Ancient Egypt this week: All the mummies, all the time

The Mummy’s Curse: 3,800-Year-Old Egyptian Nobleman’s Tomb Unearthed
© Sputnik/

An intact tomb dating back to the Twelfth Dynasty, which ruled Egypt nearly four millennia ago, has been discovered.

The identity of the deceased is Shemai, son of Satehotep and Khema. The tomb was discovered by researchers with the University of Jaen in Spain, and is located at a site called Qubbet el-Hawa, a dune on the bank of the Nile which houses the tombs of numerous Ancient Egyptian officials.

Why the curse of the mummy was more like a gentle warning

THE curse of the mummy on anyone who dares to disturb the dead is one of the most enduring superstitions of modern times.
But a new exhibition has revealed how the tombs of ancient Egyptians were in fact reused many times – and the ‘curse’ was more likely to be a polite request to keep out.

The story of how one ancient Egyptian tomb was used across a time period spanning more than 1,000 years is being told at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh through a display of fascinating objects from various eras.

HOW TO MAKE A MUMMY

Today’s blog post will be all about mummies … wait … what do you mean you didn’t say Egyptian? … oh … well it’s all I’ve got, so we’re going to have to roll with it … I’m sure no-one will notice.

So first things first, why do we call Egyptian mummies, well, ‘mummies’? The word mummy comes from the the Persian or Arabic word mumia meaning pitch or bitumen. This is thought to be a reference to the blackened appearance of Egyptian mummies, and the black tar-like substance that comes from the ‘mummy mountain’ in Persia.

Mummy shroud found after 80 years in museum collection

A unique, full-length mummy shroud which is over 2,000 years old has been discovered after about 80 years in a museum collection.
It will be displayed for the first time in The Tomb: Ancient Egyptian Burial exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland on 31 March.

The shroud, which dates to about 9BC, was found during "an in-depth assessment" of Egyptian collections.

Every mummy has a story to tell 

(Your) Mummy Stories is a participative project inviting individuals to share their stories of engagements with Egyptian mummies: from studying human remains, to reading cartoons on mummies, engaging with ethical questions, and visiting local museums holding Egyptian human remains, individuals have different stories of encounters with Egyptian mummies. The multiplicity of stories, dependent on personal interest, geography, and many other factors, brings to light the multiplicity of definition of what 'the mummy' means to us. 

Archaeologists Unearthed 3,800-Year-Old Tomb Of An Ancient Egyptian Woman In Intact Position

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Egyptian mummy from the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa in southeastern Egypt. The tomb was about 3,800 years old and it was found in a very decent condition. Archaeologists are assuming the mummy is going to reveal much information about the ancient Egypt civilization because it belongs to a woman named, “Lady Sattjeni” who used to be the key figure in the Middle Kingdom.

The Wrath Of The Pharaohs: Revisiting 'Mummies Alive!'

The 1997 cartoon Mummies Alive! may not be a show that many of you are aware of — it ran for only one season. What we got was 42 episodes of pure '90s craziness; that exclamation mark is there for good reason. Stop me if you’ve heard this: An evil, immortal Egyptian sorcerer called Scarab is awoken in modern times but he barely misses a beat in resuming his plot to wreak vengeance on the reincarnation of the Pharaoh’s son, Rapses.


'The Mummy' Revives an Ancient Power in New Trailer at CinemaCon

Director Alex Kurtzman brought out the cast of The Mummy (but no Tom Cruise) Wednesday at CinemaCon, where they discussed its biggest stunt and revealed a new trailer.

The film stars Sofia Boutella as The Mummy, as well as Courtney B. Vance, Annabelle Wallis and Jake Johnson.

Boutella shared details of her character, saying she was a princess who was promised to be Pharaoh, but that was taken away from her. She knew how to summon gods, but unfortunately "summoned the wrong god and that stays with her."

To see the video, click here.

Chiddingstone Castle announces name of their 'Mummy'

Chiddingstone Castle in Kent recently completed their quest to find the name of the mummy who had been interred inside a 3000 year old Egyptian Coffin on display in the Castle.

Chiddingstone Castle’s Curator Maria Esain said “Our Ancient Egyptian coffin lid that has been exhibited here for many years has undergone some careful conservation and advanced digital imaging by experts from UCL to determine if it is possible to read the name of the person (the mummy) that would have been interred within it 3000 years ago. There is a saying from Ancient Egyptian times that goes: To speak a man’s name is to restore him to eternal life. Therefore, if we were able to determine the name written in hieroglyphics on the ‘foot’ of the coffin then we would be enabling him/her to live forever.”

Mummified ancient Egyptian cat from Aberdeen uni to be shared around the world

A mummified ancient Egyptian cat is among a host of artefacts from Aberdeen University’s museums’ collections, which will be shared around the world thanks to revolutionary new imaging techniques.

Photogrammetry involves taking hundreds of photos of an object at slightly different angles and “stitching” them together to create an interactive digital 3D model.

For a video, see Mummified CAT scan—new technologies and ancient objects

Photo of the week: Ancient Egypt by Kazanevski