Scientists in Australia have discovered the remains of a mummy in an elegantly carved 2,500-year-old coffin.
Previously it had been classified as empty and never studied.
Sydney University’s Nicholson Museum had been holding on to four ancient and intricately designed Egyptian coffins, three of them with full-bodied mummies, for more than 150 years.
In 2017, when researchers opened the lid of the fourth one, they were hoping to find a few residual bandages and bones.
“The records previously said the coffin was empty or with debris… There is a lot more to it than previously thought,” said Jamie Fraser, the lead investigator and senior curator at the museum.
The mummy, which is “badly torn apart,” has only about 10 per cent of the body remains in the coffin.
The coffin belonged to Mer-Neith-it-es, according to hieroglyphs on the lid name.
She was a noblewoman who served the Mistress of the Temple of Sekhmet.
The sarcophagus dates back to the 26th Dynasty, circa 664-525 BC.
The coffin was acquired in the 1860s in Egypt by Charles Nicholson, a former chancellor of Sydney University.
It had been since been housed at the university’s museum bearing his name.
It was overshadowed by three other vibrant coffins with full mummies, Fraser told dpa.
Fraser said that after the initial study, it is likely the remains are of a single human, an adult probably around the age of 30, but not certain whether male or female.
The coffin and its contents have already been laser-scanned to create 3D modelling, and then sent for a detailed Computed tomography scans, which were finished on Friday. (DPA/NAN)
