| Unnamed Woman (Mery) Human Mummy | |
| |
| Biographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Name(s) | "Mery" |
| Age | 50-60 |
| Sex | f |
| Status | |
| Height | 4 foot 8 the coffin measured H: 65 3/4 x W: 18 1/8 x D: 10 13/16 in. (167 x 46 x 27.5 cm) |
| Source | |
| Culture | Egyptian |
| Date(s) | 850 and 750 BC |
| Site | Deir el-Bahri |
| Current Location | |
| Location | Walters Art Museum, Baltimore |
| Catalog # | 79.1 |
Found in western Thebes at Deir el-Bahri, and dating to the 2nd half 9th or 1st half 8th century BC (Third Intermediate Period) this Unnamed Woman is encased in a human-shaped cartonnage, is composed of layers of linen and plaster. The mummy was excavated between 1930 and 1931 in Deir el-Bahari, Western Thebes by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Egyptian expedition. It entered the Walters’ collection in 1941 by exchange with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and due to a lack of identifying inscriptions has no name.
Mummification[]
She was buried in cartonnage to long for her leading researchers to speculate that only cartonnages and coffins of standard sizes were available, and a special production would have been too expensive for her family. Or the intention was to provide the woman with an ideal height for her eternal life.
Studies[]
The human-shaped covering, called "cartonnage," is composed of layers of linen and plaster. Its painted decoration includes the floral wreath on the wig, a broad collar, and a winged scarab beetle. Five additional registers of decoration show the protective four sons of Horus, the sacred boat of the funerary-deity Sokar, a mummy of Osiris on a funerary bed, a divine falcon god, and a short hieroglyphic text with an offering formula.
In 2008 they performed a CT scan on the mummy. A woman between 50 and 60 years old when she died, measuring 57 3/8 inches.
Pathology[]
She suffered from severe dental problems, including at least sixteen abscesses, and one tooth had a dental prosthesis probably made from resin. Such dental problems possibly led to septicemia and death.
Additional[]
She has been nicknamed Mery, meaning “the beloved” in ancient Egyptian.
External Links[]
https://thewalters.org/exhibitions/mummified/
https://www.antiquetrader.com/museums/look_inside_a_mummy_at_the_walters_museum/