Mummy Found With Strange 'Clothing' Is Rewriting The History Of Ancient Egypt
There’s something that draws people to Egyptian history. Whether it’s the hieroglyphics, the pyramids, or the fact that cats were worshipped, there’s clearly major interest in this ancient civilization. And that’s obviously pushed archaeologists to uncover as much as they can about Egypt’s past, including its death-based practices. With that in mind, we’re talking about mummies here. A team recently found a mummy that could change our understanding of Egyptian history. This is the story of Khuwy’s discovery.
Khuwy’s tomb
Khuwy was an Egyptian nobleman who lived about 4,000 years ago during the Old Kingdom era. This section of Egyptian history is known for the rise of pyramid building, a practice which started with King Djoser. To prepare for his death, he hired the architect Imhotep for an important purpose.
The first of many
Imhotep took the king’s assignment very seriously and returned with the design of an enormous building suitable for an Egyptian royal’s resting place. What the architect didn’t realize, though, was how big an impact his work would go on to have. On the king’s orders, Imhotep had designed the Step-Pyramid at Saqqara.
Pyramid party
After Imhotep’s Step-Pyramid, Egypt’s ruling class wanted more funerary monuments — so designers and builders got busy. This led to, among other things, the creation of the Great Pyramid at Giza. A Greek historian by the name of Herodotus believed the construction must have taken around 20 years and the work of some 100,000 individuals.
Saqqara necropolis
During this time of building beautiful graves for their rulers, the Old Kingdom became dotted with pyramids. This included an entire compound outside of Cairo, which was the Saqqara necropolis. It was within this very complex that Khuwy was laid to rest. His tomb was filled with ceramics and specially painted wall designs.
Royal connection
These hieroglyphs explained that Khuwy was buried in the Fifth Dynasty. This means he may have possibly been related to that era’s pharaoh, who was called Djedkare Isesi. Images painted in colors associated with royalty and the shape of Khuwy’s tomb are major evidence of this potential relationship.
How we know
Djedkare was the eighth king during the fifth Egyptian dynasty. The reason historians are aware of him and other ancient figureheads is because of the Turin Canon. This papyrus includes details about every king’s time in power. The scribes even had the length of their rule listed to the day.
The information source
The Turin Canon is missing some information, since it’s such an ancient document and in rough shape. But the details that remain are integral for historians studying Egyptian history. From this source, we know King Djedkare ruled Egypt after King Menkauhor. He was in power for between 28 and 40 years.
Osiris worshipper
Researchers don’t have an exact time range due to discrepancies in other Egyptian record-keeping artifacts. Djedkare isn’t one of the more well-known kings, but he still made his mark on the region. What set him apart was his interest in the god Osiris. At the time, kings were worshipping Ra.
Ra and Osiris
Ra had power over all other deities and was associated with the sun. Osiris, on the other hand, was largely linked to death. He was believed to be in control of “underworld” life processes, which included the growing of crops and flooding. Osiris appealed to King Djedkare.
Different priorities
The king was supposed to oversee construction of a temple for Ra, but he wasn’t interested in honoring the sun god. He had another idea. Instead of Ra’s sacred site, Djedkare ordered a new pyramid for himself in Saqqara. The final product was “Nefer Djedkare,” which translates to English as “perfect Djedkare.”
The importance of Khuwy
It was within this necropolis and one king’s monument to his own perfection that Khuwy was buried. A group of researchers uncovered his mummified body in 2019. And when they exhumed the nobleman from his tomb, the team found something extraordinary: Khuwy wasn’t an ordinary Old Kingdom mummy.
Simple mummies
Salima Ikram is an Egyptologist from the American University in Cairo who was part of the group that uncovered Khuwy’s tomb. She spoke to Smithsonian magazine in October 2021, reflecting on the discovery. She said, “Until now, we had thought that Old Kingdom mummification was relatively simple, with basic desiccation — not always successful — no removal of the brain, and only occasional removal of the internal organs.”
External appearance
Before their examination of Khuwy, Egyptologists believed Old Kingdom coroners were more concerned about the appearance of the outside of a mummy compared to how the person was internally preserved. When the team studied Khuwy, though, they realized this long-held belief may be wrong. These mummification methods were much older than anyone knew.
Wrap it up
The evidence was in Khuwy’s linen wrappings. “It’s extraordinary,” Ikram said. “The only time I’ve [seen] so much of this kind of good quality linen has been in the 21st dynasty.” This would have taken place 1,000 years after Khuwy’s death. Apparently, Egyptian coroners invented high-quality mummification before then.
Matching earlier mummies
Like mummies of a later era, Khuwy’s body was preserved with tree sap resin, which worked remarkably well for embalming. Then, his resin-covered skin was wrapped in the fancy linen wrappings that excited Ikram’s team. But even after the examination of Khuwy’s corpse, the researchers weren’t completely comfortable confirming their discovery.
More testing
The grave may have originally belonged to Khuwy, but his body could have been replaced with that of a different nobleman. Expressing this skepticism, Ikram said, “I remain hesitant until we can conduct carbon-14 dating... If this is indeed the mummy of Khuwy, this will truly be a unique discovery that dramatically shifts our understanding of the history of the Old Kingdom.”
Concrete proof
The mummy’s carbon-14 dating should take about six months to finish. If the results prove that the embalmed body in the tomb actually is Khuwy's, it would be a massive find for the archaeologists. Besides confirming the age of advanced mummification, this would also change the previous understanding of early Egyptian trading.
Could it be?
While she’s awaiting more information, Ikram remains excited about the possibility of Khuwy being an Old Kingdom mummy. She said, “This would completely turn our understanding of the evolution of mummification on its head. The materials used, their origins, and the trade routes associated with them will dramatically impact our understanding of Old Kingdom Egypt."
Don't disturb the dead
However, Ikram and her team should be careful when it comes to disturbing centuries-old Egyptian burial grounds — after all, they wouldn't want a repeat of what happened when archaeologists opened King Tut's tomb back in the 1920s. The act unleashed a "mummy's curse" that took the lives of a number of researchers affiliated with the discovery, which is why when a mysterious locked chest was later discovered in the tomb, no one dared open it — at least, for a time.
A second curse unleashed
But curiosity is a powerful thing, and eventually, two researchers could no longer resist the urge to unlock the chest and reveal its ancient contents to the world. This duo was about to make history — little did they realize they were about to unleash another "curse" upon Egypt in the process.
Showing the world
The world was eager to find out what lay inside the mysterious chest, but only a few people would be able to actually touch it. This created a puzzle: how would the team show the world what was going on? The solution was to actually film the careful opening of the chest — an idea brought up by Bettany Hughes, historian and TV host of Egypt's Great Treasures.
Centuries later
Hughes had been observing the chest for her show, along with other experts who were preparing it for a museum exhibition at the new Grand Egypt Museum in Cairo. To the average eye, the chest appeared as a simple box — ignoring the fact that it was 3,500 years old, of course. On closer inspection, though, it was far from simple.
Undisturbed
Hughes used her knowledge of the past to emphasize the unique background of the unopened box. "One of the items in Howard Carter’s original photographs [of Tutankhamun's tomb] was this enigmatic box," she said. Since 1923, the box had been left alone...and for a well-known reason.
Myth or truth
When the excavation of King Tutankhamun was being completed, both Howard Carter, a British archaeologist, and his financier, Lord Carnarvon, found trouble. Carnarvon died of blood poisoning months after the tomb opened, seemingly succumbing to the fabled "curse of the Pharaohs." Since then, the mysterious chest was untouched, for fear that a new "curse" would be unleashed.
Mummy haunts
Further deaths and illnesses helped fuel the legitimacy of the "curse," but as the modern-day experts carefully prepped King Tut's chamber for a museum display, they weren't thinking too much about it. As far as the locked chest was concerned, it probably wasn't cursed at all, they thought. After all, that artifact hadn't belonged to King Tut.
Certain treasures
Although countless artifacts from the 63 tombs found within Tut's burial chamber did belong to him, the closed chest was the only thing that didn't. It belonged to his wife, Ankhesenamun, who also happened to be his half-sister. As the only possession of hers, it became even more unique, and Hughes was determined to figure out the mystery.
Ancient symbols
But how could someone figure out that the chest belonged to King Tut's queen? An expert's eye and knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphs were needed. On the side of the chest was a cartouche, recognized from other ancient artifacts, which symbolized Ankhesenamun's name. The ancient symbol acted as a signature of the owner. Now that they'd confirmed who owned the chest, the big day was about to arrive.
A Queen's life
On the morning of the filming, the crew of Egypt's Great Treasures gathered around the chest. The guest of honor was Dr. Essa Zidan, an Egyptian antiquities expert and archaeologist. As the cameras rolled, Dr. Zidan offered his theories for the chest. It might have been a linen chest for Ankhesenamun, storing all the queen's royal outfits, or perhaps the contents were something even more special.
Cameras ready
At long last, it was time for the moment they'd been waiting for. Hughes then asked Dr. Zidan the big question: could the unopened chest could be unlocked? They'd discussed this briefly, and Dr. Zidan was all in for it. The cameras were more than ready.
Careful hands
This was a mystery 3,500 years in the making. Before it would make its grand appearance at the Grand Egypt Museum, Bethany Hughes and the audiences of Egypt's Great Treasures had a rare sneak peek. Could there be preserved fashion artifacts from thousands of years ago inside?
Chest of secrets
Under the watchful eye of Dr. Zidan and Hughes, the chest's lid was lifted up. Dramatic music would later be added to the final cut of the TV show, plus some close-ups on the faces of the experts nearby to really stretch the reveal. In the actual room itself, however, everyone was silent — waiting.
Quiet end
Inside, the biggest surprise was that there was — nothing. After all the time, since it was left behind in King Tut's chamber and pictured in the background of the photograph by Howard Carter, the chest of Ankhesenamun was empty. But Hughes wasn't done.
Smells like history
She leaned in and took a long whiff of the scent that wafted out from the chest, a smell from 3,500 years ago. "You can smell the wood and the resin, it's empty but you can smell the history coming out of it," she remarked. She and Dr. Zidan had made history — and in their excitement, they had forgotten about the curse.
Sacred artifact
Instead, they were thinking about how TV audiences would revel in the rare sight. The one and only artifact of Ankhesenamun had been revealed. Sure, no personal belongings were found, but the piece itself was still important. The timing was good, too: it would get audiences excited for an upcoming mummy exhibition.
Mummy troubles
With COVID-19 still affecting traveling, museums needed to think outside the box for ways to revitalize worldwide interest. In Cairo, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had something up their sleeve. Everything was going to go according to plan...or so they thought.
Parade route
The idea was to do a televised mummy parade, a multi-million dollar extravaganza fit for a pharaoh. Twenty-two ancient royal mummies would travel to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, and there would be fanfare all along the way. Roads were even freshly paved to ensure a smooth, gentle procession path.
Grand pathway
The Pharaohs' Golden Parade was filled with high security and celebrated as an outdoor event, as COVID-19 restrictions began to loosen. Along the route, King Ramses II, Queen Hatshepsut, and other nobles were honored by performers, an orchestra, and a 21-gun salute. The rulers' bodies were specially housed in nitrogen-filled cases, built into chariots to escort them. But with so many mummies, what about the curse?
Sneak attack
Although the curse skipped Hughes and Dr. Zidan, it seemed to target the parade. In the last days of event preparation, the Suez Canal blockage occurred. For several days, a mammoth cargo ship completely blocked other vital ships from passing, costing hundreds of billions in damage on the world economy. The strangest part: the ship was an exact 666 kilometers' drive from Tut's tomb.