Latest news with #mummy
News.com.au
a day ago
- Science
- News.com.au
New technology uncovers hidden details of Egypt's 2,300-year-old 'untouchable' mummy
Modern technology has helped shed further light on an Ancient Egyptian mystery after spending millennia under wraps. The Bashiri Mummy, also known as the 'untouchable one', has long remained unravelled – as researchers have feared causing damage to the intricately wrapped fabric. It is believed by some sources that Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered this mummy in the Valley of the Kings, The Sun reports. This is the same area he would famously go on to uncover King Tutankhamun's tomb. But according to Discover magazine, the most that is known for sure is that the 'untouchable one' was found, but that no researchers have dared attempt to unfurl its cloth. Prior to the invention of X-ray and CT scanners, people would unwrap these ancient mummies to study them – causing severe damage. New technology has lessened the need for such methods of study, allowing researchers to learn more about ancient artefacts while inflicting less harm on them. It brings them one step closer to understanding the mysteries of the Bashiri Mummy. The untouchable one's face wrappings are said to be unique, featuring a pattern resembling the base of a pyramid. According to the American Museum of Natural History, 'In the past, the only way to learn about a mummy was to unwrap it. 'But this widespread practice destroyed the mummy, often detaching body parts." Scans have now revealed fresh details about the mummy. Researchers have established that the Bashiri Mummy would have been an adult man who stood about 5.5 feet (1.7 metres) tall. He would have lived in the Ptolemaic Era – which spanned from 305BC to 30BC. This makes the mummy around a staggering 2,300 years old. The X-ray scan also showed an inscription of the man's name, according to the Egypt Museum. However, it is not fully clear if Pacheri or Nenu are written, leaving some mysteries around the mummy still unresolved. The museum added that the mummy's encasement was decorated with 'various scenes arranged in registers, notably the mummy lying on a bed, surrounded by the goddesses Isis and Nephtys, and the four sons of Horus.' 'Finally, the casing around the feet has two images of the funerary god Anubis,' it adds. It is not the only incredible discovery of the Ancient World unveiled in recent weeks. A network of dimly lit tunnels under Rome's Capitoline Hill could soon become the city's latest tourist hot spot. The secret underground city covers some 42,000 square feet (3,902 square metres) under the Ancient Roman Forum – and reaches depths of 985 feet (300 metres) below the surface. It is expected to be open for visitors from late 2026 or early 2027, CNN has reported.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Science
- The Sun
Mysteries of 2,300-year-old mummy Bashiri ‘The Untouchable' revealed after researchers refused to unwrap ancient fabric
MODERN technology has helped shed further light on an Ancient Egyptian mystery after spending millennia under wraps. The Bashiri Mummy, also known as the "untouchable one", has long remained unravelled - as researchers have feared causing damage to the intricately wrapped fabric. 5 5 5 It is believed by some sources that Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered this mummy in the Valley of the Kings. This is the same area he would famously go on to uncover King Tutankhamun's tomb. But according to Discover magazine, the most that is known for sure is that the "untouchable one" was found, but that no researchers have dared attempt to unfurl its cloth. Prior to the invention of X-ray and CT scanners, people would unwrap these ancient mummies to study them - causing severe damage. New technology has lessened the need for such methods of study, allowing researchers to learn more about ancient artefacts while inflicting less harm on them. It brings them one step closer to understanding the mysteries of the Bashiri Mummy. The untouchable one's face wrappings are said to be unique, featuring a pattern resembling the base of a pyramid. According to the American Museum of Natural History, "In the past, the only way to learn about a mummy was to unwrap it. "But this widespread practice destroyed the mummy, often detaching body parts." Scans have now revealed fresh details about the mummy. Researchers have established that the Bashiri Mummy would have been an adult man who stood about 5.5 feet tall. He would have lived in the Ptolemaic Era - which spanned from 305 BC to 30 BC. This makes the mummy around a staggering 2,300 years old. The X-ray scan also showed an inscription of the man's name, according to the Egypt Museum. However, it is not fully clear if Pacheri or Nenu are written, leaving some mysteries around the mummy still unresolved. The museum added that the mummy's encasement was decorated with "various scenes arranged in registers, notably the mummy lying on a bed, surrounded by the goddesses Isis and Nephtys, and the four sons of Horus." "Finally, the casing around the feet has two images of the funerary god Anubis," it adds. It is not the only incredible discovery of the Ancient World unveiled in recent weeks. A network of dimly lit tunnels under Rome's Capitoline Hill could soon become the city's latest tourist hot spot. The secret underground city covers some 42,000 square feet under the Ancient Roman Forum - and reaches depths of 985 feet below the surface. It is expected to be open for visitors from late 2026 or early 2027, CNN has reported. 5 5
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gas workers in Peru stumble across 1,000-year-old mummy: See photos
Peruvian workers clearing the way for new gas pipes stumbled across a mummy that archaeologists have since determined to be approximately 1,000 years old. The mummified remains were discovered not even two feet beneath the Earth's surface in Peru's capital of Lima. reported the Associated Press. Workers for the gas company Cálidda initially unearthed a makeshift tomb maker fashioned from the trunk of a huarango tree in June, under which a child-sized body was found sitting upright, wrapped in cloth and surrounded by ceramics, rope and food items. Archaeologists believe the well-preserved remains belonged to an adolescent, aged between 10 and 15 years old, of the pre-Inca Chancay culture, Cálidda said in a Facebook post. Dark hair and pieces of skin were still attached to the body, which Jesus Bahamonde, archaeologist and scientific coordinator for Cálidda, told AP and the Agence France-Presse was likely buried between 1000 and 1200 CE. Because discoveries of this nature are common in Peru, utility companies are generally required to have archaeologists on staff to oversee digs. "Great stories aren't just told: they're lived, discovered, and shared," Bahamonde said in a LinkedIn post, translated from Spanish, about the discovery. "This is a new story added to the more than 2,200 archaeological remains discovered along our path. Millennia-old testimonies that lie beneath our streets, waiting to be interpreted with respect and returned to the collective memory." The Chancay culture flourished from around 1000 to 1470 CE, before later being absorbed into the Inca Empire, according to the University of Missouri's Museum of Art and Archaeology. The coastal Chancay civilization is recognized by archaeologists for its people's accomplishments in producing distinct ceramics and textiles. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See photos of 1,000-year-old-mummy discovered in Peru
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
European explorers Wales determined to keep place on map at Euro 2025
Tourists visiting St Gallen's famous medieval abbey library are sometimes startled to discover that one of its star attractions is a well-preserved Egyptian mummy. Shep-en-Isis has lain in a glass coffin there for more than 200 years after being removed from her tomb on the west bank of the Nile near Luxor and, eventually, gifted to the north-eastern Swiss city. Just lately, though, there has been quite an argument about whether she should leave her adopted monastic home and be returned to Egypt. Some people believe she is in the wrong place and – in a very different, considerably less heated context – a similarly polarised debate surrounds Wales's presence in Switzerland. After losing their opening game 3-0 against the Netherlands in Lucerne, Rhian Wilkinson and her players are in St Gallen on a mission to prove they belong on the same pitches as Europe's elite. Their key midfielder Jess Fishlock and her teammates are determined to confound critics who believe Euro 2025's lowest-ranked team are out of their depth. Fortune frowned on the Welsh when they were placed in the toughest group and a defeat by France could, depending on England's result against the Netherlands, ensure they will be flying back to Cardiff before the knockout stage begins. The buildup on Tuesday was hardly ideal after most of the squad and staff were involved in a road traffic accident en route to a training session at St Gallen's stadium. Although everyone on the team bus was unharmed, the driver of the other vehicle involved sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital by ambulance. The incident left everyone shocked and shaken and Wilkinson, who had been travelling to the stadium in a separate vehicle with her captain, Angharad James, and the team press officer, immediately cancelled the scheduled stadium workout, replacing it with a light training session at the team hotel. 'The Netherlands match was a real introduction to the Euros against a quality side,' said Wilkinson, who has led Wales into their first major tournament. 'But we're looking forward to a second crack at it against France. We need to improve but it's a fantastic opportunity for us against another very good team. We have to set up in a way that can nullify them but also give ourselves a chance of scoring.' The former Canada defender, who also coached Portland Thorns to the 2022 NWSL title in the United States, hopes her players can demonstrate that their presence here is down to significant recent improvement rather than some sort of fluke. She could, though, have done without facing a France side buoyed by beating England 2-1 last Saturday. Wilkinson, who is half-Welsh, is fluent in French, having grown up in Quebec, and had planned before the bus crash to help Wales stage a trilingual press conference, with James answering queries from Welsh-speaking journalists. The crash ensured that briefing proved understandably truncated but, earlier, Fishlock had urged her teammates to demonstrate comparable on-field fluency by throwing the Netherlands defeat 'in the bin'. The 38-year-old Seattle Reign midfielder, deployed as a false 9 in that game, said: 'My favourite saying is: 'Take what you need and throw the rest in the bin.' If it's not going to help you, it's going to hurt you. France are very good but we can be very good, too. We're fast learners.' Back in the Abbey library Shep-en-Isis's mummy lies in the shadow of another of St Gallen's most cherished treasures, a famous 16th-century globe. Heavily Europe-centric, it depicts sea monsters, exotic animals and cannibals adorning far-flung parts of the world and there are gaps where Australia and New Zealand should be. In the 1500s the Australasian landmasses were yet to be discovered by European explorers and visiting Welsh fans sightseeing in St Gallen can spot parallels with the present day. Until this summer, Wales was barely noticeable on European, let alone, international football atlases when it came to women's football. Now, though, signage intended to greet fans in central St Gallen informs them that the stadium – situated in a retail park, next to a branch of Ikea – is 5.2km in one direction and Cardiff 1,012km in the other. No matter that the latter distance is disputed by some Welsh visitors, their country is finally marked prominently on Uefa's mainstream map. An upset against Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Sandy Baltimore and the rest of Laurent Bonadei's dangerously ambitious France squad would ensure it remains there.
The National
01-07-2025
- General
- The National
English museum asks visitors if it should display 2,700-year-old Egyptian mummy
The Manchester Museum in northern England is asking visitors whether it should withdraw an ancient Egyptian mummy from its displayed collections, 200 years after it was first shown. The mummified body of a woman called Asru, who lived in ancient Thebes 2,700 years ago, has been on regular display at the museum since she was unwrapped from her wooden sarcophag i in 1825. Now, a small plaque has been placed next to her body, asking visitors to decide whether or not to keep displaying the artefact. 'Asru's mummified body was unwrapped at the Manchester Natural History Society in April 1825. She has regularly been on display for two centuries since. 'In that time, we have also changed as a museum and are thinking more about how we care for people. 'To mark 200 years since her unwrapping, we would like to start a conversation about her future.' Visitors are invited to share their thoughts online or through a small postal box next to the display. It is part of a wider conversation that museums in the UK are having about their colonial histories behind their collections. Ancient artefacts were often taken by European archaeologists and explorers from their sites and displayed back home, in acts which today would be considered art theft and looting. The Manchester Museum says that 'decolonising' is an 'integral part' or its mission. 'Decolonising is a long-term process that starts with acknowledging the true, violent history of colonialism and how it shapes our world and this museum,' it says on its website. British cotton merchants Robert and William Garnett acquired the coffins with the mummy in the ruins of Thebes in Egypt in the early 1800s and later donated it to the museum. Their father John Garnett was a known slave trader. Curator Dr Campbell Price described the sacred rituals through which Asru was first buried. 'When she died, transformative rituals of mummification were performed on her body, which was carefully wrapped in layers of linen cloth,' he said, in a video about the work. Hieroglyphs on the coffins, one inside the other, give the names of her mother, Tadiamun and her father an 'important official' Ta-Kush. The decision to unwrap her in 1825 was typical of the period's fascination with artefacts, the body and pseudosciences that were popular at the time. 'Such a decision was not uncommon as a form of investigation and entertainment, in 19th century learned societies' Dr Price writes in a blog post about Asru.
