Was Ramses II really a ginger? | History Forum

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This might be a fairly silly thread, but I remember hearing that based on his mummy we think Ramses II had red hair? This seems pretty improbable just considering it isn’t exactly the hair colour that most springs to mind when imagining someone from Egypt. I thought to myself, are we sure his mummy’s hair wasn’t just reddish due to being dyed with henna or something? Or due to decomposition maybe. But I guess if people who’ve examined the guy’s remains say he was a ginger then maybe he was? Are there any archaeology academic papers that cover this maybe?
Also I assume it’s cool to ask Egypt related questions in a separate thread but if it’s preferable to ask it in the big “just ancient Egypt” thread just let me know.
Personally, I was addressing the questions the OP presented in a more general context. Rameses' age doesn't have anything to do with hair color nor with whether or not he had hair.
Everyone I can think of in my own family has lived past 90 and, has still had a full head of hair. At least half still had recognizable flecks of their original hair color. Losing your hair color as you age isn't a given, it's actually primarily a function of dietary habits and the presence of carcinogens which leach and, consequently bleach your hair. Biologically, losing hair color isn't a given, nor is baldness. It's an indicator of underlying health issues.
Rameses hair was White at the age he died, but dyed with henna to look reddish...
But microscopic analysis of his roots determined that in his youth his hair was red and that the henna may well have been his vanity trying to look younger.
a Ginger is a Nordic redhead, which confers very pale skin, blue or green eyes.... however, Blacks in Africa also have been known to have a gene variant that gives them a darker red or auburn hair color, usually with brown or hazel eyes...
This might be a fairly silly thread, but I remember hearing that based on his mummy we think Ramses II had red hair? This seems pretty improbable just considering it isn’t exactly the hair colour that most springs to mind when imagining someone from Egypt. I thought to myself, are we sure his mummy’s hair wasn’t just reddish due to being dyed with henna or something? Or due to decomposition maybe. But I guess if people who’ve examined the guy’s remains say he was a ginger then maybe he was? Are there any archaeology academic papers that cover this maybe?
Also I assume it’s cool to ask Egypt related questions in a separate thread but if it’s preferable to ask it in the big “just ancient Egypt” thread just let me know.
Professor P. F. Ceccaldi, with a research team behind him, studied some hairs which were removed from the mummy's scalp. Ramesses II was 90 years-old when he died, and his hair had turned white. Ceccaldi determined that the reddish-yellow colour of the mummy's hair had been brought about by its being dyed with a dilute henna solution; it proved to be an example of the cosmetic attentions of the embalmers. However, traces of the hair's original colour (in youth), remain in the roots, even into advanced old age. Microscopic examinations proved that the hair roots contained traces of natural red pigments, and that therefore, during his youth, Ramesses II had been red-haired. It was concluded that these red pigments did not result from the hair somehow fading, or otherwise altering post-mortem, but did indeed represent Ramesses' natural hair colour. Ceccaldi also studied a cross-section of the hairs, and he determined from their oval shape, that Ramesses had been "cymotrich" (wavy-haired). Finally, he stated that such a combination of features showed that Ramesses had been a "leucoderm" (white-skinned person). [Balout, et al. (1985) 254-257.]
Scientific analysis of his (Ramses II) has confirmed that in his youth, the king was indeed a natural redhead. (Tyldesley 2001).
Professor P. F. Ceccaldi, with a research team behind him, studied some hairs which were removed from the mummy's scalp. Ramesses II was 90 years-old when he died, and his hair had turned white. Ceccaldi determined that the reddish-yellow colour of the mummy's hair had been brought about by its being dyed with a dilute henna solution; it proved to be an example of the cosmetic attentions of the embalmers. However, traces of the hair's original colour (in youth), remain in the roots, even into advanced old age. Microscopic examinations proved that the hair roots contained traces of natural red pigments, and that therefore, during his youth, Ramesses II had been red-haired. It was concluded that these red pigments did not result from the hair somehow fading, or otherwise altering post-mortem, but did indeed represent Ramesses' natural hair colour. Ceccaldi also studied a cross-section of the hairs, and he determined from their oval shape, that Ramesses had been "cymotrich" (wavy-haired). Finally, he stated that such a combination of features showed that Ramesses had been a "leucoderm" (white-skinned person). [Balout, et al. (1985) 254-257.]
Scientific analysis of his (Ramses II) has confirmed that in his youth, the king was indeed a natural redhead. (Tyldesley 2001).
I don't believe in this lab analysis. Probably needs further investigation. Seems to me the Professor was just hypothesising. Ramses was most likely black haired. No one lives to be 90 in Egypt by being a ginger. The sun intensity is lethal for those of that complexion. Ramses II was always depicted as red skinned and this is not stylistic because Nubians were depicted as tar black and some Middle Easterners as ivory white next to him. It was just a fashion. He was most likely Middle Eastern looking though.
“the race (of the mummy), by diameters, indices, angles and cranial or facial profiles: is an a priori Berber type. … the hairs, of exceptional interest because of their state of conservation, are fine, supple, slightly wavy by place, of a reddish-blond colour pulling hard towards yellowish. Of oval cross-section, and cross-referencing all other anthropometric observations, they are characteristic of the hair of a “cymotrichous leucoderm", close to the Mediterraneans of Prehistory, like a Berber, of white skin - and not of a Nubian, of black skin.... Microscopic examinations revealed a practically intact morphology and natural red pigments: he was therefore a real redhead.”
‘The Gebelein predynastic mummies are six naturally mummified bodies, dating to approximately 3400 BC from the Late Predynastic period of Ancient Egypt. They were the first complete predynastic bodies to be discovered. … Since 1901, the first body excavated has remained on display in the British Museum. This body was originally nicknamed Ginger due to his red hair"
Red hair and blond hair crops up in Egypt and the Middle East on occasion. There have been a lot of foreign troops that have visited the areas. The Ptolemies also recruited Galatians into their armies and settled them on estates. The Galatians were a Celtic people, which has a history of producing red hair. The Celts were also known to serve as mercenaries throughout the Mediterranean. I have seen a number of "Black People" that had Red hair, Freckles and light colored eyes.
Red hair and blond hair crops up in Egypt and the Middle East on occasion. There have been a lot of foreign troops that have visited the areas. The Ptolemies also recruited Galatians into their armies and settled them on estates. The Galatians were a Celtic people, which has a history of producing red hair.
In ancient Egypt it has nothing to do with that, as Predynastic mummies already had red hair. Predynastic Egyptians have been described as being similar to Berbers (as was Ramses II), and Berbers sometimes have red or blond hair, particularly Kabyles and Riffians.
Well, it seems pretty conclusive that the victor (well, kind of) of Kadesh did indeed probably have red-ish, or at least auburn hair. The Egyptologist (Gaston Maspero) who first discovered the king's mummy corroborates the more recent French medical examination. At least according to this quote from Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt. But the quote comes from a book, so it's probably genuine. If anyone has John Romer's The Valley of the Kings and can confirm that would be cool.
So yeah, "possibly auburn in life". I guess redheads were more common in ancient Egypt than I thought. Cool!
Anyways, I guess the main question's been answered with a fairly conclusive "probably yes". Thanks for the help. Feel free to keep posting relevant books or Egyptology/archaeology papers about the subject. But let's not get too off-topic please. Thanks.