The chilling mystery of an ancient Egyptian mummy buried with a screaming face has been solved by scientists.
The mummy, nicknamed “The Screaming Woman”, was found in 1935 in Deir Elbahari, Egypt, in the family tomb of a royal architect.
7
7
7
Although internal organs are usually removed during mummification, hers were left in place – leaving scientists baffled at first.
It was then thought that the careless ancient Egyptians did a poor job – and their mouth was left open by mistake.
But a new scientific study has now revealed that the likely reason for her expression of pain is because she died screaming in agony.
Sahar Saleem, a researcher at Cairo University, said her scream was the result of cadaveric spasm – a rare form of muscle stiffening caused by violent deaths under extreme stress.
She said: “The mummy’s screaming facial expression in this study can be read as a cadaveric spasm, implying that the woman died screaming in agony or pain.
“This mummified Screaming Woman is a true ‘time capsule’ of the way she died, revealing some of the secrets of mummifications.”
What caused him such a painful death, however, is unclear.
Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) on the remains, the team discovered that the body was buried with juniper and frankincense – products of nature found in plants and trees.
These were expensive – and were imported from the Eastern Mediterranean and South Arabia at that time.
This led researchers to believe that the woman was buried at great expense.
Dr Saleem said: “Here we show that she was embalmed with expensive imported embalming material.
“This, and the mummy’s well-preserved appearance, contradicts the traditional belief that failure to remove its internal organs implied poor mummification.”
His mummy also wore a wig made from date palm fibers, which were treated with then-expensive materials such as quartz, magnetite and albite crystals.
The goal was likely to harden the hair and turn it black, a color that ancient Egyptians thought represented youth, Saleem added.
It also suggested that the woman belonged to a wealthy clan.
The scientist said: “The excavation notes mentioned that she wore two rings with jasper scarabs inlaid in gold and silver respectively.
“The material used for these amulets and jewelry denotes the wealth and socioeconomic status of the person.”
Despite its wealth, the mummy was not identified by name, but its burial site offers a clue.
She was mummified in the family tomb of Senmut, a royal architect who was thought to be the lover of a great pharaoh.
Dr Saleem said: “Senmut was a very powerful statesman in Hatshepsut’s time and teacher of her daughter, Princess Nefrure.
“The family burial contained Senmut’s mother, Hat Nufer, and his father, Ra Mose.
“Although no name was recorded on the screaming mummy, she was likely a member of Senmut’s family close enough to share her parents’ eternal resting place.”
Scientists believe she was around 48 years old when she died, based on the joint between her two pelvic bones, which softens with age.
Further medical examinations, including a CT scan, electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, found that the woman also suffered from mild arthritis in her spine.
Several teeth were also missing – likely lost before death, as there were signs of bone resorption, which occurs when a tooth comes out and the socket is left to heal.
The Screaming Woman’s remains are now held by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, while her coffin and rings are held by the Metropolitan Museum of New York, which excavated her tomb in 1935.
Dr. Saheem and Dr. El-Merghani published their study in the journal Frontiers In Medicine.
7
7
7
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23925966/acastro_STK045_01.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1 "Patreon memberships sold on iOS will soon face Apple’s 30% fee")
