The interior of the tomb of an ancient Egyptian nobleman called Khuwy, which was discovered in 2019, about 35 kilometres south of the capital Cairo. The mummified body of Khuwy has been found to be older than previously thought. AFP
The interior of the tomb of an ancient Egyptian nobleman called Khuwy, which was discovered in 2019, about 35 kilometres south of the capital Cairo. The mummified body of Khuwy has been found to be older than previously thought. AFP
Mohamed Mujahid, head of the Egyptian team that discovered the tomb, inspects the interior. AFP
Mohamed Mujahid, head of the Egyptian team that discovered the tomb, inspects the interior. AFP
Recent work on the mummy excavated from the tomb suggests that ancient Egyptians living during the time of the Old Kingdom – between 2700BC and 2200BC – were already carrying out sophisticated burials. AFP
Recent work on the mummy excavated from the tomb suggests that ancient Egyptians living during the time of the Old Kingdom – between 2700BC and 2200BC – were already carrying out sophisticated burials. AFP
Evidence for the mummy's age includes hieroglyphs on the wall of the tomb. AFP
Evidence for the mummy's age includes hieroglyphs on the wall of the tomb. AFP
The latest findings may completely change the world's understanding of the evolution of mummification, experts say. AFP
The latest findings may completely change the world's understanding of the evolution of mummification, experts say. AFP
A set of miniature vessels found in the burial chamber. EPA
A set of miniature vessels found in the burial chamber. EPA
Tools, jewellery and stones found in the tomb. EPA
Tools, jewellery and stones found in the tomb. EPA
People look at miniature vessels and other objects found in the burial chamber. EPA
People look at miniature vessels and other objects found in the burial chamber. EPA

MENA

Egypt

Egyptian mummy could help archaeologists rewrite the history books

Remains of dignitary unearthed in 2019 suggests sophisticated mummification practices were being used 1,000 years earlier than thought

Kamal Tabikha
Kamal Tabikha
Cairo

October 25, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

The mummified remains of a dignitary, possibly dating from more than 4,000 years ago, could rewrite the history of ancient Egyptian burial practices.

Recent work on a mummy excavated in 2019 suggests that ancient Egyptians living during the time of the Old Kingdom – between 2700BC and 2200BC – were already carrying out sophisticated burials.

This is 1,000 years earlier than previously known.

The discovery featured in a 2020 episode of National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt.

Dr Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo and one of the primary researchers in the recent study, told The National that “circumstantial evidence” suggested the mummy dated from the Old Kingdom.

Evidence for the mummy's great age included hieroglyphs on the wall of the tomb.

These indicate that it was the final resting place of Khuwy, a high-ranking official of the Fifth dynasty – a 150-year period from the early 25th century BC until the mid 24th century BC – and a relative of the royal family.

Dr Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. Photo: Dr Salima Ikram
Dr Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. Photo: Dr Salima Ikram

Pottery and canopic jars – containers used during the mummification process to store parts of the body – found in the tomb also appeared to have been made in the Old Kingdom.

“If this is indeed the mummy of Khuwy, this will truly be a unique discovery that dramatically shifts our understanding of the history of the Old Kingdom,” said Dr Ikram.

The sarcophagus where the mummy was found was housed in an austere burial chamber separated from the main tomb by a wall. The chamber was severely damaged by ancient gravediggers.

The tomb complex, Dr Ikram said, features a layout that is characteristic of the architecture of royal pyramids built during the Fifth dynasty.

Despite the strong case suggesting that the mummy does indeed date back to the Old Kingdom, Dr Ikram and her colleagues are conducting further tests which will confirm whether the remains are indeed those of Khuwy.

An ancient Egyptian mummy lies next to its coffin at the Civic Archaeological Museum in Bergamo, Italy. All photos: Reuters
An ancient Egyptian mummy lies next to its coffin at the Civic Archaeological Museum in Bergamo, Italy. All photos: Reuters
Researchers at the museum prepare to move the mummy to Policlinico, a hospital in Milan, to undergo a CT scan.
Researchers at the museum prepare to move the mummy to Policlinico, a hospital in Milan, to undergo a CT scan.
The project has been carried out to help uncover the history of the mummy.
The project has been carried out to help uncover the history of the mummy.
A researcher prepares to move the mummy to the hospital in Milan.
A researcher prepares to move the mummy to the hospital in Milan.
The mummy is believed to have been Ankhekhonsu, an ancient Egyptian priest.
The mummy is believed to have been Ankhekhonsu, an ancient Egyptian priest.
The mummy undergoes a CT scan at the hospital.
The mummy undergoes a CT scan at the hospital.
Researchers hope to shed light on the life of the priest and ancient Egyptian burial customs.
Researchers hope to shed light on the life of the priest and ancient Egyptian burial customs.
The project could also reveal more about the products used to mummify the body.
The project could also reveal more about the products used to mummify the body.
Medics monitor the results of the CT scan.
Medics monitor the results of the CT scan.
Researchers behind the project say mummies are 'practically a biological museum'.
Researchers behind the project say mummies are 'practically a biological museum'.

One possibility is that another person could have been mummified and buried centuries later in a re-purposing of the tomb.

“I remain hesitant until we can conduct carbon-14 dating,” Dr Ikram said.

She said that everything about the discovery points to the funerary practices of much later dynasties.

Dr Ikram and her colleagues were astonished by the amount of resin used to preserve the body. Such generous use of resin is virtually unheard of in Old Kingdom burials, she said.

The quality of the linen used to wrap the body is uncharacteristic of Old Kingdom funerary practices, which she says were markedly less sophisticated than in later dynasties.

In later practices, organs were properly removed and more precise tools were used throughout the process.

“When I first saw the mummy, my first thought was it was from the Twenty-first Dynasty [1069BC to 945BC],” Dr Ikram said.

The findings may also expand experts’ understanding of international trade during the Fifth Dynasty, she added.

“The resin used to preserve the body would have been imported from the Near East, from Lebanon most likely.”

The existence of these materials in Egypt at the time would mean that trade with neighbouring empires was much more extensive than previously thought.

Dr Ikram said dating analysis would take six to eight months.

Her work on the mummy is due to feature on an upcoming series of Lost Treasures of Egypt that launches in November.

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Specs

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MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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The specs
 
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Updated: October 25, 2021, 3:40 PM`
Egypt