The mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I has been undisturbed for K of years , but now scientist have used non - invasive imaging to see inside the burying wrappings . Their inquiry has revealed some new details about a aliveness cut short — though it ’s still a secret why this rule die around age 35 .
Amenhotep Ireigned from 1525 BCE to 1504 BCE , during ancient Egypt ’s 18th Dynasty . About 400 years after his death , his mum was open up for repair damage done by grievous robber and afterwards reburied ; in modern times , it ’s been kept at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo . Officials had at the museum decided against opening the mummy due to its beautiful preservation , include millennium - honest-to-god flower garlands adorning the dead body , agree to apress releaseabout the young research .
The scientist direct to understand the event fence Amenhotep ’s death , mummification , and later reburying . They found that he die in his mid-30s and was around 5 feet 5 inches tall . Details of their work arepublishedin Frontiers in Medicine .
The face mask of Amenhotep I.Photo: Saleem et al., Frontiers in Medicine 2021
Sahar Saleem , a radiologist at Cairo University and the study ’s leading writer , told Gizmodo that one of the most exciting component of the research was “ the chance to reveal the face of Amenhotep I and to see that his facial features resembled those of his father , Ahmose I. ” The find were possible , Saleem said , thanks to “ the advancement of technology that enable digital unwrapping of the mummy non - invasively , preserving it . ”
CT ( reckon imaging ) scans — the kind used to face at Amenhotep ’s remain — habituate X - shaft of light to image regions of the body that are otherwise untouchable . The scans take K of images of slice of the body , which can be assembled into high - tone 3D scene . The engineering is of fussy economic consumption for examining mummy , move over that the corpse are both slight and ensconced in many layers of swathe . Just this year , CT scans shed light on a3,200 - yr - old mud - cover mummyand revealed thefirst acknowledge pregnant mummy , which previously was misidentified as male person .
The CAT scan revealed 30 different amulets and a girdle made of gold beads adorning the mummy . They could n’t find any meter reading that Amenhotep I died of a flesh combat injury or obtrusive disease . The body had been mangle , but the researchers suspect that was done post - mortem by grave robbers . The areas that had been hack at were the neck and limbs — typical places for jewelry , the researchers noted in the study .
A CT scan of Amenhotep I’s body inside its wrappings.Image: Saleem et al., Frontiers in Medicine 2021
The investigator found that the pharaoh still has some lock of hair , which are curly . He still has all his teeth , and the top row protrudes slightly . The Pharaoh of Egypt was circumcise , and his phallus was severally wrapped . particular wrappings were apply to the point , hands , and crotch to aid the deceased ’s journeying to the afterlife , Saleem explained .
“ He ruled in the New Kingdom epoch : the climax of the ancient Egyptian civilization , ” Saleem enunciate . “ The civilization at that clock time was very rich and modern in all aspects , including mummification . Royal mummies of the New Kingdom were the most well - preserved ancient physical structure ever found . ”
There ’s no grounds the embalmers essay to remove the pharaoh ’s mentality , which still is inside the skull , nor his heart . Typically , Saleem said , “ the embalmers removed the internal organs to avoid body putrefaction . All organs were remove except the heart , as ancient Egyptians consider that the heart was the house of the psyche . ”
A CT scan of the head of Amenhotep I, which still has some of the pharaoh’s hair.Photo: Saleem et al., Frontiers in Medicine 2021
Saleem add that some of the adornment on the mummy were probably sum by the later embalmers to address those hack marks made by grave robbers . Even several 100 after a Pharaoh of Egypt ’s death , the ancient Egyptians still made certain their utter were cared for .
More : The 11 Coolest archeologic Finds of 2021
Ancient EgyptMummy
Image:S. Saleem and Z. Hawass
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