Facemask of the never-before unwrapped mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I. Credit: S. Saleem and Z. Hawass
Study shows that 21st dynasty conservators adoringly restored mummy, resolving theory that they were set on recycling old royal burial equipment.
All the royal mummies discovered in the 20th and 19th centuries have long since been opened for study. With one exception: egyptologists have actually never been strong enough to open the mummy of Pharaoh Amenhotep I. Not since of any mythical curse, but since it is perfectly wrapped, magnificently embellished with flower garlands, and with face and neck covered by a splendid natural facemask inset with colorful stones. Now for the first time, scientists from Egypt have utilized three-dimensional CT (computed tomography) scanning to digitally unwrap this royal mummy and study its contents. They report their findings in Frontiers in Medicine.
This was the first time in three centuries that Amenhoteps mummy has actually been opened. The previous time remained in the 11th century BCE, more than four centuries after his initial mummification and burial. Hieroglyphics have actually described how throughout the later 21st dynasty, priests brought back and reburied royal mummies from more ancient dynasties, to fix the damage done by severe robbers.
The pharaohs mummy, showing his shrunken skull and skeleton within the bandages. Credit: S. Saleem and Z. Nuwass
” This truth that Amenhotep Is mummy had never ever been unwrapped in modern times offered us a special chance: not just to study how he had originally been mummified and buried, however likewise how he had been dealt with and reburied two times, centuries after his death, by High Priests of Amun,” stated Dr Sahar Saleem, teacher of radiology at the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University and the radiologist of the Egyptian Mummy Project, the studys first author.
” By digitally unwrapping of the mummy and peeling its virtual layers– the facemask, the plasters, and the mummy itself– we might study this well-preserved pharaoh in unprecedented detail,” said Saleem.
” We show that Amenhotep I was approximately 35 years of ages when he died. He was approximately 169cm high, circumcised, and had excellent teeth. Within his wrappings, he used 30 amulets and a special golden girdle with gold beads.”
” Amenhotep I appears to have physically resembled his dad: he had a narrow chin, a small narrow nose, curly hair, and mildly protruding upper teeth.”
The pharaohs skull, including his teeth in excellent condition. Credit: S. Saleem and Z. Hawass
Saleem continued: “We couldnt find any wounds or disfigurement due to disease to justify the cause of death, except various mutiliations post mortem, probably by severe burglars after his first burial. His entrails had actually been gotten rid of by the very first mummifiers, however not his brain or heart.”
The mummy of Amenhotep I (whose name means Amun is pleased) was found in 1881– amongst other reburied royal mummies– at the archeological site Deir el Bahari in southern Egypt. The second pharaoh of Egypts 18th dynasty (after his dad Ahmose I, who had actually expelled the getting into Hyksos and reunited Egypt), Amenhotep ruled from around 1525 to 1504 BCE.
Sahar Saleem and her co-author egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass, had previously hypothesized that the main objective of the restorers from the 11th century was to reuse royal burial devices for later pharaohs. Here they negate their own theory.
” We show that at least for Amenhotep I, the priests of the 21st dynasty adoringly repaired the injuries inflicted by the tomb burglars, restored his mummy to its previous splendor, and preserved the spectacular fashion jewelry and amulets in location,” said Saleem.
Hawass and Saleem studied more than 40 royal mummies of the New Kingdom in the Egyptian Antiquity Ministry Project that was released considering that 2005. Twenty-two royal mummies, consisting of that of Amenhotep I, were transferred in April 2021 to a brand-new museum in Cairo. The face of the mummy of Amenhotep I with its mask was the icon of the incredible Royal Golden Mummy Parade on March 3rd, 2021 in Cairo.
” We show that CT imaging can be successfully used in anthropological and archeological research studies on mummies, including those from other civilizations, for instance Peru,” concluded Saleem and Hawass.
Referral: “Digital unwrapping of the mummy of King Amenhotep I (1525-1504 BC) utilizing Computed Tomography (CT)” 27 December 2021, Frontiers in Medicine.DOI: 10.3389/ fmed.2021.778498.
With one exception: egyptologists have never been strong enough to open the mummy of Pharaoh Amenhotep I. Not because of any mythical curse, however due to the fact that it is perfectly covered, beautifully decorated with flower garlands, and with face and neck covered by a beautiful natural facemask inset with colorful stones. The mummy of Amenhotep I (whose name indicates Amun is pleased) was discovered in 1881– among other reburied royal mummies– at the archeological site Deir el Bahari in southern Egypt. Hawass and Saleem studied more than 40 royal mummies of the New Kingdom in the Egyptian Antiquity Ministry Project that was launched since 2005. Twenty-two royal mummies, consisting of that of Amenhotep I, were moved in April 2021 to a new museum in Cairo. The face of the mummy of Amenhotep I with its mask was the icon of the spectacular Royal Golden Mummy Parade on March 3rd, 2021 in Cairo.