Teenage boy mummy with golden mask and 49 amulets baffles scientists - was he a foreign elite?
A reminder. The mummy was discovered in 1916 in an ancient burial site in southern Egypt. This necropolis was the final resting place for individuals who died between 332 and 30 BC. After its discovery, the mummified body was sent to a museum storage facility in Cairo, where it lay for over one hundred years until researchers decided to study it further.
3:28 PM EST, January 10, 2024
Now, a team of scientists from the University of Cairo, led by Sahar Saleem, has conducted detailed studies of the interior of the mummy using a computer scanner. This non-invasive method ensured that the fragile scrolls and remains were not harmed.
Using computed tomography, scientists examine a 2300-year-old mummy
The results gathered indicate that the deceased was merely 14-15 years old at the time of death. The level of bone fusion in his skeleton and the absence of wisdom teeth are indications of this. Prior to burial, all of his internal organs, except for the heart, were removed.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that the teenager was not circumcised. According to the scientists, this is a fairly rare finding in mummies and may suggest that the boy was not of Egyptian origin.
"Considering his characteristics, he could be a Nubian, a Greek, a Persian, or even from Asia Minor, where circumcisions were not practiced. We can infer that he probably was not Jewish," - shares Prof. Salim Ikram.
Tomographic scanning revealed a golden mask over his face, and a golden cover shielding his torso. The boy was laid to rest with white sandals on his feet. Additionally, the young man's body was adorned with 49 different protective amulets. A golden tongue was inserted into his mouth, and a scarab was positioned over his chest. Their intentionality may have been to safeguard his physical form and imbue it with vitality in the afterlife.
Regrettably, it was not possible to determine precisely the identity of the "golden boy" or the cause of his death. Even though the scientists have not uncovered the teenager's identity, they are convinced that he belonged to the elites. Factors such as his perfectly preserved teeth, the high-quality mummification process, and the numerous gifts in his sarcophagus provide evidence of this.
