Existing comment:
The Headless Mummy:
This tomb holds the mummified body of an Egyptian male from the Ptolemaic Period (332 to 30 BC), resting in the lower half of a wooden coffin. During the mummification process, the linen bandages were secured with a gummy resin that has since become hard and black. Radiographs show that the arms were placed over the body and that there are broken ribs and fractured long bones. These breaks may be due to rough handling after mummification. Sometime in the past, vandals stole the mummy's head and toes.
The tomb includes objects that would have been used by the deceased in the afterlife. There are small glazed figures, called ushabtis, which were placed in the tomb to work for the deceased. Ideally, there would be 365 of them, one for every day of the year. Jars, a plate, and spindles are included for use in the afterlife. The replica of a boat model shows the mummy being transported to the sacred cemetery at Abydos on the west side of the Nile River. Boat models were common in Egyptian tombs. Thirty-five boats of various types and sized [sic] were found in King Tutankhamon's tomb, all pointing to the west.
Mummy on loan from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. |