that time?
Ans. As usual, people from all around the world lined up to enter the little, rock-cut tomb throughout the day. They formed a line to honour King Tut. They observed the wall paintings in the burial chamber. Some guests used a handbook. Others observed Tut’s gilded face while remaining motionless.
7. Who pointed out that the mummy was in a bad condition? Who was held responsible for it?
Ans. The Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt’s Zahi Hawass knelt over the mummy and kept a close eye on it. Then he claimed that Carter’s actions in the 1920s were the reason why the mummy was in such horrible shape. King Tut’s tomb was uncovered by Carter in 1922.
8. What was the fate of the contents of Tut’s mummy?
Ans. Surprisingly, Tut’s tomb’s contents remained intact for more than 80 years after its discovery in 1922. Up until 2005, they were the richest royal collection ever discovered. They now feature in the pharaoh’s mythology.
9. Why did the artefacts cause a sensation at the time of discovery?
Ans. All those in attendance were startled at the artefacts found. Each one of them was fashioned of solid gold. They were always radiant and never lost it. The items’ perpetual brightness was intended to ensure resurrection from the dead.
10. Why was King Tut’s demise a big event, even by royal standards?
Ans. Of course, King Tut’s demise was a significant occasion. He was the final monarch in his familial line, even by royal standards. His funeral served as the final toll for a dynasty that had controlled Egypt for many years. He passed quite suddenly at a young age, which is why it was such a big deal. His demise’s specifics and its consequences remain unclear.
11. Why did some people think of King Tut’s untimely death as the Pharaoh’s curse?
Ans. After King Akhenaten’s death, an unknown king reigned for a short time before dying. A very young Tutankhaten then ascended the throne. As the “Living Image of Amun,” he changed his name to Tutankhamun. He reinstated Amun worship after the Pharaoh had destroyed his statues and shut down his temples. Thus king Tut disturbed the Pharaoh. Tut died prematurely in his late teens as a result of the curse that Akhenaten placed on him.
12. What problem did Carter face when he reached the mummy of King Tut? How did he find a way out?
Ans: The ritual resins had hardened when Carter and his men discovered them while working at King Tut’s tomb. The King Tut mummy could not be removed because they had set the cement. With chisels, the crystallised substance could be removed. They cut the mummy free. His soldiers cut off Tut’s skull and severed all of his major joints. They were then stored in a box on a bed of sand. He stood up for himself so that the mummy wouldn’t end up in the hands of robbers looking to steal gold.
13. List some adornments on Tut’s body. Why had the adornments been buried along with the body?
Ans. Tut’s mummy was adorned with priceless collars, necklaces with inlaid stones, rings, bracelets, amulets, and a ceremonial apron. Together with the inside gilded casket and mask, there were sandals and sheaths for the fingers and toes. They were all made from pure gold. They were said to be able to carry their wealth with them to the great beyond, according to the beliefs.
14. How did Carter defend his action of cutting the mummy free?
Ans. Afterwards, Carter said in defence of himself that if he hadn’t freed the mummy, criminals would have pulled it apart to steal all the gold while avoiding the guards. The body had been preserved with a great deal of money, including gold jewellery and other items.
15. How can C.T scan prove to be more effective than X-Rays?
Ans. Because a CT scan generates hundreds of cross-sectional X-ray images that are assembled like slices of bread to create a three-dimensional virtual body, it may be more useful than X-rays.
16. How was Tut’s body carried to the C.T scanner?
Ans. On the night of the scan, workmen carried Tut from the tomb in his box. They descended a flight of stairs and a set of ramps onto the churning sand outside like pallbearers. They entered the scanner trailer after rising on a hydraulic lift.
17. How was King Tut’s mummy scanned by the CT scanner?
Ans. A portable CT scanner was transported in a trailer to the sandy area close to King Tut’s tomb in an effort to solve the enigma surrounding his demise. A box containing his body was brought there from his burial. The mummy was scanned by the CT equipment from head to toe, yielding 1700 digitised cross-sectional X-ray images. Slices of 0.62 mm thick were used to scan his complete body.
18. What snag did the million dollar scanner develop? How was it set right?
Ans. The million dollar scanner had developed a snag because of sand in a cooler fan. Ultimately, the replacement fans performed well enough to complete the process.
19. Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned – in death, as in life…”
Ans.It denotes that King Tut’s mummy was the first to ever be scanned. The goal was to unravel the puzzles surrounding the time he lived in. Second, it assisted in determining the reason behind his untimely demise. Hardly nine years had passed since he ascended to the throne when he passed away.
20. List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as wacky.
Ans. Akhenaten was an irrational and hasty king. He attacked Amun, a significant deity, destroyed his statues, and shut down his temples. Even the religious centre was moved from the bizarre Thebes to the brand-new Akhetaten.
21. What did the CT scan of Tut’s mummy reveal?
Ans. CT scans produced fascinating and unexpected photos of Tut’s body. On the computer screen, a grey head could be seen. Neck bones could be readily seen. The screen displayed other pictures of Tut’s body. These featured a hand as well as different views of the skull and ribcage.
22. “Curse of the Pharaoh”, joked a guard nervously. What is the curse and why did the guard say so?
Ans. It is said that the Pharaoh’s curse—death or bad luck—fell upon those who disturbed him. During the scanning of the mummy, the CT scan machine’s fans became clogged with sand dust and ceased to function. The guard then jokingly said that it was the Pharaoh’s curse. Another set of two white plastic fans were later set up, and they worked just fine.
Class 11 Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues Long Answer Questions Lesson 3
Q1. Do you think Carter was justified in removing the hardened ritual resin deposits on Tut’s mummy? Why/ Why not?
Ans. In 1922, Carter was looking into King Tut’s tomb. Remarkably, the tomb’s contents were still there despite being looted thousands of years ago. The most significant discovery was King Tut’s Mummy, which Carter discovered in three nested coffins. Carter was disappointed to discover that he could not examine the mummy since it was attached to the bottom of the casket owing to the hardening of the funeral raisins. Carter attempted to use “legitimate force,” but was unable.
He divided the mummy into several pieces, took off its skull, and nearly severed all of its joints. Carter’s behaviour, in which he almost destroyed the mummy, was strongly condemned. He argued that robbers and vandals would have carried out the same crime in his absence. But, historians have not forgotten Carter’s disfigurement.
Q2. “The mummy is in very bad condition because of what Carter did in the 1920s,” said Zahi Hawaas, the expert on Egyptian antiquity. How far is the statement true? Discuss.
Ans. The aforementioned claim is partially accurate. The presence of lotus petals and dried cornflowers allowed Carter to determine the time of burial by opening two of the three nested coffins with ease. The third coffin’s ritual resins had dried and solidified, sealing the body to the coffin’s base. The casket was placed in a room with a high temperature of 149 degrees, but it did not help. Carter then released the mummy.
Carter’s men cut Tut’s head and every other important joint in order to free him from the ornaments that covered him. In order to hide the damage, they had been put back together on a bed of sand and placed within a cushioned box. Thieves would have avoided the guards and dismantled the mummy to steal the gold if they had arrived there before Carter. Also, archaeologists at that time lacked modern equipment. Hence, Carter’s actions were determined by external factors rather than by a desire to cause harm.
Q3. Who was King Tut? What do you know about him?
Ans. King Tut was the final descendant of a wealthy family that had ruled Egypt for many years. His funeral was the death rattle of a dynasty. Even by royal standards, his funeral was a big deal, despite the fact that the cause of his death is unknown. Amenhotep III, his father or grandfather, was a strong leader. His son, King Amenhotep IV, was an eccentric figure who started one of the strangest eras in Egyptian history.
A mystery monarch named Smenkhkare took over after him but disappeared without leaving a trace. Tutankhamen succeeded him, while still a boy. He adopted the name Tutankhamen, the living representation of Amun. The traditional ways were reinstated by Tutankhamen. He ruled for nine years before passing away suddenly. He was buried with an enormous amount of riches and jewellery. British archaeologist Howard Carter made the initial discovery of his tomb. The National Geographic Society supplied a transportable CT scanning machine, and it was used to scan the mummy.
Q4. Imagine you are Howard Carter. You were fortunate to find King Tut’s tomb intact. Describe what you saw in the burial chamber. Describe King Tut’s coffins and their contents.
Ans. I have been looking for a long time, and today I have found what I was looking for. The King Tut’s tomb has been located. In terms of archaeology, 1922 has gone down in history. The 26-foot-deep burial chamber is modest, rock-cut, and has murals on the walls. King Tut’s features can be seen in a painted and gilded face on the exterior coffin. Three coffins are nesting. I started by locating a shroud covered with floral garlands from the spring. King Tut’s body was housed in the innermost coffin and was decked out in gold collars, inlaid necklaces and bracelets, rings, amulets, a ceremonial apron, sandals, pure gold finger and toe sheaths, and a painted mask of exceptional beauty. Besides, in the burial chamber, there are articles of everyday needs like board games, a bronze razor, linen undergarments and cases of food and wine.
Q5. Discuss the suitability of the title, ‘Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues’.
Ans. The title is suitable for summarising the efforts made to learn the truth about King Tut. The tomb had been broken into in the distant past, but up until Howard Carter found it in 1922, it was largely undamaged. Young King Tut had passed away. Even now, the cause of his death is unknown. Murder has not been ruled out as a possibility. Thus, efforts to solve the enigma are ongoing. In order to free the mummy from its caskets in 1922, Carter had to chop it into pieces. He had carefully looked over the relics King Tut had been interred with.
Since the 20th century, sophisticated archaeological tools, including medical technology, have been applied to solve the riddle of King Tut. The mummy was X-rayed in 1968. The mummy was removed from its subterranean burial tomb for a CT scan in 2005. Now, Tut’s life and his enigmatic demise are the main topics of discussion rather than the artefacts. The quest for Tut’s real story will go on in the coming future.
Class 11 Chapter 3 Discovering Tut: The saga continues Extra Question Answers
Q1. Who was Tutankhamun / Tut?
Ans. King Tut was the last heir of a powerful dynasty of Egypt. He ruled for only nine years and died 3,300 years ago under mysterious circumstances.
Q2. How and by whom was Tut’s tomb discovered?
Ans. Howard Carter, a British archaeologist, was in search of King Tut’s mummy for a long time. He finally discovered it in 1922. When he finally reached the mummy, he found it cemented to the bottom of his gold coffin due to the hardening of the ritual resins. He had to find a way to separate the mummy from its base. First, he put he the mummy outside, hoping to melt the resin in the scorching heat of the sun for several hours. But nothing budged. In order to save the gold, he had to take a decision of cutting the mummy free. His men removed the mummy’s head and cut off nearly every joint. After finishing the task, they reassembled the remains on a layer of sand in a wooden box with a padding that concealed the damage.
For this, he was blamed by Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. “The mummy is in a very bad condition because of what Carter has done,” he said.
Q3. Why is Tut called the ‘last heir’?
Ans. King Tut ruled only nine years and died in mysterious circumstances. He was the last of his family’s line, so it was the death of the dynasty after him.
Q4. Who is Osiris?
Ans. Osiris for ancient Egyptians was the god of afterlife. It was a constellation that watched over the boy king.
Osiris is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned deity with a pharaoh’s beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive atef crown, and holding a symbolic crook and flail.He was one of the first to be associated with the mummy wrap. When his brother, Set, cut him up into pieces after killing him, Isis, his wife, found all the pieces and wrapped his body up, enabling him to return to life.
Q5. What are the main characters in the story?
Ans. King Tut: Very little is known about King Tut because he died very young, 3,300 years ago, under mysterious circumstances. No one knows what happened to him, whether he was murdered, or died due to some other reasons. He is considered to be the last heir of his family line.
Howard Carter: Howard Carter was a British archaeologist. He was
searching for King Tut’s tomb. He discovered it in 1922 after years of futile searching.
He did not take away any of his riches because he was more interested in the coffin of King Tut and made discoveries about his death, which was a mystery. Tut had died at a very young age.
King Tut’s ancestors: King Tut’s grandfather, Amenhotep IlI, was a powerful pharaoh who ruled for almost four decades at the height of Amenhotep IV who promoted the worship of the sun disk. He shocked the country by smashing the images of Amun, a major god and closing his temples. He even shifted his capital from Thebes to a new city, Akhetaten. After his death, a mysterious ruler named Smenkhkare appeared briefly and exited untraced.
It was then that young Tutankhaten sat on the throne, today known as Tut. The boy king soon changed his name to Tutankhamun, the living image of Amun, and
restored the old ways. Thus he became very famous. But unfortunately, he only lived for about nine years and died unexpectedly.
Q6. Elaborate upon the theme of Discovering Tut: The saga continues.
Ans. This lesson talks about an Egyptian pharaoh named Tutankhamun. Tut was the last ruler of a famous dynasty. As rulers of a rich civilisation, they conquered lands and lived in splendour and brought many changes. After their death, they were buried in pyramids.
People believed that a dead man needed everyday things in his next life too, so along with everyday necessities, Tut’s body was buried with lots of treasures. His body was laid on a bed of gold and decorated with precious necklaces, collars, bracelets,
rings, etc. The coffin was made of gold. There was so much gold that with the passage of time, the mummy had got stuck to the gold and scientists had to chisel it out to separate the body for investigation. King Tut was the last heir of a powerful dynasty that had ruled Egypt for centuries. He met a very early death just when he was 18 years old. Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, the world has speculated a lot about him. Tut’s mummy had to undergo a CT scan that offered new clues about his life and death. His mummy was one of the first to go for a CT scan, hence, in death as in life, he moved regally ahead of his countrymen.
Q7. Tell something about the author of Discovering Tut: The saga continues.
Ans. A.R. Williams developed a love for reading at a very young age and in the fourth grade, when an assignment to write their own works of fiction was given, it occurred to him that he too could craft tales for others to enjoy.
Although A.R. did not pursue this desire right away, he continued to have a voracious appetite for reading from the amazing comics of Spider-Man, The X-Men, and Elf Quest, to the fantasy stories of Weiss and Hickman in the “Dragonlance Chronicles”, and the science fiction adventures of Miles and Aral Vorkosigan in Lois McMaster Bujold’s stories about Barrayar.
During a membership in a book club, A.R. discovered that there were books dedicated to teaching amateur writers more about the craft of writing. He snatched up a twin-pack written by Phyllis A. Whitney. Soon after, A.R., scoured bookstore shelves adding to his library and slowly learning different facets of what it took to be a writer. He started putting that knowledge to the test, crafting stories of the imagination in science fiction and fantasy genres.
To improve his skills, A.R. Williams joined the Science Fiction and Fantasy Online Writing Workshop when it was still hosted by Del Rey. The critiques he received and gave helped to further hone his developing talent. At this time A.R. was writing more, but not submitting his work to the markets. With the advancement of the internet and the ability to find new markets from sites such as Ralan’s and Duotrope’s Digest, A.R. entered the field in a serious attempt to become a published author.
Q8. In Discovering Tut: The saga continues, what does “saga” mean?
Ans. Saga was originally used to describe Icelandic prose narratives composed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The word first appeared in English in that sense during the 18th century; by the middle of the 19th century we were employing saga in a somewhat looser fashion, in reference to modern stories involving heroic deeds that bore some resemblance to the Icelandic tales of yore. By the 20th century saga had come to be applied to other written works, typically a novel or series of novels, especially those that took place over a significant period of time. Today the word may also be used to describe a long and drawn-out story that is either written or spoken (as in “my neighbour told me the saga of his divorce again”). Saga comes from an Old Norse word of the same spelling. It does not have any connection with the adjective sagacious (“possessing quick intellectual perceptions”), which comes from the Latin sagax (“sagacious”).
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