At the Ancient Egypt, the religious practice of mummification involved preserving a person's body after he was dead, as they believed in a second life. Cairo University scientists have made a scientific breakthrough recently, they found that a mummy belonged to a young boy from a wealthy family, thanks to radiology and the trappings of wealth.
Cairo scientists make discovery about mummy
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A group of researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, made discoveries about the history of a mummy of approximately 2300 years. Professor of radiology Sahar Saleem, leader of the research, said that around the body, several items were found made of gold and precious stones, which ancient Egyptians believed to protect the body and give vitality in the next life.
the golden boy
That was the nickname given by the group of scientists to the mummy they were studying, because of the golden adornments it carried. The body was discovered in 1916 in a cemetery in the town of Nag el-Hassay in southern Egypt. The mummy is currently kept at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
adornments
Next to the body, the team found several items and amulets. One was a scarab with a golden heart attached to its throat, as well as a golden tongue found on the mummy. According to Professor Saleem, the amulets were beautiful and were arranged in a three-column arrangement between the folds of the coffin and inside the body.
Technology used
The scientists used a technique known as a 'CT scan' (computed tomography). This technique makes it possible to examine the inside of mummies without having to open them. According to the results of the technique, the estimated age of the boy was between 14 and 15 years old and this result was based on the dental arch and bone growth of the mummy. The technique was also able to show that the boy had not gone through the circumcision process.
Theory about the origin of the boy
Some scholars believe that the boy was not born in Egypt. This is because, in Ancient Egypt, it was quite common to perform the circumcision procedure on men. Thus, the theory is strengthened that immigrants and outsiders could also go through the mummification process.
Professor Salima Ikram, an expert on Egyptian history at the American University in Cairo, said the lack of circumcision is very interesting and reveals a lot about the mummy's ethnicity. According to him, Egyptians underwent the procedure even before they were 13 years old.
