“So Horrible”: Virtual Autopsy Reveals Ancient Egyptian Mummy’s Heart-Wrenching Secret
The woman was a wealthy member of Egyptian society, having her body preserved with exquisite ingredients and decorated with expensive jewelry
Image credits: Sahar Saleem
The CT scan, however, allowed them to analyze the ingredients, jewelry, and other elements to determine the social status of the deceased, which were crucial to their findings.
“[The high quality of the ingredients] ruled out that the mummification process had been careless and that the embalmers had simply neglected to close her mouth. In fact, they mummified her well and gave her expensive funerary apparels – two expensive rings made of gold and silver and a long haired-wig made from fibers from the date palm,” Saleem explained.
The mummy was a high-status member of Egyptian society, having been buried in the family tomb of Senenmut, a high-ranking architect and official of Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s dynasty.
Her wig was treated with mineral quartz, magnetite, and albite. Special care was taken to ensure her natural hair remained black, which was considered an indication of youth and beauty, by dyeing it with henna and juniper oil.
Her body was decorated with gold and silver scarabs, symbols of resurrection, which were themselves decorated with jasper gemstones.
But why was she screaming? How did she die?
Image credits: Sahar Saleem
The CT scan, however, allowed them to analyze the ingredients, jewelry, and other elements to determine the social status of the deceased, which were crucial to their findings.
“[The high quality of the ingredients] ruled out that the mummification process had been careless and that the embalmers had simply neglected to close her mouth. In fact, they mummified her well and gave her expensive funerary apparels – two expensive rings made of gold and silver and a long haired-wig made from fibers from the date palm,” Saleem explained.
The mummy was a high-status member of Egyptian society, having been buried in the family tomb of Senenmut, a high-ranking architect and official of Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s dynasty.
Her wig was treated with mineral quartz, magnetite, and albite. Special care was taken to ensure her natural hair remained black, which was considered an indication of youth and beauty, by dyeing it with henna and juniper oil.
Her body was decorated with gold and silver scarabs, symbols of resurrection, which were themselves decorated with jasper gemstones.
But why was she screaming? How did she die?
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10 August 2024
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