Two Mummies of Ancient Egyptians in the Hancock Museum, Newcastle

Author(s): P. H. K. Gray
Source: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology , Dec., 1967, Vol. 53 (Dec., 1967), pp. 75-78
Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3855577

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 (75)

TWO MUMMIES OF ANCIENT EGYPTIANS IN THE

HANCOCK MUSEUM, NEWCASTLE

By P. H. K. GRAY

THERE are two mummies of ancient Egyptians on display in the Hancock Museum,
Newcastle.I One, in an unwrapped state (pl. XIII, i), is suspended in the lower halves of
two coffins of sycamore wood. The other, still wrapped, is contained in a decorated
and inscribed cartonnage coffin (pl. XV, i).

1. The unwrapped mummy

This mummy was purchased by John Bowes Wright in Paris in 1826 at the sale of
Baron Dominique Vivant Denon's Egyptian collection, lots 242 and 243. Lot 242 was
the mummy (then in a wrapped condition) lying within an inner coffin. Lot 243 was
the outer coffin (pl. XIII, 2). Shortly afterwards Mr. Wright presented the mummy with
coffins to the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society, and in March 1830 the
mummy was unwrapped and examined by three Newcastle surgeons, Thomas Michael
Greenhow, John Baird, and Sir John Fife. Accounts of the unwrapping are given in a
letter signed 'B' (presumably John Baird), and dated March I3, 1830, to the Newcastle
Courant, in an article in the same paper dated March 20zo, 1830, and in an article in the
Tyne Mercury dated March i6, 1830. As these lengthy reports contain much specula-
tion and irrelevant matter, only the pertinent points need be quoted. It appears that it
took two hours to unwrap the mummy and that 'the quantity of nankeen-coloured
cloth in which it was enveloped, was very great, and weighed no less than 5olbs and
6ozs'. No amulets, papyri or inscribed bandages were encountered during the un-
wrapping. Once the mummy had been 'denuded' it was found to be that of an adult
female and that the

skin is found drawn into large wrinkles, and overlapping prodigiously in various places. The
nostrils, mouth and orbits were stuffed with pieces of linen so also was the rectum: some small
insects were found in the mouth. The colour of the mummy was sepia brown. The cuticle had been
abraded by some process of the embalmers, except for a portion adjoining the nails of the fingers
and toes. The joints of the body retained some mobility; those of the shoulders and elbows had
been opened, or what is more probable, the heated composition used to saturate the mummy had
forced its way into these cavities, being less protected than the hips and knees. The hair upon the
head was long and perfect, of a reddish tinge, but become grey. The teeth were white and perfect.
The mammae were large and pendulous, reaching down almost to the spurious ribs. The arms were

I wish to thank A. M. Tynan, Esq., Curator of the Hancock Museum, Newcastle, for allowing me to
X-ray the mummies in his care, the Department of Photography, University of Newcastle, for supplying the
photographs, and Dr. C. K. Warrick, Radiologist in Charge, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, for allowing
me to process the radiographs in his department.

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76 P. H. K. GRAY

upon the abdomen (bent upon the abdomen), and the hands touched below the pubis. The anus
was dilated and jagged, as if cut by some instrument. The parietes were pressed close upon the
spine, and formed the appearance of a cavity, bordered by the ribs and pelvis. There existed no
opening, but the integuments were divided by a scalpel, and easily raised so as to expose the cavity
of the abdomen. This seemed almost empty; but layers of membrane were successively raised,
which appeared to consist of peritoneal reflections, and some portions of the large intestines. The
remains of the liver was much wasted, the kidneys, the bladder of urine, the uterus with its appen-
dages, were readily discovered.
The internal parts seemed as perfectly imbued with the embalming element as the external; but
neither bitumen nor portions of gum were found, as it is said have been discovered in other mummies.

The exploration of the skull and thorax took place a few days later when
Mr Greenhow and Mr Baird speedily removed a part of the skull which had covered the cerebrum.
The bone was so completely saturated with the matter used for embalming that it might almost be
called a new substance. The sutures were lost sight of and the small cavities which bone commonly
contain quite filled up. The dura mater was found in a state of considerable perfection. It con-
tained a quantity of matter, which was at first supposed to be entirely bituminous; but a considerable
difference in the smell of this substance and other parts of the mummy caused a more minute investi-
gation, and a strong opinion prevailed that the brain had not been extracted at all. Some members
compared the smell to rotten cheese; and Mr Hutton having submitted a part of it to the action of
fire, observed that the odour then produced evidently resulted in a great deal from animal matter.
The septum which divides the brain was in a perfect state. That the brain had not been removed was
corroborated by the medical gentlemen not being able to discover the channel by which it might
have been taken out, and it is unprobable that it had been forced into a small compass by means of
hot liquid sent in through a syringe, by some very small passage. The ethmoid bone and the backs
of the orbits appeared to be perfect.
The chest was next laid open, and the organs were found very much collapsed. The lungs con-
sisted of little more than the shrivelled membrane of the pleura pulmonaris. The heart was much
wasted; but the four cavities were tolerably distinct, particularly the ventricles. This part of the
examination exposed the liver, which was lying under the spurious ribs, and a portion of which had
been cut away when the abdomen was examined. The organ retained its form very correctly,
although its bulk was much diminished.

During this examination the spleen, diaphragm, and stomach were also identified.
The mummy was then 'brushed over with oil of turpentine', 'strongly varnished', and
'put into a case (formed by her own coffin) with a glass before it', this concluding the
earlier examination.
In April I964, the mummy was again investigated and on this occasion subjected to
a total radiographic skeletal survey. Dr. M. F. Laming Macadam, Department of
Oriental Studies, Durham University, most kindly examined the lid of the outer
coffin which had been heavily varnished during the last century. This varnish had
become opaque, but after considerable difficulty he managed to decipher the name of
the dead woman which proved to be Irterau, daughter of Pedamenope.
There is no need to give a detailed written description of the external appearance of
the mummy as pl. XIII, i and 3 clearly show its present state. The hair is still of a
reddish-brown colour (there is no evidence of pubic or axillary hair), but there is now
no flexibility of the joints. The skin, still 'drawn into large wrinkles, and overlapping

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 i The mummy in its coffins
/I I Irr ;W'
I. The mummy in its coffins 2. Lid of the outer coffin 3. Detail of th

THE DENON MUMMY

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 uIi~~~~~~~~ 2~~~
i. Abdomen and Pelvis 2. Thorax

These radiographs show apparently n

lower right side o

THE DENON MUMIMY

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 TWO MUMMIES OF ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 77

prodigiously in various places' is now completely rigid and would fracture re

incised. PI. XIII, 3 shows the incisions made by the early nineteenth-century surg
That in the abdomen is in the form of an inverted Y, while that used to expl
thorax is a linear vertical cut over the sternum. The incision made to remove the
of the skull can only be detected radiologically. Some time after the autopsy the
hand became detached at the wrist (fingers and thumb of this hand extended), b
has now been restored to its correct position. The thumb and little finger of the
hand are flexed, the remaining fingers being extended.
Radiologically (pl. XIV, I, 2) the bones are free from any pathological chang
are consistent in appearance with those of a youngish adult female. The spinal co
and intervertebral disk spaces appear normal and closely resemble those of the na
desiccated bodies of predynastic times. There is no evidence of lines of arre
growth to suggest an unhealthy childhood. In examining the thorax the New
surgeons had removed the entire sternum save for the manubrium. The only
traces of damage to the skeleton are post-mortem fractures involving the 4th, 5th
and 7th right ribs.

Comments

From the autopsy findings of I830 it would clearly appear that no evisceration
cerebral extraction had been performed by the embalmers, and the mode of treatmen
of the body was probably that of the third type described by Herodotus.I The state o
the anus as found by the Newcastle surgeons could suggest an attempt at evisceration
per anum,2 but the damage was probably inflicted whilst packing the rectum with line
Mr. Warren R. Dawson, to whom all the evidence has been submitted, states in
personal communication that the mummy 'is datable to the 26th Dynasty by the styl
of the coffin, the orthography of the inscriptions and the technique of embalmin
The inscriptions contain the funerary formulae usual at the period.'
It should further be noted that neither the autopsy findings nor the radiographs giv
any indication as to the possible cause of death.

2. The mummy in cartonnage

This mummy, contained in a cartonnage case and a wooden outer coffin,3 was pur-
chased in Qurna, Thebes in I820 by Thomas Coates of Haydon Bridge, Northumbe
land, and was presented by him in I821 to the Newcastle Literary and Philosophic
Society.
As the foot-board had been removed by Customs officials (the damage was later
restored), a brief examination of the mummy in its bandages was made in October

I G. E. Smith and W. R. Dawson, Egyptian Mummies (London, I924), 58.

2 A. Lucas, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries, (4th edition, London, I962), 301.
3 The outer lid of the coffin was in store during April, I964, but Mr. Tynan in a personal communication
writes 'the outer lid of the wrapped cartonnage is heavily decorated in the same style as the inner covering but it
is covered in a thick layer of brown varnish which largely obscures all detail'.
F

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78 P. H. K. GRAY

i82I. The extreme length was found to be 5ft. 5 in., and, making allowance for the
wrappings, it was estimated that the length of the body was not more than 5ft. 2 in.'
The decorations on the cartonnage case are well executed, and the inscriptions
inform us that it contains the body of Bakt-ent-hor, daughter of Nakhtef-mut.2
A total radiographic skeletal survey of this mummy in its cartonnage case was per-
formed in April, 1964. The mode of treatment of the body contrasted strongly with
that of the unwrapped mummy, and the radiographs suggest an embalmment during the
Twenty-first or Twenty-second Dynasty during which periods the extracted viscera
were returned to the body cavity in four separate bundles, each with its respective
deity usually made of wax, and the intervening spaces filled with a mixture of sawdust
and resin. The packing of the chest, abdomen and pelvis is clearly demonstrated in
pl. XV, 2; XVI, I, 2. The radiographs also show evidence of subcutaneous packing
about the neck and thighs, another characteristic feature of the technique used during
these times. However, no radio-opaque artificial eyes had been inserted into the orbits.
A string of non-metallic amulets had been placed about the neck (pl. XV, 2), and
below them opposite the sternum is what appears to be a winged disk (pl. XVI, i). The
rectangular amulet shown in pl. XVI, 2 may well represent a displaced flank plate.
From a medical point of view the X-rays show the skeleton to be that of a youngish
adult female. The arms are extended, and the palms of the hands (fingers extended)
lie on the antero-medial aspect of the thighs. The bones show no pathological changes,
but despite some obscuring by foreign matter some of the intervertebral disk spaces
appear opaque.3 The skeleton appears free from fractures, dislocations and lines of
arrested growth, and as in the case of the unwrapped mummy there is no indication as
to the possible cause of death.
I The details are taken from: Minute of the subcommittee appointed to take the mummy out of the coffin, October
22nd, I82I. Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society.
2 I wish to thank T. G. H. James Esq., Department of Egyptian Antiquities, British Museum, for reading
the hieroglyphs.
3 For probable cause of opacification of the intervertebral disks see P. H. K. Gray, A Radiographic Skeletal
Survey of Ancient Egyptian Mummies. Excerpta Medica International Congress Series, No. I20. Fourth
European Symposium on Calcified Tissues. Leiden/Noordwijk aan Zee, March 28-April i, I966.

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 2. Radiograph of the neck and upper thorax, showing a necklace of am
packing about the neck

i. The cartonnage case

THE COATES MUMMY

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PLATE XVI

i. The thorax, showing the winged disk amulet, and packing in the body cavity

2. The abdomen, showing the rectangular amulet. Some of the intervertebral disk spaces
appear partially opaque

THE COATES MUMMY

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