MJ Thomas Wrote:
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> Hello Anthony,
>
> You write, 'The body itself was not as important
> as the magic that surrounded it.'
>
> So are you saying that Khufu's pyramid could have
> functioned as intended without the king's real
> body?

First, it would never have been the intended nor preferred method. The statue would only have sufficed if the body had been lost.

Second, this determination of statue or body would only have happened after the king had died. You're not going to know in advance whether the body will be lost, so you must make the arrangements to have the tomb prepped to receive a body under nearly any circumstances. Only in the case of a missing body could a statue take its place in the king's tomb.

So, although I am saying it could be done without the actual mummy, it was never, ever intended to be that way. It was, sorry to say, another contingency for which they had a plan. It was not the plan, though.

Anthony

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.