The mummy of historical egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep I used to be so exquisitely wrapped – adorned with flower garlands and buried with a sensible face masks – scientists have been reluctant to open the stays. That is to say till now.
Some 3,000 years after Amenhotep’s burial, a crew of researchers used computed tomography to digitally unroll his physique for the first time, trying nearly by way of the various layers to disclose what he would have appeared like when he was alive (he took as his father, it appears).
They additionally found that the Pharaoh, who reigned from round 1525 BC. he was additionally circumcised and had good enamel, the researchers mentioned. Under the wrappers have been 30 amulets in addition to “a unique golden belt with gold beads”, examine co-author Sahar Saleem, professor of radiology on the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University, said in a press release.
Related: What is the traditional Egyptian “mummy curse”?
Perhaps this belt had “magical significance” and the amulets “each served to help the deceased king in the afterlife,” Zahi Hawass, former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities and co-author of the brand new printed examine Tuesday 2 December. 28) in the evaluate Frontiers in medicineLive Science mentioned in an e-mail.
“Amenhotep I Mummy wears a piece of jewelry called a belt. The ancient Egyptians wore jewelry like this around their waists. Some belts, like this one, have shell amulets on the side, ”Saleem told Live Science in an email.
Amenhotep I
Egypt extended to northern Sudan during the reign of Amenhotep I during the 18th Dynasty. The pharaoh initiated a building program which saw the construction or expansion of many temples. No one knows how the pharaoh died or where he was originally buried.
The mummy of Amenhotep was discovered in 1881, along with several other mummies in a tomb on the west bank of Thebes (today Luxor). His mummy had been placed in the tomb during the 21st Dynasty (around 1070 BC to 945 BC) after it was stolen in ancient times.
Researchers found that the thieves damaged Pharaoh’s body. “CT photographs present extent of injury to mummy of Amenhotep I which concerned neck fractures and decapitation, giant defect in the anterior stomach wall and disarticulation of extremities,” including right hand and foot , Saleem and Hawass wrote in their journal article.
The researchers found that the priests repaired the mummy by replacing the detached limbs in their places, using resin to help hold the mummy parts together, and rewrap the mummy parts with fresh bandages.
“We present that no less than for Amenhotep I, the clergymen of the twenty first Dynasty lovingly repaired the injuries inflicted by the tomb robbers, restored his mummy to its former glory and stored the magnificent jewellery and amulets in place,” Saleem said in the statement. .
It is not clear what killed the Pharaoh. “We discovered no damage or disfigurement from sickness to substantiate the trigger of dying,” Saleem said in the statement.
The scans shed light on what the pharaoh looked like during his lifetime. “Amenhotep I appears to have bodily resembled his father [Ahmose I]: He had a slim chin, a small slim nostril, curly hair and barely protruding higher enamel, “Saleem said.
Most of the Pharaonic mummies were either physically unwrapped or studied extensively using CT scans, the researchers said, noting that Amenhotep I was one of the few royal mummies that was not examined in detail. “The proven fact that the mum of Amenhotep I used to be by no means unboxed in trendy instances gave us a singular alternative: not solely to check how he was initially mummified and buried, but additionally how he had been handled and re-buried twice, centuries after his dying, by High Priests of Amun, ”Saleem mentioned.
Live Science contacted lecturers not concerned in the analysis. “It’s very interesting, but I’m not sure there’s anything overwhelming here,” mentioned Aidan Dodson, professor of Egyptology on the University of Bristol in the UK. the mummies have been fully stolen, so that does not imply a lot, ”Dodson mentioned, noting that different royal mummies might have worn related belts which have been later stolen.
Originally posted on Live Science.
