Several interesting discoveries and secrets have been revealed after Egyptian scientists “unpacked” a millennial Pharaoh using digital scanning.
The mummy of Amenhotep I, the second pharaoh in ancient Egypt from the 18th dynasty, was found in Deir el-Bahari 140 years ago. However, archaeologists around the world have refrained from opening the mummy to preserve the exquisite face mask and bandages.
Until now.
In Egypt, they have digitally “unpacked” the mummy, and revealed its secrets for the first time since it was discovered in 1881.
New CT scans have revealed previously unknown information about the pharaoh and his funeral, according to BBC News.
X-ray and CT scan
The research was led by Dr. Sahar Saleem, Professor of Radiology at the University of Cairo, and the renowned Egyptologist and former Minister of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass.
Saleem and Hawass have, according to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt, used X-ray technology, CT scans and advanced computer programs to extract the mummy in a “safe and non-invasive way” – all this without touching the mummy, but by digitally scan it.
Dr. Saleem, which is also lead author of the study published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, said the findings showed that Amenhotep was around 35 years old when he died. They have also found out a lot about the state of health and various secrets surrounding the mummy’s unique mummification and reburial.
–According to Saleem, Pharaoh Amenhotep was approximately 169 cm tall, circumcised, and had good teeth.
“Among the bandages, he wore 30 amulets and a unique golden belt with gold pearls,” she told PA Media, adding that he must have physically resembled his father, Thutmose III:
– He had a narrow chin, small, narrow nose, curly hair and light, protruding teeth, she commented.
She further said that they have not observed any wounds or disfigurement due to illness, which makes it difficult to determine the cause of death.
–The brain not removed
The two researchers, on the other hand, were able to gain insight into the mummification and burial of Amenhotep:
Two interesting findings here are, among other things, that he is probably the first pharaoh to have his forearms folded over his chest – and also that his brain, unusually enough, not has been removed.
The scans showed that the Pharaoh’s mummy suffered several autopsy injuries, probably caused by various grave robbers, writes Aljazeera.
This applied to injuries such as a torn head and a loose, left arm, in addition to something defective in the mummy’s abdominal wall.
These body parts are then said to have been reattached with linen ribbons, or wrapped in a new bandage, allegedly by priests from the 21st dynasty, who ruled for about four centuries after Amenhotep’s death.
There were also jewelery and amulets around in the bandages, and the scans showed that the mummy had probably been “lovingly repaired”, according to the researchers.
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