Where are the mummies? Mummies: dark secrets of the Egyptian pharaohs (6 photos). Mummy with painted face, Egypt
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Egyptian mummies
A mummy is a body preserved by embalming. A mummy is a body (not only of a person, but also of any other living creature) that has been subjected to special chemical treatment, as a result of which the process of tissue decomposition stops or slows down. The word “mummy” first appears in European languages (Byzantine, Greek and Latin) around the year 1,000. It comes from the Persian word “mum” (“wax”). The word “mumia” was used by Arab and Jewish medieval healers to designate a special medicine. The ancient Egyptians themselves called mummies “sahu”.
Ancient Egypt is probably the most famous civilization of the ancient world that made mummies from the dead. In the common consciousness, the mummies of the pharaohs are most associated with Ancient Egypt, which attract interest with their mystery and belonging to the cult of death.
The ancient Egyptians believed that after death a person goes to the afterlife. Therefore, the bodies of the richest and most influential residents of the country were necessarily mummified after death. This was done with pharaohs, high priests, and aristocrats. The process of processing a corpse was full of various subtleties that were known only in Ancient Egypt.
Superstitious residents of the African country believed that the mummies of the pharaohs helped their owners to go unhindered to the afterlife. There was a strong belief in the popular consciousness that rulers were of divine origin, which made their connection with supernatural phenomena even closer. In addition, the mummies of the pharaohs were buried in special tombs - pyramids. This style of architecture was a uniquely Egyptian invention. Nothing like this was built then either in the Mediterranean or in Mesopotamia. The most famous are
Mummification
The Egyptians believed that death was a transition to another world where the dead would need their bodies. To prevent the body from decomposing, it was subjected to special treatment - embalming. The result was a mummy that was preserved for thousands of years. Embalming was very expensive, therefore, the highest quality services were available only to the rich. Mummies were also made from the bodies of sacred animals - monkeys, cats and crocodiles. The mummy was placed in several wooden coffins, nested one inside the other, and placed in a stone sarcophagus.
Mummification was considered the destiny of the elite, but, in fact, it could be bought if a person wanted to ensure a quiet stay in the afterlife, and also if he had enough money for this. But there were also procedures available only to pharaohs and members of their family. For example, only their organs were placed in special vessels (canopic jars).
The masters who engaged in mummification were privileged members of society. They knew the science of embalming, inaccessible to others. Over the centuries of the existence of Egyptian civilization, these secrets never became known to other peoples.
The embalmer offered the relatives of the deceased several methods of mummification, and those, based on 
their financial condition, choose the most acceptable one. After all the conditions were discussed, the craftsmen got to work. The mummification process was carried out not by one “master”, but by a whole team.
The ancient Egyptians considered the heart to be the most important part of the human body. And the brain seemed to them an absolutely useless organ. “First, they remove the brain through the nostrils with an iron hook. This method removes only part of the brain, the rest by injecting dissolving drugs. Then, with a sharp Ethiopian stone, an incision is made just below the abdomen and the entire abdominal cavity is cleared of the entrails. Having cleaned the abdominal cavity and washed it with palm wine, the masters then clean it again with ground incense. Finally, they fill the womb with clean, crushed myrrh, cassia and other incense (except incense) and sew it up again. After this, the body is placed in soda lye for 70 days. However, the body cannot be left in the lye for more than 70 days. After this 70-day period, they wash the body, wrap it in a bandage made of fine linen cut into ribbons and smear it with gum (it is used instead of glue)” (Herodotus, 2.86).
This is the first and best method of embalming as described by Herodotus. The second, cheaper one, is as follows: “Using a washing tube, cedar oil is injected into the abdominal cavity of the deceased, without, however, cutting the groin or removing the entrails. They inject oil through the anus and then, plugging it so that the oil does not flow out, they put the body in soda lye for a certain number of days. On the last day, the oil previously poured into it is released from the intestines. The oil is so strong that it decomposes the stomach and entrails, which come out along with the oil. Soda lye decomposes the meat, so that only skin and bones remain from the deceased” (Herodotus, 2.87).
The third method, intended for the poor, is even simpler: “Radish juice is poured into the abdominal cavity and then the body is placed in soda lye for 70 days. After this, the body is returned to its relatives” (Herodotus, 2.88).
Organs removed from the corpses of pharaohs and members of their families were not thrown away or destroyed. They were also preserved. After removal, the organs were washed and then immersed in special vessels with balm - canopic jars. In total, each mummy was given four canopic jars. The canopic lids, as a rule, were decorated with the heads of four gods - the sons of Horus: Hapi, who has the head of a baboon; Duamutef, with the head of a jackal; Quebehsenuf, who has the head of a falcon, and Imset, who has a human head. Certain organs were placed in certain canopic jars: Imset stored the liver, Duamutef the stomach, Kebeksenuf the intestines, and Hapi contained the lungs.
The organs in the vessels were stored next to the mummy's sarcophagus. The secrets of the pharaohs were buried with their bodies. All personal belongings were placed in the tomb, which, according to the religious conviction of the ancient Egyptians, would also serve their owners regularly in the other world. The same thing happened with the organs that were supposed to return to the pharaohs when they found themselves on the other side of existence.
The mummies of the pharaohs of Egypt were also treated by cosmetologists and hairdressers. At the last stage, the body was covered with a special oil made from wax, resin and other natural ingredients. During mummification, the deceased retains his lifetime facial features. Many Egyptians kept their dead relatives at home, and, since they were well preserved, admired them.
Members of the same family, as a rule, had their own tomb, which became the family crypt. The ancient capital of Egypt was the city of Thebes. It is in its place that the famous Valley of the Kings is located. This is a vast necropolis in which many mummies of the pharaohs were kept. The valley was discovered almost by accident by the scientist brothers Rasul during their expedition in 1871. Since then, the work of archaeologists here has not stopped for a single day.
Mumiyo is mine
The value of a mummy lies in the jewels that surround it and the historical significance, from understanding the embalming process to genetic research. But, some time ago, mummies represented another rather strange interest...
Mumiyo is an organo-mineral product of alternative medicine of natural origin. Mumiyo resembles that thick black composition that the Egyptians used to embalm the bodies of the dead from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. Since the demand for this remedy was very high, in later times the hardened mass began to be cleaned from skulls and remains of bones, scraped out of body cavities and processed. In case of acute deficiency, there was no need to be scrupulous: the mysterious embalming agent was smeared along with dried muscle fibers and skeletal remains. Mumiyo obtained in this way could be supplied in large quantities.
Mumiyo was the name of an earthen, or rather mineral, resin known under the Greek name “asphalt”. It was highly valued as a remedy for various types of bodily ailments. But rare raw materials were clearly not enough. This craft of mumiyo began the monstrous robbery of Egyptian tombs. At first it was about a universal remedy, then pure devilry began. The extract extracted from mummies was not cheap. Enterprising merchants of Alexandria made sure that mumiyo became an important export item to Europe. They hired whole crowds of Egyptian peasants to excavate necropolises. Corporations of merchants exported ground human bones to all corners of the world - and made a good profit.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, mumiyo became a common remedy sold in pharmacies and medicinal herbal shops. When raw materials again became scarce, they began to use the corpses of executed criminals, the bodies of those who died in almshouses or dead Christians, drying them in the sun. This is how “real mummies” were made! In addition, gangs of robbers stole freshly buried bodies from graves, dismembered them and boiled them in cauldrons until the muscles were separated from the bones; an oily liquid dripped from the cauldron and, poured into bottles, was sold for huge sums of money to the Frankish merchants. According to documents, in 1420, the city judge of Cairo ordered the flogging of several grave desecrators until they admitted that they had dismembered human corpses and, in a kind of “pharmaceutical lard,” processed them into a marketable medicine. And in 1564, the French doctor Guy de la Fontaine from Navarre, in the warehouse of one of the merchants in Alexandria, discovered piles of bodies of slaves that were intended for processing into the notorious drug.
Egyptian authorities tried to put an end to the trade in corpses by passing a law. However, no regulations have been able to curb the export of mumiyo. The profits were so high and tempting that transports with large loads of mumiyo (mummies) continued to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach Europe.
Over the centuries, dozens of recipes have been cited for making medicines using, for example, a quarter ounce of powder from a mummy or a piece of its burial cloth. Magical recommendations were also given: the mummy’s hand, lying in a box made of Lebanese cedar, protects the house and property from misfortune, and the nail from the mummy’s middle finger, worn around the neck in a silk bag, ensures the friendly attitude of others.
Among the goods brought from Egypt to Europe, mummies were considered the most expensive. Ivory, precious stones, gold and Chinese silk were less valuable. True, when more ancient remains began to be found in Egypt, prices for them decreased.
Mummies were very difficult to transport. The crew often began to loudly protest, threatening to abandon the ship - the sailors were afraid of the death of the galley and other misfortunes. Sometimes, however, prayers and sprinkling mummies with holy water helped. According to the stories of many sailors, ghosts in ancient Egyptian robes appeared on board sailing ships trying to take the remains of ancient inhabitants out of Egypt, and angry voices were heard in the roar of the storm, shouting curses in an incomprehensible language.
The captain of the French galley La Belle Laurence, which in 1729, by order of a certain Marseilles collector, transported two sarcophagi with mummies, upon arrival swore that during the entire two-week journey in front of the ship, misty figures glided along the waves - an elderly man and a young woman in flowing clothes.
Charlatans and pharmacists dissolved the remains of mummies in wine vinegar and vegetable oils and made ointments that supposedly helped with pneumonia and pleurisy. The French doctor Savary believed so much in the healing power of this drug that he considered it proven that only completely black and pleasantly smelling mummies have a positive therapeutic effect. Kings, princes and ordinary townspeople continued to search for the drug, which was rumored to have fabulous properties. People no longer saw the difference between the natural medicine of antiquity and the disgusting mixture that was sold on the market. Mumiyo became synonymous with mummies, and mummies themselves remained the basis for the manufacture of medicines until the 19th century.
The dead, both ordinary and noble, were dragged out of the tombs, torn to pieces while still in the burial chambers; They were first turned into dust and ashes, and then, in sealed porcelain vessels, they were sent to the international market. Thus, the remains of those who lived during the era of the pharaohs were exported from Egypt in unlimited quantities. They became unwitting victims of scientific research and superstitions associated with magic. Perhaps such superstitions have not been eliminated to this day. For example, in some American pharmacies, you can still buy several ounces of a mixture of “real” mumiyo.
Cheops mummy
One of the most famous is the mummy of Pharaoh Cheops. His figure was famous 
ancient historians, including Herodotus. This pharaoh was truly great, even in comparison with his predecessors and successors, because the names of many pharaohs were not preserved at all in any historical source.
Cheops was a despot who severely punished his subjects for any mistake. He was merciless towards his enemies. This character was familiar to the rulers of Ancient Egypt, whose power, as contemporaries believed, came from the gods, which gave the pharaohs carte blanche for any whims. At the same time, the people did not try to resist. Also, Cheops became known for fighting in the Sinai Peninsula against the Bedouins.
But the greatest achievement of this pharaoh is the pyramid that was built for his own mummy. The rulers of Egypt prepared for their death in advance. Already during the life of the pharaoh, the construction of his pyramid began, where he was supposed to find eternal peace. However, the Cheops pyramid amazed all contemporaries and distant descendants with its size. The lost mummy of an Egyptian pharaoh was kept inside a huge labyrinth of corridors, inside a structure 137 meters high. Cheops himself chose the location of his tomb. It became a plateau on the territory of the modern city of Giza. In his era, this was the northern edge of the cemetery of ancient Memphis, the capital of Egypt.
Together with the pyramid, a monumental sculpture of the Great Sphinx was created, which is known throughout the world no worse than the pyramid itself. Cheops hoped that over time a whole complex of ritual structures dedicated to his dynasty would appear on this site.
Mummy of Ramses II
Another great pharaoh of Egypt was Ramses II. He ruled almost his entire long life (1279 - 1213 
BC). His name went down in history thanks to a series of military campaigns against his neighbors. The most famous conflict is with the Hittites. The warlike pharaoh also went down in history as a great peacemaker. When he was tired of skirmishes on the border with the Hittites, he concluded the first peace treaty known in the history of mankind: by an alliance with another power, he established peace for 50 years. Ramses built a lot during his lifetime. He founded several cities, most of which were named after him.
Ramses, despite his many royal duties, also found time for his wives. And there were at least six main ones and a dozen just spouses and concubines, who brought him about a hundred children. As a teenager, Ramses received a whole harem as a gift from his father. The pharaoh himself recalled this with gratitude: “He made sure that my harem was as beautiful as his own.” And my father’s choice turned out to be good. Obviously, of these first consorts, one turned out to be special - for 25 years Nefertari remained the embodiment of charm, friendliness and love and, as the pharaoh himself swore, his most trusted confidante. And it was she who gave birth to the first son of Amonherkhopeshef, whose hot blood appeared at the age of five, during a military campaign.
But Nefertari had to share her husband with her rivals, to whom the pharaoh often bestowed his favor while fulfilling his diplomatic duty. The loving Ramses shared his bed with his closest relatives. At least one of his sisters and two daughters were legally married to him. And the daughter Meri-Tamun, apparently, after the death of her mother Nefertari, took her place as the Great Queen.
Ramses II was probably over 90 when he died in the 67th year of his reign. X-rays of the mummy convincingly show that his body was affected by arthritis and that the elderly pharaoh lived for a long time in severe insanity. But he didn't want to die. Ramses outlived twelve heirs. The thirteenth son, Merenptah, was already 60 years old at the time of his father’s death - the eldest, but still a living son. As the new pharaoh, Merenptah led a procession that headed to the tomb that had long been prepared for his father in the Valley of the Kings...
Unlike the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, who found rest in tombs near the pyramids, the rulers of the New Kingdom built their necropolis on the slope of Mount Kurn - carved into the rocks, with well-hidden entrances and false passages inside. In the darkness, and with an imperceptible stone threshold, thousand-year-old tombs with luxurious ornaments, statues, sarcophagi and treasures awaited their explorer. Thus, the family mausoleum of Pharaoh Ramses II was discovered in the Valley of the Kings. In a huge tomb, the ancient Egyptians apparently buried 52 sons of Ramses, heirs to the throne, many of whom were survived by their own father. Here, apparently, all the offspring of the pharaoh, who during their lifetime suffered from their powerful, imperious and tenacious father and all the time quarreled with each other over his inheritance, were finally united in death.
“This was the tenth, last and most terrible plague of Egypt, which the God of the people sent - all the firstborn in Egypt must die, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave girl who is at the millstones.”
First, the mummy of Pharaoh Ramses was placed in the crypt of his own father. It is not known exactly when it was plundered, but eventually the priests found a new place for the body. It was a carefully hidden cache that belonged to Pharaoh Herihor. Mummies from other tombs robbed by robbers were also placed there. These were the bodies of Thutmose III and Ramses III.
In 1881, the intact mummy of Ramses II fell into the hands of scientists. When they unwrapped the body, which had remained under a tight shroud for three thousand years, some muscle in it straightened - and in front of the scientists, the pharaoh raised his hand. This was the last royal gesture of the great Ramses. In 1975, the remains were subjected to a unique modern conservation procedure that preserved a surviving artifact of the past. The greatest of the pharaohs is now a museum exhibit. His withered body is on display in a glass case at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The Egyptian Museum of Cairo is a real accumulation of antiquities and mumouys. There are always a lot of people there. On one of the usual hot days, when the stuffiness enveloped the halls of the museum, after sunset the electric light in the building was turned on. And then the irreparable happened. A drawn-out sound was heard from the sarcophagus where the mummy of Pharaoh Ramses II was kept. The hinges of the tomb creaked. And then those present saw a picture that made everyone tremble. The mouth of the king's mummy was twisted with an inaudible scream. The body trembled, the embalming bandages burst, and the arms crossed on the chest straightened, hitting the glass lid of the sarcophagus with force. The fragments scattered in different directions. People rushed up the stairs in panic, and some of the guests jumped out the window.
In the morning press all the circumstances of this shocking event were discussed with gusto. However, the Ministry of Antiquities in its comments indicated that, in fact, the explanation for such strange “behavior of the mummy” is quite simple. The crowd of people in the hall created unbearable stuffiness and humidity. And the mummy should be kept in the dry air of a cool tomb.
Whatever the climatic conditions, the mummy froze, turning his head in a northern direction - towards the Valley of the Kings. The broken glass was soon replaced. The hands were swaddled, as before, in a cruciform position. However, the face of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt remained turned to the north.
Tutankhamun's mummy
But the mummy of Tutankhamun is most famous. This pharaoh ruled at a young age from 1332 to 1323 BC. 
ad. He died at the age of 18 - 20 years. During his lifetime, he did not stand out in any way among his predecessors and successors. His name became known due to the fact that his tomb was untouched by ancient looters.
Who was the last person the pharaoh's almond-shaped eyes saw before closing forever? Scientists who have studied Tutankhamun's mummy are inclined to believe that he died violently. Scientists took about 50 x-rays of the head of the pharaoh's mummy, which has been perfectly preserved to this day. The photographs clearly show that the bones of the skull are unusually thin in the ear area. This gave reason to believe that it was in this place that one or even several blows were struck. Most likely, scientists suggest, Tutankhamun actually received a blow to the temple with some kind of blunt object, say, a wooden gong hammer. But he only stunned him. Then came the second blow, fatal for the pharaoh, who before this, it seems, had been prudently drugged. However, even then the mortally wounded Tutankhamun tried to rise. He was given strength by the reflex developed by the ancient Egyptians, associated with the belief that the victim must see his killer before death, so that her ghost, having parted with her bodily shell, would relentlessly pursue the tormentor. But who could dare to kill the pharaoh?
Tutankhamun's wife, 16-year-old Akhnesepaaton, apparently, after all, sincerely loved her husband. One of the evidence of this is the bouquet of modest wildflowers she placed in the sarcophagus of the deceased, which, having lain there for over three thousand years (!!!), appeared intact before the admiring eyes of the scientists who discovered this only unplundered tomb. And yet, love is love, and politics is politics. Ankhesenamun was the daughter of the famous reformer pharaoh Akhenaten and his equally famous beautiful wife Nefertiti. The period of Tutankhamun's reign was the time when Egypt emerged from the civil war caused by the struggle between two religious movements. The murder of Tutankhamun was, apparently, the last desperate attempt by Akhenaten’s supporters to assert themselves and try to regain power. But this is only one of the possible versions of the death of the young pharaoh.
However, the mummy of the Egyptian pharaoh itself refutes violent death. The tomb in which she was kept was full of bottles of medicine for malaria. Modern DNA analysis has not ruled out the possibility that the young man suffered from a serious illness, due to which he died prematurely.
We got closer to the truth after studying the gene background of his family. “The artifacts showed that the kings of the 18th dynasty had an androgynous appearance and an unknown form of gynecomastia,” the scientific council announced. This conclusion was made after examining the mummy of Tutankhamun’s grandfather, his father and two stillborn children discovered in his tomb. As it turned out, two children were born from the marriage of the boy pharaoh to his half-sister Ankhesenamun.
Tutankhamun, as it turned out, suffered from a bunch of serious illnesses. He had brittle bones and wolfish 
mouth The boy had a clubfoot and was dragging his left leg - his left foot was twisted. Congenital dislocation. A more thorough scan showed that the boy was far from handsome. But it’s hard to call him a freak either. Although Tutankhamun's teeth were crooked. In addition, the pharaoh also had genetic ailments: which turned him almost into a woman - with thick thighs and the semblance of mammary glands.
Scientists from London also suggest that Tutankhamun had epilepsy. “It is assumed that the heir to the dynasty suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy, which is transmitted through the male line. People with this disease show activity and religious zeal when exposed to sunlight."
Perhaps Tutankhamun was the weakest and most infirm of the pharaohs. The clue to his state of health lay in his tomb, where about 130 walking sticks were found. It was the tomb of Tutankhamun that allowed modern science to recreate the environment in which the mummies of the pharaohs of Egypt were buried.
Curses of the Egyptian Pharaohs
The Egyptians tried to make the graves inaccessible to living people - they blocked the entrances to underground tombs with tons of rubble and stones, created false passages, and carefully disguised the real ones, setting up deadly traps. The inscriptions on the tombs threatened the curious with terrible death and deprivation of the afterlife - “their bodies will not wait for repose, punishment will fall on their descendants.” And sometimes, if the criminals knew how to read, it helped.
The mystery of the “curse of the Egyptian pharaohs,” which has haunted the minds of historians, archaeologists, doctors and simply curious people around the world for decades, still remains unsolved. Where did all this come from?
In the 60s of the 19th century, a wealthy Englishman, Douglas Murray, who was collecting a collection of unique items, bought a lid taken by “tomb robbers” from the sarcophagus of an Egyptian mummy. A couple of days after the acquisition, during a hunt, a gun exploded in Murray’s hands, and the collector lost his hand. A little later, the lid of the sarcophagus was lent by him to a private exhibition in another city and sent by ship. During those few days while she was in the hold, the unfortunate ship burned twice.
The biggest misfortune befell Murray’s acquaintance, who helped him acquire part of the sarcophagus. She received news of the death of her husband, son and two sisters during a flood in . The lady immediately went to the British colony for the funeral of her relatives, but the ship hit a reef and sank near the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1860, during excavations of the pyramid, five local residents found a tomb with the mummy of the great priestess of the temple of Pharaoh Amenemhat II Amon-Ra from the city of Great Thebes. The sarcophagus with the mummy was bought from them by four English archaeologists. The Arabs started a quarrel among themselves over the money they received, which ended in a bloody fight. They all died from the stab wounds they received. These were the first five victims of the Egyptian priestess.
An Egyptologist transporting the mummy to Cairo injured his finger on the sarcophagus, resulting in blood poisoning. Surgeons had to urgently amputate his arm to save his life (think about it, because of the scratch!). The scientist's assistant, who was involved in sending the mummy to London, soon shot himself. The third member of the archaeological expedition died of fever. The fourth was crushed in the street by a dray driver's cart...
The next owner, a London antique dealer, lost his young wife on the third day after acquiring the mummy: she died after falling from a horse. A journalist who was preparing an article about the priestess of Amun-Ra for a ladies' magazine, during a month of work on the report, a number of misfortunes occurred: her mother died, her fiancé broke off their engagement, and two young and healthy spaniels unexpectedly died. The girl fell into severe depression and refused to work on the article. Friends helped her find a Scottish witch who performed special cleansing rituals to get rid of evil spells.
The photographer, who was commissioned by the Egyptian authorities to take photographs of the priestess, went crazy. His imagination painted him terrible pictures - the priestess came to life and thirsted for the blood of the people who awakened her. To the horror of witnesses, a mask appeared on the photo negatives that did not in any way resemble the face of the Theban priestess painted on the lid of the sarcophagus. The second photographer died eight days after filming from sunstroke (!).
Scientists refused further research and in 1889 the fatal exhibit was transferred to the British Museum. During its transportation, one of the loaders broke his leg, and the second fell ill with some mysterious disease and after a couple of days gave his soul to God.
The object was cataloged as number 22542 and placed in the first Egyptian Hall. Soon rumors spread that the curator of the Egyptian collection of the museum, Sir Ernest Badge, who was keenly interested in magic, during one of the seances received a secret order to get rid of the mummy and preserve only the empty sarcophagus. They said that for a very long time they could not find a buyer for the remains of the priestess. It was not until 1912 that an eccentric American millionaire acquired the mummy and sent it to the New World aboard the steamer Hampshire. On the way to New York, the ship sank. There are other versions of the disappearance of the mummy. In any case, since then the sarcophagus has been empty.
In 1921, at night, in the presence of several witnesses, a ritual of exorcism was performed in the museum. But it is unknown whether he helped - almost every day those who stare too long at the image of the calm, thoughtful face of the deceased priestess faint at the glass display case with the sarcophagus. And museum workers, especially night watchmen, claim that from time to time in the corridors adjacent to the hall you can see the ghost of a woman wrapped in linen ribbons, with her hands tightly pressed to her body, easily gliding through the air...
In 1890, Professor Soren Resden from Göttingen excavated a burial place in the Valley of the Kings and immediately 
came across an ominous warning: “Whoever desecrates the tomb of the temple scribe Shinar will be swallowed up forever by the sand before the moon changes its face twice.” Resden, however, continued his work, and having completed the excavations, he soon sailed from Egypt. He was found dead in the cabin - the ship's doctor stated strangulation without the use of violence. To the amazement of those present, a handful of sand spilled out of the deceased’s fist...
On April 4, 1912, one of the most grandiose ships in history, the Titanic, set sail from the shores of Southampton. He was going to New York. There were two thousand passengers on board the ship. It was led by one of the best captains, Sea Wolf Smith, who has an excellent reputation and has not made a single mistake in his entire career. But on this day, something unimaginable happened to him: he gave orders without being completely aware of their consequences. He ordered to increase the speed and changed the direction of the ship.
About 40 thousand kg of supplies were placed in the holds of the Titanic: vegetables, fruits, 7 thousand bags of forage, 35 thousand eggs... and one mummy of Ancient Egypt. She was transported from London to New York by Lord Canterville. The remains belonged to the famous Egyptian oracle Amenophis IV. Under the head of the mummy was a figurine of Osiris, on which were inscribed the words: “Rise from the dust and all who stand in your way will perish.” After some organizational measures, it was decided to place it near the captain’s hold. Victims of the mummy curse have been known to suffer from mental confusion and delirium. Maybe it was this mummy of Ancient Egypt that became a trap for Captain Smith? After all, we all know very well what ultimately happened to the Titanic and how many people died...
In December 1993, the tomb of Pharaoh Peteti and his wife was opened in Giza. The age of the tomb was about 4,600 years. Archaeologists were attracted by the inscription: “The great goddess Hathor will twice punish anyone who dares to desecrate this grave.” These words turned out to be not an empty threat. The head of the excavations, Zaki Hawass, suddenly suffered a heart attack, which almost led to death. An earthquake destroyed the house of his fellow archaeologist, who was at an excavation site. Ultimately, the train carrying the recovered treasures derailed and most of the artifacts were completely destroyed.
But the most famous story about the curse of the mummies is associated with the misfortunes that befell everyone who was present at the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb. As is known, the leaders of the expedition, the English Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter, their secretaries, servants, as well as members of their families and even dogs died under mysterious circumstances within several years after the opening of the tomb.
Over the course of several years, one by one, all the members of the expedition who carried out excavations and extracted treasures from the tomb, and those who were involved in the study of the mummy of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, died. Only 22 people. For all of them, death was equally unpredictable and fleeting. Death did not spare doctors, linguists, world-famous historians: La Flor, Callender, Winlock, Estori...
Lord Carnarvon, who financed the excavations, died on April 5, 1923, four months after visiting the tomb at Cairo's Continental Hotel from pneumonia, and almost immediately hoaxes arose around his death.
On May 16, 1923, 59-year-old American financier George Gould, who also visited the tomb, died of transient pneumonia due to a fever caught in Egypt.
On July 10, 1923, a member of the Egyptian royal family, Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey, who was present at the opening of the tomb, was shot and killed by his wife.
On September 26, 1923, after dental surgery, Carnarvon's half-brother, traveler and diplomat Colonel Aubrey Gerber, died of blood poisoning.
X-ray scanning of the mummy removed from the golden sarcophagus of Tutankhamun was entrusted to Archibald Juglas 
Reed. His work was carried out flawlessly and was highly praised by experts. But as soon as he arrived home, he felt a sharp attack of nausea, weakness, and after two hours of delirium he died.
On November 19, 1924, Governor General Sir Lee Stack was shot dead by a terrorist in Cairo.
On April 6, 1928, archaeologist Arthur Mace died at the age of 54. His health had gradually deteriorated since the discovery of the tomb and was the subject of media attention and speculation; it was officially stated that the explorer died from arsenic poisoning.
On May 26, 1929, Carnarvon's younger half-brother Marvin Herbert died of "pneumonia secondary to malaria."
On November 15, 1929, Carter's secretary, Captain Richard Bartel, died unexpectedly. A young, healthy man's heart failed. The story of the pharaoh's curse spread throughout Europe.
On 20 February 1930, Bartel's father Sir Richard, Baron Westbury, jumped from a seventh-floor window; According to some newspaper reports, a hearse carrying the baron's body crushed a boy to death on the street.
Geoffrey Dean, who holds the position of chief physician at the Port Elizabeth Hospital in, found a virus - a fungus that caused symptoms in patients: dizziness, weakness, loss of reason. Any animal, including bats, could become spreaders of pathogenic microorganisms. They were the permanent inhabitants of the chambers of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. This disease is transmitted by the respiratory tract, therefore, Lord Carnarvon’s nurse soon suffered the same fate.
In 1962, after the announcement of the results of Dr. Dean's research on pathogenic bacteria, physician Ezzeddine Taha from Cairo University convened a special meeting. For a long time, Dr. Taha monitored the health of archaeologists and staff members of the Egyptian Museum who worked with the mummy. In their lungs he discovered the presence of microscopic fungi Aspergillus niger, which remained closed for a long time in pyramids and tombs. The scientist concluded that one can now quite safely go in search of new treasures, since there is a vaccine against these pathogenic bacteria. Perhaps science would have known the true reasons for the death of Lord Carnarvon and the team members if he himself had not suffered the same fate: the curse killed Taha.
A deserted road in the middle of the sand between Cairo and Suez. A car passing by here is a rarity. No road markings, signs, sharp turns or descents. Dr. Taha and his two colleagues traveled along this road to Suez. An accident occurred on the road; they crashed into a limousine: all three died on the spot, the passengers and the driver of the other car were not injured. During the autopsy, an embolism was discovered in the doctor’s respiratory tract - a rupture of the vessels of the respiratory tract...
Even if we take into account the fact that fungi caused the death of Lord Carnarvon and his entourage, the circumstances of the death of other people associated with the discovery of the pharaoh's tomb remained a mystery. Scientists have also put forward a version that in Ancient Egypt there was a known recipe for preparing poison using these same microorganisms. He served as the best protector for the treasures of the tombs and the peace of the pharaohs.
But what happened to the fate of Govar Carter, who spent many years, day after day, in a stuffy crypt in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor? He was tormented by constant migraines and suffered from hallucinations. However, he lived for quite a long time after the opening of the tomb. It can be assumed that due to long contact with these bacteria, his body has developed immunity.
Along with poisonous mixtures, there were other protective agents that were used by priests in Ancient Egypt to protect burials with mummies, including in pyramids. According to the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the essence of the human “I” was embodied in three substances: “Hat” is its physical shell, “Ba”, which personified the spiritual force, that is, the soul, and “Ka”, which represented the unity of Hat and Ba. The inner essence of each person, his Ka, is individual and unique. This principle provides a protective shell for the energy field and ensures the connection of the two principles.
Ka controls only the living body. Once a person goes to the Kingdom of the Dead of Osiris, Ka loses control and peace. In order to soften the fate of Ka, prayers were read and sacrifice rituals were performed. The appearance of the deceased was depicted on sarcophagi and tombs. They helped Ka find a new shell and incarnate in him. For this reason, Ka was tied to the burial site. The angry spirit, left without its abode, body, did not spare anyone. The ancient Egyptians firmly believed in his existence and feared his wrath. There were also those who skillfully controlled this energy, mainly priests.
This explains that it was not ordinary citizens who were engaged in robberies; they would not have dared to disturb the peace of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. The tombs were plundered by those who possessed knowledge and had the appropriate rank during the performance of religious services. They had information about the exact location of the tomb and the treasures.
Scientists have determined that Tutankhamun's tomb has already been opened. This is evidenced, as Carter himself claimed, by the royal seals. The burial site was probably discovered by Oremheb, who was the chief military commander under Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Ancient Egypt. After the death of the young king, he took his throne, continuing the dynastic line. Whether Oremheb was to blame for his death has not been proven by science. But it is known that he made every effort to erase the name of Tut from the walls of all temples and shrines. By the way, he had unlimited power over the priests. However, for an unknown reason, a few years after the opening of the tomb, the pharaoh's mummy was returned to the place where it had lain in complete solitude and darkness for several centuries.
It is known that before the closing of the tomb of the pharaohs, a ritual of bloody sacrifice was performed near it. Many slaves participating in the construction of the tomb died. They knew the entrances and exits, the location of the corridors and cells. But this was not the only reason. Their Ka essence, which did not find peace in the crypt, was bound to inevitably destroy in anger anyone who entered the tomb. But modern science is unlikely to be able to explain this ancient Egyptian religious custom...
The tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was not the only site of excavations in the Valley of the Kings. Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of walled crypts with mummies here. Did they all bear the same mark of the curse?
Archaeologist Belzoni spent several years conducting research in Luxor. Here's what he said about his work: “The Valley of the Kings, or, as it is even more accurately called the “Valley of the Dead,” is one of the most mysterious, but at the same time, the darkest and most damned places on earth. We have carried out a number of works in this area, and what can I tell you. Working conditions are terrible. The stuffiness of the narrow rooms of the tombs makes it difficult to breathe. Many workers faint. And all this in heat of +45 - +60°C. Fine sand—limestone—is constantly falling from the ceiling. The lungs are saturated with this mixture. The nose and throat are not breathing. Also, don't forget, we are surrounded by a lot of mummies that are giving off fumes. Sunlight practically does not penetrate these places. We light candles or torches, while seeing a terrible spectacle of mummies around us. One day I accidentally sat on someone's mummified remains instead of a wooden chair. It was an unpleasant feeling."
Perhaps the ancient Egyptians used radioactive radiation to protect the chambers of the pharaohs. The famous Egyptologist Goneim noted: “It has long been scientifically proven that when carrying out mummification, the ancient Egyptians used resins extracted from the Red Sea coast. They contained radioactive particles. Bandages of mummies found in tombs were impregnated with this substance. Obviously, the dust in the crypts was a source of radiation. This suggests that the ancient Egyptians used this substance during religious rites. Most likely, they personified him with the incarnation of Ra - the cult of the Sun."
But, quite recently, a group of physicists from the National Center for Nuclear Research ARE refuted this theory. According to experts, Egyptian mummies found at different times in ancient burials do not contain any radioactive elements and are absolutely safe for human health.
Using the most modern equipment, specialists spent almost a year studying more than 500 mummies located in various museums in Egypt. Not only the remains of such legendary figures as pharaohs Ramses II and Amenhotep, exhibited in the Cairo National Museum, were subjected to examination, but also the mummies of hundreds of unknown viziers and associates, which were kept at the medical faculty of Qasr al-Aini University. The experiments carried out allowed us to state with confidence: there are no sources of harmful radiation in mummies.
Even in the days of silent cinema, films appeared in which mummies, revived or revived through the efforts of sorcerers, pursued people, strangled them, and drove them to suicide. Fiction. Fairy tales. And yet... Modern bioenergy therapists who have studied Egyptian antiquities unanimously claim that mummies have a very negative energy field, therefore, they need to be studied with extreme caution. It seems that the mysteries of ancient Egyptian civilization will never be completely solved.
Johannes Krause, a paleogeneticist from the University of Tübingen, reported that the genome of three of the 151 mummies that German researchers worked with was completely restored. Their DNA was well preserved despite the hot Egyptian climate, high humidity in the burial sites and the chemicals used for embalming.
Restoring the genome promises, albeit in the distant future, the restoration of its owner as well. By cloning. Which would suit the ancient Egyptians, who hoped to somehow and someday rise from the dead. For this reason they became mummies. As if they foresaw that the remains of flesh and bones would be useful...
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Each of us has heard about mummies at some point, at least in school history lessons of ancient Egypt; there are many more interesting stories about them than you can imagine.
The legendary wife of Argentine President Juan Peron died on July 26, 1952, when she was only 33 years old due to cancer. After her death, her remains were preserved so that they could be displayed during the funeral procession.
Three years later, anti-Peronist militants stole her mummified body, which was subsequently unknown for 15 years. Later, her body, now in very poor condition, was returned to her ex-husband, who paraded her in his own home, while his second wife allegedly combed her hair and even lay down next to her in a coffin to absorb her greatness. Her body was later interred and she now rests in her family's crypt.
La Doncella
This impeccably preserved mummy of a 15-year-old Inca girl was likely sacrificed more than 500 years ago. She was discovered in 1999 along with two other children on the Llullaillaco volcano at an altitude of 6,700 meters above sea level in Argentina. While the girl appears to be the victim of a tragedy, there is evidence that she suffered from a fatal disease similar to tuberculosis, or a chronic lung infection. Her family did everything possible to ensure that the girl died less painfully; grain liquor was found in her body, and coca leaves were found in her mouth.
wet mummy
In 2011, Chinese construction workers were digging the foundation for a new road and discovered in the ground the perfectly preserved mummy of a woman who lived about 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. It got its name due to the fact that it was in damp soil for a long time, and despite the high humidity it was very well preserved. Her skin was practically undamaged; hair and even eyebrows were preserved on her body.
She was also found wearing precious accessories, such as a jade ring and a silver hair clip that was still holding her hair together. Mummification was rarely practiced in China, which makes this discovery more unique. Archaeologists believe that the mummification of the “wet mummy” was part of a natural process associated with a lack of oxygen in the moisture surrounding the woman’s body, for this reason there were no bacteria in the water that could contribute to the destruction of her body.
The Man from Grauballe
In 1952, several mummified bodies were discovered in a peat bog in Denmark, but the best preserved was a guy called the Man from Grauballe. He was approximately 30 years old when he died more than 2,000 years ago, most likely due to a sacrificial ritual, judging by the deep wound on his neck. He still has red hair and facial features.
Ramses III
Unlike other mummies made during the era of Ramesses in Egypt, his remains are evidence that he did not die a natural death, but was a victim of murder. His throat was deeply cut and many historians believe that he was killed by his own sons.
Princess of Ukok
The body of Princess Ukok once again proves that tattoos are forever. Despite the fact that she died almost 2,500 years ago, her tattoos were perfectly preserved on her withered body. She was about 25 years old when she died; scientists believe that she was a member of the Pazyryk tribe, which lived in the mountains of Siberia. Members of this tribe believed that tattoos would help them find each other in the afterlife.
Tutankhamun Torquay
After dying from lung cancer, 61-year-old English taxi driver Allan Billis bequeathed his body to science. The Englishman's body was mummified and he was nicknamed "Tutankhamun of Torquay." Thanks to Dr. Stephen Buckley, Allan Billis' body became the first mummified body in over 1,000 years, using ancient Egyptian methods to mummify it. Allan's wife commented on this situation by saying: "I am the only woman in the country who has a mummy of her husband."
Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov
Itigelov spent his life as a Buryat Buddhist lama in the best traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. He began his spiritual journey at age 16 in 1927. One day he told his disciples that his time to go to the next world had come, and he also asked them to join him in meditation. He died calmly in the middle of meditation and was soon buried in a pine box, sitting in the lotus position. He has since been exhumed twice, and despite no act of mummification, analysis of his body showed that he had died within approximately 36 hours, rather than the actual 100 years.
Franklin Expedition Mummies
Hoping to find the Northwest Passage, an expedition of more than 100 men set sail for the New World in 1845. No one else heard from this expedition, but five years later, a separate expedition came across the graves of three men John Torrington, John Hartnell and William Brain, who were buried on Beachy Island in the Canadian Arctic archipelago of Nunavut. In 1984, a team of anthropologists traveled to the icy island to exhume the bodies of men, which were extremely well preserved due to the frozen tundra climate. They were able to determine the cause of death of the men 138 years ago, which despite the wild cold was pneumonia and tuberculosis, and scientists were also able to find out that each of them had a lethal amount of lead in their bodies, likely from the ship's water distillation system
Woman with fossilized fetus
In 1955, a Moroccan woman named Zahra Aboutalib was brought to the hospital to deliver her first child. When she was told that she would need to have a caesarean section, she was very scared of the procedure and ran away from the hospital. Later, the unborn child died in her womb, and despite this, she refused to remove the dead fetus from her belly. Almost 50 years later, she was hospitalized again, complaining of excruciating abdominal pain. Doctors discovered that what they thought was a tumor turned out to be the calcified remains of her dead unborn child. This happens extremely rarely; in history there are only about 300 such officially registered cases.
When it comes to mummies, many people first of all remember ancient Egypt, the pharaohs, whose bodies have survived to this day, and the Hollywood blockbuster “The Mummy.” But in fact, mummies are not only about Ancient Egypt and Hollywood. Our review contains little-known and sometimes simply incredible facts about mummies.
1. What is a mummy
A mummy is a human or animal body that has been preserved from decomposition by removing internal organs, treating it with soda (sodium carbonate decahydrate) and resin, and then wrapping it in bandages.
2. Mum means wax
The word "mummy" comes from the medieval Latin word "mumia", borrowed from the medieval Arabic "mūmiya" and from the Persian "mum" (wax), which meant an embalmed body, as well as a bitumen-based embalming agent.
3. Variety of mummies
Archaeologists have discovered many mummies of animals, including jackals, cats, baboons, horses, birds, gerbils, fish, snakes, crocodiles, hippos and even a lion.4. Anubis
Some people wonder why so many jackal mummies have been found. The explanation for this is quite simple - the god of mummification was Anubis, the Egyptian god with the head of a jackal.
5. The art of mummification
The ancient Egyptians began making mummies around 3400 BC, but it took them almost eight hundred years to realize that if the internal organs were removed, the mummy would be preserved rather than rotting. Over time, mummification became a very complex and lengthy process that lasted up to seventy days.
6. Herodotus is the first person to describe mummification
The first person to write in great detail about the mummification process was the Greek historian Herodotus. This happened after he visited Egypt around 450 BC.
7. Chinchorro Tribe
Although mummies are almost exclusively associated with Egypt, the South American Chinchorro tribe were the first to make mummies. According to recent archaeological evidence, the oldest Chinchorro mummies date back to the seventh millennium BC, which is twice as old as the first Egyptian mummies.
8. X-ray of a mummy
The first modern scientific examinations of mummies began in 1901, conducted by English professors at the government school of medicine in Cairo. The first x-ray of a mummy was taken in 1903, when professors Grafton Elliott Smith and Howard Carter used the only x-ray machine in Cairo at the time to examine the mummy of Thutmose IV.
9. Classic
Not all mummies were wrapped in the same position. For example, the vast majority of pharaohs were positioned in a prone position with their arms crossed over their chest. This is the situation most often shown in films and popular media.
10. Osiris
According to Egyptian mythology, the god Osiris was the first mummy in history. However, his remains were not found.
11. Afterlife hospitality
It is for this reason that, after the mummy was all wrapped in bandages, it was covered with a special cloth with a painted image of Osiris. This was done so that the Egyptian god of the underworld would be kind and hospitable to the dead.
12. If only I had money
Many people mistakenly believe that only pharaohs were mummified. In reality, those who could afford it were mummified.
13. I’ll take everything I own with me.
The ancient Egyptians believed that items that were buried in a tomb along with a mummy would help the deceased in life after death. Thus, everything valuable to the deceased was buried with them. These included art, artifacts, treasures and jewelry.
14. Protection from thieves
There was also protection against thieves - ancient Egyptian myths warned that the tombs and their contents were under a curse that would strike all who entered them. It has been claimed that a number of archaeologists who discovered some of these burials suffered from total bad luck, and some even died under unusual circumstances.
However, these curses were unable to prevent many graves from being robbed and precious jewelry and other expensive items being stolen to accompany the mummies into the afterlife.
15. Dubious entertainment
Additionally, during the Victorian era, unwrapping mummies became a popular activity at parties. Hosts hosting a dinner party would buy a mummy, and guests could unwrap it during the party.
16. Essential medicinal component
In Victorian times, mummies were considered an essential ingredient in many medicines. Most eminent doctors assured their patients that mummies powder or ground mummies had amazing healing properties.
17. Ramesses III was afraid of reptiles
Ramesses III was afraid of reptiles. It was for this reason that his mummy was found wearing an amulet that was supposed to protect him from snakes in the afterlife.
18. Receptacle of intellect and emotions
The only organ that the ancient Egyptians left inside the mummy was the heart. At that time, the heart was considered the center of intellect and emotions - qualities that were needed by the dead in the afterlife.
19. Profitable business
Mummies were a very profitable business in ancient Egypt. In the process of preparing the mummy, many workers were used: from embalmers and surgeons to priests and scribes.
20. Average weight of a mummy
Modern sleeping bags are made wide at the shoulders and narrow at the legs, which makes the person lying inside look like a mummy. This is not just a coincidence, as their design was inspired by the way mummies were wrapped to be preserved for millennia.
Continuing the topic, we decided to remember about.
Mummies have always aroused increased interest among people and are unique and desirable finds of archaeologists. But it happens that a mummy is doubly valuable, and all because very unexpected things are found in it. In our review, there are “ten” unexpected “surprises” that mummies concealed within themselves.
1. Erect penis
Tutankhamun is known as the boy who became pharaoh at the age of ten. But not many people know that he was mummified with an erect penis. In addition, Tutankhamun's mummy has other anomalies. The young pharaoh's heart was missing, and his body and sarcophagus were covered in black liquid. Obviously, Tutankhamun did not die with an erection, but his penis was “set” at an angle of 90 degrees by the embalmers.
According to Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo, there is a religious explanation for Tutankhamun's mummified erection. She suggested that this nuance was a deliberate attempt to make Tutankhamun look like Osiris, the god of the underworld (the erect penis is a symbol of Osiris giving new life).
2. Colon cancer
Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer. It is primarily caused by an unhealthy lifestyle: lack of regular exercise, overeating and eating canned foods. Since these factors are associated with today's lifestyle, many people have assumed that colon cancer is a relatively recent disease.
However, a study of Hungarian mummies in the 17th and 18th centuries showed that people of past eras also suffered from this disease. The tissue samples used in the study were taken from 20 mummies that were discovered in sealed crypts in Vaca, Hungary. This archaeological discovery allowed people to know that colon cancer existed long before modern health factors emerged.
3. Earth
After an MRI scan of a 3,200-year-old Egyptian mummy, they found... earth inside its head. The researcher also discovered that the subject's brain remained intact during the mummification process. This has led scientists to speculate that man lived between the 16th and 11th centuries BC or during the New Kingdom. After this period, it became standard procedure to remove the brain during mummification.
After analyzing the shape of the skull of the mummy, who was named Hatason, it was assumed that she was a woman. Typically, experts use a mummy's pelvis to determine sex, but in this case the pelvis was destroyed. As for the land, this still remains a mystery, because a similar method of mummification has never been seen before in other Egyptian mummies.
4. Clogged arteries
Atherosclerosis is a serious disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries, blocking them. This can lead to stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases. It is also the leading cause of death in first world countries.
It is assumed that to prevent atherosclerosis, people need to adapt to modern realities the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that their ancient ancestors led. Those. What is needed today is a lifestyle full of physical activity, as well as a diet rich in proteins and unsaturated fats. However, a study of 137 mummies showed that this assumption is erroneous.
Greg Thomas of the University of California, Irvine and his team performed MRI scans on more than 100 mummies from four different ancient groups of people: Peruvians, Egyptians, Aleuts and Anasazis. The scientists found that 34 percent, or 47 of the 137 mummies, had blocked arteries. Moreover, this disease was in such an advanced form as it is today.
5. Devices for extracting brains
About 3,500 years ago, a significant shift occurred in the Egyptian mummification process: embalmers began removing brains prior to mummification. They did this using primitive tools. Unfortunately, some of them were a little careless and sometimes left tools inside the skulls of their dead patients. In 2008, a team of scientists from Croatia performed an MRI on a 2,400-year-old female mummy.
Much to their surprise, a brain removal tool was found between the left parietal bone and the back of the mummy's skull. In fact, such cases are extremely rare, and to be more precise, they only occurred twice. A second brain removal tool was found inside the head of a 2,200-year-old mummy. The object was only 7 centimeters long and was made of organic material.
The researchers speculate that the instrument may have originally been larger, and that their find is only the tip and that the instrument itself broke during the mummification process. Since getting it out would be problematic, the embalmers simply decided to leave a piece of the instrument inside the skull.
6. Schistosoma Munson
Every year, 200 million people worldwide become ill with intestinal schistosomiasis, a disease that can damage the bladder, liver, lungs and intestines. The worms that cause this disease live in standing and running water, and they enter the human body through the skin.
Schistosoma Munson, the worm that causes the disease, was found in ancient Nubian mummies. Although schistosomiasis was thought to be a relatively modern disease, the mummy revealed that humanity has been suffering from it since ancient times.
7. Arsenic
For thousands of years, the ancient people of northern Chile were exposed to significant levels of arsenic. This was discovered after analyzing the hair of 45 Andean mummies that were discovered in the Atacama Desert. Arsenic is a tasteless, colorless, odorless substance that can be found in groundwater and polluted rivers.
Unfortunately for the ancient civilization, this poison was found in abundance in the area surrounding the Atacama Desert. Chronic exposure to this substance can lead to skin diseases, neurological problems, premature birth, cancer, and ultimately death.
After careful analysis, the researchers found that 31 percent of the mummies had blood arsenic levels of 2.6 micrograms per liter. Over time, the ancient inhabitants of northern Chile accumulated significant amounts of arsenic in their bodies, which caused them to suffer.
8. Prostate cancer
Thanks to high-resolution tomographs, scientists have been able to learn a lot about the diseases that plagued ancient civilizations. For example, a 2,250-year-old Egyptian mummy was diagnosed with prostate cancer thanks to this invaluable equipment.
The 2,700-year-old remains of a Scythian king were also found to have the disease, making the case believed to be the oldest known example of the disease. This discovery only proves once again that cancer is not such a new disease as was thought, but it has haunted humanity for many centuries.
9. Well-Preserved Brain
In August 2010, Russian scientists discovered a 39,000-year-old mammoth mummy. The mummified animal was found in Siberian permafrost. In addition to the fact that the mammoth's body was very well preserved, its brain was in excellent condition. In fact, this is the most intact mammoth brain known to science.
After studying Yuka, as the mummified animal was named, experts concluded that the mammoth died between the ages of six and nine years. Using tomographs, the researchers were able to find the underlying tissue component of the nervous system and study the animal's brain, which turned out to be very similar to modern elephants.
10. Antibiotic-resistant genes
The abuse of antibiotics is very common nowadays and is a huge problem. Its dangers are obvious, as overuse of antibiotics can lead to serious health problems.
For many years, it was believed that antibiotic resistance developed due to the overuse of these drugs. However, studies conducted on an 11th-century mummy found that "gene mutations responsible for antibiotic resistance occurred naturally and are not necessarily associated with overuse of antibiotics."
After analyzing the microbiome in the gut of a mummy woman who died between the ages of 18 and 23 and was discovered in Cusco, the capital of the ancient Inca Empire, researchers identified several antibiotic-resistant genes in her body. If she were alive today, most modern antibiotics would not be able to save her.
Continuing the topic, many of which are truly amazing.
The concept of “mummification” has been known since ancient times. This ritual was closely connected with the religious views of the Egyptians about the transition of a person after death to the other world and the eternal life of the soul. It was believed that the Egyptian pharaohs were not of human, but of divine origin. Spacious decorated tombs were built for them, the most striking examples of which are the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Together with the mummified body of a representative of the dynasty, all the wealth and objects that could be needed in the afterlife were placed in the tombs: jewelry, gold, interior items, chariots. One dynasty was buried in one crypt or place. In southern Egypt, near Luxor, there are mass graves and.
Necropolises of ancient Thebes - Valley of the Kings and Queens
The Valley of the Kings, located on the territory of the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes, is a huge necropolis of tombs of representatives of the male half of the pharaoh dynasty. In total, about 80 burials of the kings of Ancient Egypt were discovered in the eastern Valley of the Kings.
The Valley of the Queens, formerly called the "Valley of the Children", includes a necropolis carved into the eastern part of the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes, where the remains of the wives of the pharaohs, their children, priests and high-ranking officials rest. One of the most striking tombs is considered to be a rock-cut tomb. It is lavishly decorated with images telling about the life and virtues of the queen, as well as her significance for her husband, Pharaoh Ramses II. Death overtook the queen when she was five months pregnant. Her mummy was transported and kept in Brussels, and the mummified body of an unborn child remained in this tomb of Ancient Egypt.
Ancient Thebes remains one of the most extensive sites of archaeological research, which has not stopped for a single day since the accidental discovery of the tombs and mummies of the pharaohs of Egypt by the learned Rasoul brothers in 1871.
In ancient Egypt, not only human bodies, but also animals, were subject to mummification. Cat mummies have been discovered in the tombs of pharaohs. They were considered a sacred animal, providing magical protection to their owners and home from evil spirits. They personified beauty, grace and intelligence.
Thanks to the well-known and widely used art of mummification in Ancient Egypt, even today you can see the bodies of the rulers of the oldest civilization, their retinue and animals, untouched by time.
Mummy Museums of Ancient Egypt
In Cairo, tourists and researchers have the opportunity to visit the “Royal Mummies” hall, where the bodies of the dynasty of pharaohs preserved through the embalming process are presented: Amenhotep III, Ramses II, Ramses III, Ramses IV, Ramses V, Ramses VI, Seti I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Thutmose III, Siptah, Tiye, Merenptah and other members of the royal family. Here you can also see clay vessels with oils and incense that were used during mummification in Ancient Egypt. Surprisingly, their properties and smell have remained unchanged for thousands of years.
The art of ancient Egyptian mummification is also on display at the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona in Spain. The collection of exhibits from the times of Ancient Egypt is supplemented with clothing and household items, accessories, statues, and scrolls of manuscripts. There are more than 600 of them in total.
The Ancient Egyptian Art Department at the Ashmolean Museum, UK, houses one of the largest collections of cat mummies.
The extensive necropolis where the mummies were discovered is located in Egypt. Not only the mummified remains of kings, but also animals were kept in underground tombs. In particular, in Saqqara they investigated and found 24 sarcophagi marked with the markings of the burial of bulls. Such customs are associated with the spiritual beliefs of the ancient Egyptians about the sacred nature of certain animals, such as the Apis bull.
How did the ancient Egyptians perform mummification?
Like most services in Ancient Egypt, the quality of mummification directly depended on the financial viability of the deceased. From the bodies of representatives of the dynasty and high dignitaries, internal organs were removed through small incisions. The holes were filled with an oil mixture. After a few days the liquid drained out.
For lower-level officials in Ancient Egypt, such a mummification procedure was not available.
After removing the internal organs from the body, they were placed in vessels filled with special balms, where they were stored in the same tomb next to. The ancient Egyptians believed that after death the spirit returned to the body of the deceased. And for subsequent life in another world, he needed all the vital organs. In order to prevent rapid tissue decay and complete mummification, the body was subjected to a drying process. It remained untouched for 40 days. After removing all the organs except the heart, a mixture of sodium compounds was poured into the body to maintain its shape. Its composition was mined on the banks of the Nile. The entire body of the pharaoh, priest or mummified animal was also covered with sodium. Then hairdressers and cosmetologists worked on the body. The embalmers then applied a layer of moisture-resistant resin made from natural substances such as oils, beeswax, and pine resins to the body. The mummy was then wrapped in bandages. As a final step, a mask was applied to the mummy and placed in the sarcophagus.
The entire mummification process in Ancient Egypt took 70 days.
Mummification in Ancient Egypt was carried out only by priests who possessed certain knowledge and had the appropriate rank. Its implementation required skills in this art form.
The ancient Egyptians hid their method of mummification, and no records of it have been found in reliable sources. However, scientists found out what the technology they used looked like. They noted that sand dries the body and does not allow tissues to decompose and thereby promotes natural mummification in the arid climate of Egypt. In the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, you can see many simple holes in the sand and rocks. They contained mummies of citizens who could afford the luxury of their own tomb during the times of Ancient Egypt.
Video about mummification in Ancient Egypt