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As the sheepskin was
opened a foul, repulsive smell was noticed (most mummies tend
to have a sweet odour) - a witness at the time gave their thoughts
on the agonised face of the mummy:
'It is
difficult to give an adequate description of the face thus laid
bare. I can only say that no countenance has ever more faithfully
recreated a picture of such affecting and hideous agony.
His features, horribly distorted, surely showed that the wretched
man must have been deliberately asphyxiated, most probably by
being buried alive'.
Buried
alive?
Was the
man indeed buried alive? His hands and feet had been bound together,
his internal organs had not been removed from his body as would
normally be the case in the mummification procedure (the only
sign of any attempt at mummification was the evidence of some
natron around the skin). The body had survived due to the lack
of air within its sheepskin cocoon and the dry conditions within
the tomb itself. (The mummy is thought to have possibly dated to the 18th Dynasty)
As noted
above the coffin does not have any identifying marks about the
mummy - had this person been a criminal ? (most criminals would
have been executed), why such an elaborate death? (Even the sealing
inside the sheepskin has meaning - the ancient Egyptians considered
it ritually unclean). Whatever his crime, his final resting place
would indicate that in life he was influential and possibly of
royal birth ?
(The
pained expression has been explained by some as not as someone
making their last gasps for air, but rather could be the position
that the body would take after death).
Your
thoughts?
Who was
this man? How did he die?
If you
have any thoughts, send them to me, ib205@cus.cam.ac.uk, I shall
post them here and let others read what you think!
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