Human Remains; Mummified Body

Mummified body of a young adult woman, very similar in appearance to M13997a. The external bandages are considerably damaged from when the Museum was destroyed by a fire-bomb in May 1941. The limbs have been wrapped separately, and the features of the head and body were modelled with resin before the final bandages were applied. The facial features were painted on the surface of the other covering, and traces of the colour survive, e.g., the eyes. The forehead is bound with a linen fillet which leaves the crown of the head exposed. There is some short, curling reddish hair at the nape of the neck. Each finger was wrapped separately, and the bandages at the feet were arranged to imitate sandals. There is now no trace of the bands of painted linen at the waist and around the limbs which were probably originally placed there as on M13997a. One amulet is still in place; a figure of Hapi, made of gilded wood 35 mm in length, it is stuck on the linen above the right breast. The head is turned to the right. The bandages on the left side have been considerably compressed, and the nose has been damaged, while the head and other parts have at some time been attacked by boring insects. In Joseph Mayer's 1852 catalogue he describes the mummy as being "Egypto-Greek mummy of a female, with its case and lid - the face of the mummy is extremely beautiful". X-rayed in November 1966 (Gray and Slow, 1968 pp. 6-10, 74) with further radiograph examination by Dr R. Loynes in.2012 (Loynes, 2015). Summary from the 1966 X-rays: “Mummy of a young, adult female of the Roman period. It is evident from the state of the thoracic region and from observations made concerning the bandages that embalming took place when the body was in a state of decomposition” (Gray and Slow, 1968 p. 10).