Each mummy holds many secrets that allow us to learn more about the person embalmed, a practice reserved for the wealthy, but also about Egypt ancient in its entirety. Visit museum Field Museum of Natural History (United States) owns and exhibits 26 mummies, two of which have recently received special treatment.
In September 2024 researchers have scanned the sarcophagi of two mummies in 3D. The initial results have enabled us to learn more about mummification methods and the identity of these deceased, reports CNN.
Enlightened embalming practices
“From the point of view archaeologicalIt’s extremely rare to be able to study history from the point of view of a single individual,” recalls Stacy Drake, head of the museum’s human remains collections. It was known, for example, that the mummification ritual involved the removal of internal organs, with the exception of the heart. These were then placed in canopic vases.
With 3D scans of mummies’ interiors, the scientists noted that some embalmers then reinserted the organs into the bodies. Some of these were found in packages also containing wax statues representing the sons of Horus used to protect each organ: Imsety (liver), Hapy (lungs), Duamutef (stomach) and Qebehsenuef (intestines).
A tailor-made coffin
The scans have revealed more about one of the museum’s star mummies: Lady Chenet-aa. This presumably elite woman lived around 3,000 years ago, during Egypt’s 22nd dynasty. Researchers discovered that she would have died around the age of forty. Analysis of her coffin confirmed that particular care had been taken with her embalming.
More to the point, the researchers understood how the body had been placed in the sarcophagus, which until then had remained a mystery. Here, it appears that the mummy was inserted upright. Cardboard would have been used, then softened so that the envelope could be molded around the body, before being closed, laced and covered with plaster. No traces of disease were identified.
While Lady Chenet-aa benefited from a coffin made especially for her, not everyone was so lucky. A 14-year-old teenager was given an envelope far too big for him. “It was possible to get a coffin at a reduced price by borrowing or using someone else’s,” suggests Stacy Drake.