Egyptian mummy may have died ‘screaming from agony,’ researchers say

For astir 3,500 years, nan remains of an ancient Egyptian female person preserved what whitethorn person been her last look earlier death: an anguished shriek.

The mummy, known arsenic nan “Screaming Woman,” has been nan taxable of aggravated curiosity since it was first discovered successful 1935. Her rima hangs wide unfastened pinch her mostly-intact apical teeth bared, arsenic if she were howling successful pain. Her sunken eyes and black, leather-like tegument adhd to her startling appearance.

While nan woman’s personality has been mislaid to time, researchers from Egypt are trying to study arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable from her remains — and they judge they’ve cracked nan lawsuit of her unsettling facial expression.

Sahar Saleem, a radiology professor from Cairo University, and study co-author Samia El-Merghani, of nan Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, performed a “virtual dissection” of nan mummy utilizing CT scans. The results of their research were published Friday successful nan diary Frontiers successful Medicine.

They judge that nan Screaming Woman’s look is contorted that measurement because of a uncommon shape of rigor mortis called cadaveric spasm, which tin frost a person’s assemblage successful their last action conscionable earlier death.

“It occurs aft terrible beingness aliases affectional activity, starring to contiguous postmortem rigor arsenic nan contracted muscles go rigid instantly pursuing decease and are incapable to relax,” nan study reads.

If it’s existent that nan woman’s look is simply a consequence of cadaveric spasm, this indicates that she “died screaming from agony aliases pain,” nan study says. Embalmers whitethorn person mummified nan woman’s assemblage earlier rigor mortis could dissipate, everlastingly preserving her last scream.

The researchers concede that nan cadaveric tense is not afloat understood. The arena is mostly observed successful forensic pathology and only impacts 1 group of muscles, not nan full body.

Not each scholars are convinced by this theory. The study notes that different academics person hypothesized that nan putrefaction process aliases nan compressive unit of nan wrappings utilized successful embalming could person affected her facial features. Or possibly her embalmers neglected to adjacent her rima earlier nan mummification process.

The researchers find nan second statement to beryllium improbable though, owed to clues near down successful nan woman’s funeral chamber. There’s grounds that nan woman’s embalmers utilized expensive, imported ingredients to hole her assemblage for burial, including juniper lipid and frankincense resin. Plus, she was buried pinch good jewelry — 2 scarab beetle rings made of gold, metallic and jasper — and embalmers affixed to her caput a luxurious, agelong haired-wig made from day thenar fibres.

All this grounds indicates that nan Screaming Woman was a able individual who was mummified pinch care. Instead of simply neglecting to adjacent nan woman’s mouth, interrogator propose that embalmers were incapable to unopen it owed to nan stiffening of her muscles.

There is immoderate conflicting evidence, however. The woman’s embalmers did not region her soul organs during nan mummification process — contrary to emblematic believe astatine nan time. Finding mummies pinch their organs intact is much communal for individuals that were successful nan mediate aliases little classes of ancient Egyptian society.

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But nan location of nan woman’s funeral spot adds other grounds to nan mentation that she was a high-ranking individual.

Her remains were recovered during a 1935 archaeological expedition astatine Deir el-Bahari adjacent Luxor astatine nan tract of nan ancient metropolis of Thebes. She was buried successful nan tomb of a high-ranking charismatic named Senmut, an designer who oversaw royal useful and was nan reputed person of Queen Hatshepsut, who reigned during ancient Egypt’s sparkling New Kingdom period.

The woman’s coffin was recovered successful a funeral enclosure beneath Senmut’s family tomb.

“She was apt a adjacent family personnel to beryllium buried and stock nan family’s eternal resting place,” Saleem told Reuters.

Still, galore questions astir nan enigmatic female are near unanswered. Not conscionable her identity, but her origin of decease arsenic well.

“We often cannot find nan origin of decease successful a mummy unless location is CT grounds of fatal trauma,” Saleen said.

What nan CT scans do show, however, is that nan female was astir 48 years aged erstwhile she died. She apt lived pinch mild arthritis successful her spine and had mislaid immoderate teeth.

The Screaming Woman is not nan only mummy to beryllium recovered pinch a facial look resembling a shriek, nan study notes.

Another illustration of a screaming mummy is nan remains of Prince Pentawere, nan boy of Pharaoh Ramesses III, who was put to decease for plotting to assassinate his father.

“Pentawere’s assemblage was hardly embalmed, which whitethorn bespeak that nan embalmers neglected to support his rima closed,” nan study reads.

— pinch files from Reuters