Published: September 18, 2006 10:07 pm      

Solving 3,000-year-old mysteries

Egyptologist highlight of UCO's Passport to Egypt

EDMOND — Egyptologist Bob Brier, who packed two theaters at the University of Central Oklahoma with two speeches Monday, is the author of numerous scholarly articles and books, including “The Murder of Tutankhamen.” He hosts The Learning Channel’s television series “Pyramids, Mummies and Tombs,” and his research has been featured extensively on several news channels and newspapers.

And all of this began because of a basketball injury.

“It was an accident, literally,” Brier said about the beginning of his interest in Egyptology. Brier, who played basketball at school, injured both his knees during a basketball tournament, which required operations on both his legs. While he was in leg casts, one of his friends brought him a book about Egyptian hieroglyphs. Despite already having finished his schooling and starting a career, he found himself fascinated.

“For eight hours a day, I studied hieroglyphs,” he said. After learning them, Brier was asked to teach classes about hieroglyphs, which prompted him to finally visit Egypt. From that point on, Brier found a new career that he has been in for more than 30 years.

“I just fell in love with the place,” he said.

Brier’s first speech of the day, about a modern mummification he did to learn more about the ancient practice, left the 200-seat Pegasus Theater with standing-room only. Brier said he attempted a mummification with a donated cadaver because he realized that scholars didn’t know as much about mummification as they thought.

“I realized that we didn’t really know how they created mummies,” he said. “Every fifth-grade kid knows they took the brain out through the nose, but how did they do that?”

Brier’s evening speech, about his theory that King Tutankhamen was murdered, was in UCO’s Constitution Hall. The theory that Tutankhamen was murdered has been a favorite subject of Brier’s, despite news reports that said what was believed to be a contusion on the back of the king’s head was actually something else. Brier said the group doing the research has not officially published any results yet.

“I think the theory still stands,” Brier said. “There’s loads of circumstantial evidence that he was murdered.”

Much of this evidence comes from historical documentation, including the disappearance of Tutankhamen’s widow, who had written she felt she was in danger.

Brier said knowing whether Tutankhamen was murdered is useful information because we benefit from learning anything about ancient cultures. His research has personal benefits other than just learning new information, though.

“On my part, it’s just fun playing detective,” he said. “I get to solve a 3,000-year-old murder mystery.”

Brier’s speeches are one of the highlights of UCO’s Passport to Egypt program, which will continue with events throughout the fall. More information about the program is available at www.ucok.edu/passport.

“We’re just thrilled because he just does two of these a year,” said Susan Spencer, UCO professor and coordinator of the passport program.

In addition to the Passport to Egypt programs, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art is presenting an exhibit of Egyptian artifacts this fall, which Brier was able to visit during his time in Oklahoma.

“The Egyptian exhibit is fabulous. It’s a world-class exhibit,” he said. “Everyone should see it.”

(Justin Martino may be reached via e-mail at jmartino@edmondsun.com.)