For The First Time a Mummy’s Body is “Digitally Unwrapped”

An Egyptian Mummy Amenhotep I has been unwrapped digitally by scientists for the first time in Egypt. Amenhotep I ruled Egypt for 21 years from 1525 to 1504 BC. 

As the 3500 year old mummy was fragile, scientists  never tried to unwrap the mummy physically. They also wanted to preserve the face mask and bandages. 

The mummy of Amenhotep I was found in a site in Deir el-Bahari 140 years ago. This is the only mummy that has been found years back and has never been opened. The mummy was decorated with a wooden facemask and garlands. 

Computed tomography (CT) scans have revealed a lot of information about the Egyptian Pharaoh and his burial ceremony. 

“We got to see the face of the king that has been wrapped for more than 3,000 years,” Dr Sahar Saleem, professor of radiology at Cairo University's Faculty of Medicine told BBC. 

She spoke of the mummy’s facial features. He was 5 feet and 6 inches tall with a narrow chin, a small narrow nose, curly hair and mildly protruding upper teeth. He was 35 years old when he died.

The pharaoh was in good physical condition when he died and his body showed no signs of disfigurement which indicates that he didn’t die of a disease. He may have died as a result of an infection or virus, the study suggests. 

He was the first mummy whose forearms were seen folded across his chest and surprisingly his brain was not removed during the mummification process. 

The scans showed that the body suffered multiple post-mortem injuries that may have been inflicted by grave robbers.

Priests from the 21st Dynasty “lovingly repaired” the injuries on the mummy’s body. The scans showed that the priests attached the detached head and neck to the body by a resin treated linen band. 

A “unique” golden girdle with gold beads and 30 amulets were also discovered. The study however could not ascertain the cause of the young pharaoh’s death.