A group of scientists from Northwestern University have solved the mystery of the female mummy, known to the world as Garrett's mummy, discovered in 1911. 106 years after the mummy was found, researchers used innovative X-ray scanning technology to learn how the body was prepared for mummification 1900 years ago, what items it was buried with, and what caused death.
THIS IS A UNIQUE EXPERIMENT, A 3D PUZZLE, THE DAILY MAIL QUOTES THE LEADING AUTHOR OF THE STUDY, PROFESSOR STUART STOCK.
He noted that the mummy was buried with a realistic portrait of the deceased, with the painting placed directly over the face of the deceased person. According to the results of the X-ray study, the remains belong to a 5-year-old girl buried in Hawara, Egypt.
Garrett's mummy became one of hundreds of portrait mummies buried along with a painting of the deceased's face. According to scientists, the girl was born into a high-ranking family. She was buried with four other mummies.
The portrait on the mummy was painted with a mixture of beeswax and pigment. In the picture, the girl is dressed in a crimson tunic and gold jewelry.
The new scanning method gave researchers a three-dimensional map of the mummy's structure. It turned out that the deceased was 5 years old at the time of death, and there are no obvious signs of injuries on her body, which suggests that she died, most likely from an illness.
Promotional video:
Dr. Taco Terpstra, who is working on the scan of the mummy, believes that the three most likely culprits in Garrett's death were malaria, tuberculosis and smallpox.