Featured Image Credit: Sahar Saleem/X/@Saharsaleem1
The 3,500 year old mystery of the “screaming mummy” has finally been solved.
In a huge breakthrough for researchers working to unlock the secrets of ancient Egypt, the horrifying puzzle of questions around a particular mummy has now been answered.
The mummy in question appears to be a woman screaming as archaeologists say that it’s unlikely to be due to embalmers forgetting to close it.
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Ever since she was discovered in a wooden coffin beneath a tomb in 1935, the woman has left researchers stumped.
She was laid to rest under the tomb of Senmut, who was an important architect during the time of Hatshepsut’s reign, who was a female pharaoh.
There was also a burial chamber found for Senmut’s mother along with other relatives.
Speaking to The Guardian, Dr Sahar Saleem, who is a professor of radiology at Cairo University, said: “Although no name was recorded on the screaming mummy, she was likely a close family member to be buried and share the family’s eternal resting place.”
Further testing on the mummy, including CT scans, revealed that she died at around 48 years old and had mild arthritis, including in her spine.
Scientists also found no sign of embalming, with all her organs still inside.
Saleem added: ““This was a surprise to me, as the classic method of mummification in the New Kingdom – 1550-1069BC – included the removal of all organs except the heart.”
Getting to the bottom of why she appears to be screaming, researchers made a horrifying realization.
Her expression may well be down to a rare and immediate form of rigor mortis, meaning that she died while screaming.
Saleem said: “We suggested that the reason [for] this opened mouth could be due to [a] painful death or emotional stress and cadaveric spasm made her face frozen to the appearance at time of death.
“Embalmers were unable to close the mouth and mummified the contracted body before it decomposed or relaxed, preserving her open mouth after death.”
However, not everyone is convinced that this is the reason for her “screaming” mouth.
Also talking to The Guardian, Dr Stuart Hamilton, who is a Home Office registered forensic pathologist, explained why he isn’t sure.
He said: “I’m open-minded to the idea it [immediate rigor mortis] exists, although it is certainly controversial.”
“I would think that the mouth has just fallen open and it’s ended up staying that way.”
