Two Egyptian scientists came to this conclusion in a study published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. The mummy, found in 1935 during excavations in Luxor, was subjected to extensive research including CT scans in the hope of learning more about the woman and the cause of her death.
The mummy, nicknamed “the screaming woman”, bears similarities to Edvard Munch’s famous scream and has fascinated scientists for decades. It is one of the few mummies found with its mouth wide open. During embalming, care was always taken to keep the mouth closed so that the body would look good.
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Steven Ramdharie is a news reporter for of Volkskrant with defense as his main specialty.
One of the theories that circulated for a long time after the discovery was that the embalming process had been carried out some 3,500 years ago. But new research by a radiologist and an anthropologist confirms that the embalming of the woman, whose age is estimated at 48 years, was carried out with care and with great quality.
Deregistered
Expensive materials were used. She also received two expensive rings and a wig. Since the embalming theory could be ruled out, other reasons for the woman’s “scream” were sought. “The wide-open mouth could be the result of a facial expression of suffering before death,” suggest radiologist Sahar Saleem of Cairo University and anthropologist Samia El-Merghani, mummy conservator at the Ministry of Tourism.
According to the couple, the woman may have had a rare form of muscle rigidity, a phenomenon that occurs at the time of death. But they cannot say anything about the exact cause of death. It is also unclear who she was.
The mummy was discovered by a team from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York under a tomb that belonged to Senmut, the architect of Queen Hatshepsut. He ruled between 1479 and 1458 BC. The expedition then discovered a burial chamber that the architect had built for his mother. Other members of the family were also buried there. The nameless mummy of the woman with the wide open mouth was later found in a wooden coffin.
