| Ny-Maat-Re Human Mummy | |
| |
| Biographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Name(s) | Ny-Maat-Re |
| Age | 25-30 |
| Sex | Female |
| Status | Daughter of Sema-Tawy |
| Height | |
| Source | |
| Culture | Egyptian |
| Date(s) | Ptolemaic Period (332- 323 BC) |
| Site | |
| Current Location | |
| Location | Hawara |
| Catalog # | Inv.25011.6.1 |
A female mummy, she lived in Hawara during the Ptolemaic Period (332-323 BC). The mummy was given as a gift to the The Vatican Museum department of Antiquities of Egypt an the Near East. In 1899, the mummy in its painted cartonnage was given to Pope Leon XIII by the Khedivé of Egypt.
Mummification[]
Known for its poor mummification process leading to a restoration project never having been done before. The mummy arrived to the museum inside an epigraph sycamore coffin. Her funerary objects, including her sandals, a garland made of roses and rose buds. Inscription on the right column of the chest cover acts as an offering to Osiris.
The linen bandages under her back rotted away and her spine and rib cage had collapsed.
Studies[]
The body belonged to a 25 to 30 year old woman, daughter of Sema-Tawy and Ny-Maat-Re.
Ny-Maat-Re was mummified very poorly and as a result a lot of time went into the restoration process of her body, a process that took two years. The mask measured Length 48, width 27, depth 20 cm.; thickness3 mm. The research team was able to examine her chest cavity and use an endoscope to study inside the cranium.
Pathology[]
There was no information on disease prior to mummification, just that mummification process was disturbed and therefore not performed correctly.
Additional[]
Among the restoration of Ny-Maat-Re, three operations never undergone while repairing a damaged mummy before took place. This included making a shell for the body to be held in, re positioning the mummy into a supine position (so that the crack along the back could be worked on), as well as re-assembling large portions of the vertebral column so that the lungs (thoracic cavity) didn't collapse.
The restoration process was a success, and was able to bring Ny-Maat-Re back to stable position. In order to insure quality of this restoration, periodic measurements will be taken to check the internal state of its conservation.
External Links[]
Amenta, A. (2009). "The Vatican Mummy Project" The restoration of the mummy of Ny-Maat-Re (MV
25011.6.1). Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur, 38, 33-43. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27751363
https://www.archbalt.org/keeping-mum-preserving-the-past-while-still-uncovering-its-mysteries/
https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/amenta.pdf