Archaeologists were surprised by the discovered mummy: They admitted that they had never seen it before

As Science Alert writes, such a “clay armor” is an unprecedented find. As the researchers pointed out in an article published in the scientific journal PLOS One, the find shows: a burial method that had not previously been documented among Egyptian archaeological finds.

It is likely that this “clay shell” was used to stabilize the mummy after it was damaged. However, clay could also be used to mimic the practices of the society’s elite, which lasted 350 years from the New Kingdom to the 21st Dynasty (c. 1294–945 BC. This embalming practice sometimes used imported resins. .

Still, why was this person covered in clay, not resin?

“Clay is a more accessible material,” said Karin Sowada, head of research in the Department of History and Archeology at Macquarie University in Australia, Live Science.

The “clay armor” is not the only strange feature of the mummy found. Mummy, which dates back to 1207. pr.me, after his death, was damaged and buried in a coffin that was not dedicated to him. She was buried in a coffin intended for a previously deceased woman, investigators found.

Like many ancient Egyptian mummies, this clay mummy was acquired by a Western collector in the 19th century. In this case, it was the Anglo-Australian politician Sir Charles Nicholson. He brought the mummy to Australia.

In 1860, a politician donated it to the University of Sydney. Today, the mummy is housed in the university’s Chau Chak Wing Museum. However, it turned out that those who sold the mummy to C. Nicholson cheated in politics: the mummy is older than the coffin in which it is buried.

“Local merchants probably put an unrelated mummified body in the sarcophagus to sell the complete ‘kit’. This is a well-known practice in the antiques market,” the researchers write in the study.

The name of the woman is written on the coffin: Meruah or Meru

For the first time, a 3,400-year-old mummy is unusual, researchers realized in 1999, when a CT scan showed something inside it was unusual. To investigate, the researchers took several samples from mummy wolves and found that they contained a mixture of sand and clay.

When a new team of researchers rescanned the mummy in 2017, they discovered previously unknown details about the “armor,” especially when the researchers chemically re-examined the clay fragments.

After the woman’s death, she was mummified and wrapped in cloth. His remains, including his left knee and lower leg, were damaged in “unknown circumstances”. This likely happened because of the grave robbers. This fact led someone who had lived once or twice from the time of the woman’s burial to put her mummy in order: rewind and use textiles and clay, ”the researchers write in the study.

The individual who restored the woman’s mummy made a complex “sandwich” of earth: a mixture of clay, sand and straw was inserted between the layers of linen wicker. The deep layer of the clay mixture contained white calcite pigment and the top was covered with ocher, a red mineral pigment, says K. Sowada.

“The clay is believed to have been layered while it was still wet and flexible. The body was wrapped with linen wigs, a layer of clay was applied and then it was wrapped again, ”says the scientist.

The mummy was subsequently damaged. This time on the right side of the neck and head. Because the damage affected all layers, including the “clay armor,” scientists believe that the damage was repaired by placing metal pins that would supposedly stabilize the damaged areas.

This “clay mummy” is not the only ancient Egyptian mummy that was repaired after death. The body of Pharaoh Seti I has been rewrapped several times, as have the remains of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, the researchers say.

However, the clay layer on said woman’s mummy is “this is truly a new discovery of Egyptian mummification.” This study helps create a broader and more nuanced avsid of how ancient Egyptians treated the dead, ”says Sowada.