Archaeologists have discovered a mummy wrapped in gold – Ancient Egyptian Mysteries

ACCRA, Ghana - March 17, 2023 - PRLog -- By: Maiken Mosleth King, University of Bristol

In January 2023, a group of archaeologists excavating tombs in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, near Cairo, discovered the mummified remains of a man named Hekashepes, who lived circa 2300BC. Found inside a limestone sarcophagus in a burial shaft, the body and its wrappings are unusually well preserved for the period.

In the 5th century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus described the elaborate way Egyptians preserved their dead. The brain was removed through the nostrils with a hook, while the inner organs were removed through a cut in the abdomen.

The cut was then stitched up and the body rinsed with wine and spices. The body was left to dry in a natron solution (a substance harvested from dry lake beds and used to absorb moisture) for up to 70 days. After this period, it was carefully wrapped in linen bandages and finally laid to rest inside a coffin.

By the time Herodotus wrote this, Egyptians had been practising mummification for more than two millennia, gradually perfecting the technique through experimentation.

The pre-dynastic mummies of the fourth millennium BC were so well preserved by the dry desert sands – without human intervention – that their tattoos are still visible. The earliest attempts to replicate this outcome by artificial means were less effective so Hekashepes represents an early example of successful preservation.

According to Egyptian beliefs, gold was the colour of the gods, and gilding the bodies of the dead expressed the idea that they acquired divine qualities in the afterlife.

What does the discovery teach us?

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https://theconversation.com/archaeologists-have-discovere...