She bears an eerie resemblance to Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream,” but why ancient Egyptian mummies have such shocked expressions on their faces has long puzzled researchers. Now, researchers say they may have found the answer: the woman may have died screaming in agony.
The woman is thought to have been buried around 3,500 years ago and was discovered in 1935 in a wooden coffin beneath the tomb of Senmut, a key architect during the reign of the female pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut.
She wasn’t alone: archaeologists also discovered a burial chamber for Senmut’s mother, Hat Nufer, at a site near Luxor, as well as separate burial sites for other family members.
“The screaming mummy has no name on it but is probably a close relative who was buried with his family to rest in eternal peace,” said Dr Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Cairo University.
Contributed to the medical journal “Frontiers in Medicine”Salim and co-author Dr Samia El Mergani report that they used computed tomography (CT) scanning technology to “virtually dissect” the mummy, as well as methods such as X-ray diffraction analysis to examine its skin, hair and long black wig.
The well-preserved mummy suggests the woman would have been about 1.55 meters (just over five feet) tall in life, the team said. A CT scan provided further details, revealing that she was around 48 years old at death and suffered from mild arthritis, including in her spine.
However, researchers found no signs of embalming and all of the mummies’ organs were still inside.
“This was a surprise to me because typical mummification methods from the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BCE) involved removing all the organs except the heart,” Salim said.
While studies have noted that such omissions are often the result of shoddy mummification of middle-class or poor people, this doesn’t seem to have been the case with the screaming woman, Saleem said.
Not only was she buried with two silver-and-gold scarab rings, but researchers also found embalming fluids including juniper resin and frankincense, expensive imported items that may have helped preserve her body.
Analysis revealed that the woman’s hair had been treated with juniper and henna, while the wig was woven from date fibre and contained traces of juniper and frankincense, as well as a variety of minerals, possibly to stiffen the fibre and give it a youthful black colour, Salim speculates.
The researchers believe the discovery may have been linked to mummification, wig-making and The ancient trade in preservatives However, the fact that the woman’s mouth was open indicates that it was likely not the result of a careless embalmer failing to close it.
Instead, the team argues, the woman’s facial expression could be the result of a rare, immediate form of rigor mortis.
“We believe that the reason for this is [for] This open mouth, [a] “Her face was frozen in the position it was at the time of death, either due to a painful death or psychological stress and mortal convulsions,” Salim said. “The embalmers were unable to close her mouth and mummified the contracted body before it could decay or relax, preserving her mouth open after death.”
However, the cause of death remains unknown, and the researchers note that other experts have proposed that the scream-like facial expressions could be the result of burial procedures or post-mortem alterations.
Salima Ikram, a prominent professor at the American University in Cairo, was not convinced by the team’s proposal.
“I don’t think this convulsion is something the embalmers were trying to preserve forever. [the expression] teeth [down to] “The drying process for mummification takes 40 days,” she said, adding that “we could have done a better job of defining her features.” [in that time]” said Ikram.
Home Office registered forensic pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton added that the very concept of cadaveric convulsion was controversial and he had not seen any convincing cases.
“It’s certainly controversial, but I’m open to the idea that it exists,” he said, but added that he didn’t need a complicated explanation: “I think it’s just an open mouth and it just stays that way.”
Although unusual, the woman is not the only known “screaming” mummy: Salim and his colleagues previously studied a body believed to be that of Prince Pentahua, the son of Pharaoh Ramses III, who was implicated in a plot to kill his father.
“Pentaware’s body was barely embalmed, which may indicate that the embalmers neglected to keep his mouth shut, presumably to keep him screaming forever as punishment,” Saleem said.
The remains of Princess Meritamun, thought to be King Amos’ sister. 1550-1525 BCThere is also such an expression.
Salim and his colleagues Tell us your past work “The gaping mouth is most likely a natural result of the embalmers being unable to close the mouth due to muscle contraction after death (rigor mortis),” Saleem said.
