New discoveries deepen understanding of Egyptian mummies

The ancient mummies in Egypt are one of the world’s greatest enigmas. Recently, however, the increased research and discoveries in this field have allowed for a better understanding of these mummies.

On November 24, in the Egyptian city of Luxor, a 3000 year old mummy of a woman was unveiled, and it appeared to be in a well-preserved state. According to Independent, “The sarcophagus was one of two found earlier this month by a French-led mission in the northern area of El-Asasef necropolis on the western bank of the Nile.” The second sarcophagus found contained a mummy along with five colored masks and 1000 Ushabti statutes, which are miniature figurines of servants who serve the dead in the afterlife.

Egypt’s minister of antiquities, Khaled Al Anani, stated, “One sarcophagus was rishi-style, which dates back to the 17th dynasty, while the other sarcophagus was from the 18th dynasty”, according to Mirror. The 18th dynasty in Egypt, which was approximately 13th century BC, is commonly known for some of its most well-known Pharaohs: Tutankhamun, Hatshepsut and Ramses II. This led the ministry to believe that the tomb contained Thaw-Irkhet-If, who was once the mummification supervisor at the Temple of Mut in Karnak.

Since the beginning of Egyptian civilization, bodies buried in shallow sand were unintentionally preserved due to the lack of moisture in Egypt’s dry climate. Over time, this Egyptians began intentionally draining the moisture from bodies to preserve them, in a process known as mummification. Egyptians preserved bodies because they believed that the body housed the spirit and soul, and if they allowed the body to decay, the spirit and soul might be lost. Because of Egyptians’ great love of life, they wished for it to continue after death, namely in the Afterlife. Most mummies’ coffins contain many amulets, necklaces or religious items, so that these items can accompany the person who passed in the Afterlife.

It is easy to tell the social status of a mummy by looking at their coffin. Pharaohs or nobles of high class were buried with mountains of riches and sometimes even servants for their Afterlife. Furthermore, their bodies would be prepared much more carefully; their organs would be placed in jars before the bodies were dehydrated. On the other hand, lower to middle class people would be buried with nothing special and their organs were dissolved with juniper.

Although there is still a lot left to be found about mummies, considerable achievements, such as this most recent mummy, have brought us a long way. Sophomore Nick Asante of Richard Montgomery School commented, “Mummies have been a mystery to me, and the fact that this 3000 year old mummy was the first to be unveiled on international media tells me that there is much more to come and for the rest of the world to learn.” With the amount of publicity surrounding this mummy, hopefully future explorers will be encouraged to make more discoveries of their own.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Faith Cheung of Richard Montgomery High School