‘Golden Boy’ mummy digitally unwrapped after 2,300 years, secrets revealed
Global News
The ultra-careful and refined mummification for Golden Boy, shows that he was likely from a pretty rich and powerful family.
Radiologists in Egypt have digitally “unwrapped” the remains of a mummified teenage boy that’s been stored in a Cairo museum for over a century, revealing a multitude of a plants, amulets and even a mask adorning his body.
The boy was mummified after his death 2,300 years ago. His remains were first discovered in 1916 in a cemetery in Southern Egypt, which was used between approximately 332 BCE and 30 BCE. His excavated remains were moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where they had remained in the basement, unexamined.
However, a team recently decided to take a closer look at the remains of the teen, who they have nicknamed “Golden Boy.”
Using computerized tomography (CT) scans, they were able to digitally unwrap the remains without physically disturbing them — a method that has come into favour in recent years, rather than destroying the wrappings.
What they found, as detailed in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, was a body decorated with the trappings of wealth and protection.
The remains were stored inside two nested coffins, the outer coffin being quite plain while the inner wood sarcophagus was decorated with patterns and a gilded face.
The CT scan also identified 49 amulets inside the mummy and between the wrappings, arranged in three columns. The amulets featured 21 different shapes and the scan indicated that at least 60 per cent were made of metal, most likely gold.
A gold tongue amulet was found inside the boy’s mouth, a ritual that was done to ensure the deceased could speak in the afterlife, and a heart scarab was found inside the body’s chest cavity. A two-finger amulet was found laid beside his penis, likely to cover up an embalming incision.