Among the findings was the mummy of an elderly woman, dubbed the 'Screaming Woman' due to her gaping mouth, as if frozen in a scream. She wore a black wig and two scarab rings made of silver and gold. Researchers have now used advanced scientific techniques to investigate the circumstances of her life and death. The findings are published in Frontiers in Medicine.
"Here we show that she was embalmed with costly, imported embalming material. This, and the mummy's well-preserved appearance, contradicts the traditional belief that a failure to remove her inner organs implied poor mummification," said Dr Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital of Cairo University.
The mummy had been housed at Kasr Al Ainy School of Medicine in Cairo until 1998 when it was moved to the Cairo Egyptian Museum by the Ministry of Antiquities. The mummy's coffin and rings have been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of New York since 1935.
In this study, Saleem used CT scans to estimate her age, identify pathologies, and assess her preservation state. Alongside co-author Dr. Samia El-Merghani, Saleem employed scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) to identify embalming materials.
The analysis revealed the mummy remained in good condition despite 2,500 years since her burial. When discovered, the mummy was found lying supine with her legs extended and hands folded above the groin. She had lost several teeth before death, evident from bone resorption in the jaw. Other teeth were broken or showed wear.
"Teeth lost during life may have been extracted. Dentistry had originated in ancient Egypt, with Hesy Re the first recorded physician and dentist in the world," said Saleem.
From 2D and 3D CT images, it was estimated that the woman was 1.54 meters tall and approximately 48 years old at death. She suffered from mild arthritis of the spine, indicated by osteophytes or 'bone spurs' on her vertebrae.
Saleem found no embalming incision, which was surprising since her internal organs were still present. This contrasts with the New Kingdom mummification practices (1550-1069 BCE) that typically involved organ removal, except for the heart.
FTIR analysis showed that her skin was embalmed with juniper and frankincense, materials imported into Egypt from the Eastern Mediterranean and East Africa or Southern Arabia. Her natural hair was dyed with henna and juniper, while her wig, made from date palm fibers, was treated with quartz, magnetite, and albite crystals to stiffen and color it black, a hue symbolizing youth in ancient Egypt.
"These findings support the ancient trade of embalming materials in ancient Egypt. The expedition led by Queen Hatshepsut brought frankincense from Punt (possibly Somalia in Africa). The tomb of Tutankhamun also contained frankincense and juniper," said Saleem.
The cause of her death remains undetermined. However, the open mouth of the mummy may indicate a cadaveric spasm, a rare muscular stiffening that occurs in violent deaths under extreme physical and emotional conditions.
"The mummy's screaming facial expression in this study could be read as a cadaveric spasm, implying that the woman died screaming from agony or pain," hypothesized Saleem.
"The Screaming Woman is a true 'time capsule' of the way that she died and was mummified," concluded Saleem.
Research Report:Paleoradiological and Scientific Investigations of the Screaming Woman Mummy from the area beneath Senmut's (1479-1458 BC) Theban Tomb (TT71)
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