An Egyptian mummy found a foetus in her abdomen last year. It was kept alive for over 2,000 years by being ‘pickled’ as an egg after it had been decomposed.
This is the conclusion of the team of researchers led from the University of Warsaw who revealed the presence of the unborn child’s remains using a combination of CT and X-ray scans back in the April of last year.
The mummy is believed to be the first embalmed specimen known to contain a foetus, and was taken out of Egypt by Jan Wężyk–Rudzki, who donated the specimen to the University of Warsaw in the December of 1826.
A great deal of uncertainty surrounds the adult mummy — dubbed the ‘Mysterious Lady’ — with experts presently unsure who she was and exactly what caused her death in her twenties back in the 1st century BCE.
Even the location of her tomb has been lost to history, with some records suggesting she was found in the ‘royal tombs in Thebes’ — at a time when none were known from that location — and others in Giza’s Pyramid of Cheops.
Based on how the birth canal was opened and the position of the foetus, researchers determined that the Mysterious Lady didn’t die during childbirth.
Previous studies concluded that the mummy was between 26–30 weeks into her pregnancy when she died.
It is possible that there are other pregnant mummas hiding in museums, waiting for their identification through careful soft tissue analysis.
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The foetus discovered in the stomach of an Egyptian Mummy last year (pictured), was kept alive for over 2,000 years by being ‘pickled’ as an egg through the acidification of her body.
Researchers from University of Warsaw came to this conclusion after confirming the existence of unborn remains with a combination of CT-X-ray scans in April last year.
The mummy — believed to be the first embalmed specimen known to contain a foetus — was taken out of Egypt by one Jan Wężyk–Rudzki, who donated the specimen to the University of Warsaw in the December of 1826. Pictured are the Mysterious Lady’s coffin (left), cartonnage box (center) and mummy, as seen in photo and X-ray.
Researchers were able determine, using the location of the foetus as well as how the birth canal was shut, that the Mysterious Lady didn’t die during childbirth. Previous studies concluded that the mummy was between 26–30 weeks into her pregnancy when she died. Pictured: the earliest-known depictions of the Mysterious Lady — with the mummy (top), the coffin (bottom left) and the cartonnage case (bottom right) — published in the Polish kids’ magazine ‘Przyjaciel dziecka’ in 1862
The study of the ‘Mysterious Lady’ and her unborn child was undertaken by archaeologist and palaeopathologist Marzena Ożarek-Szilke of Poland’s University of Warsaw and her colleagues.
The foetus was left in its uterus unaffected and started to “pickle”. While it’s not an ideal comparison, the image conveys the essence of the idea. In a blog, the researchers elaborated.
“The blood pH, which includes the content in the uterus and blood, of corpses decreases significantly. It becomes more acidic and increases with the time.
“The access to oxygen and air was significantly reduced by the placement of natron in the body.
“The final result is a nearly hermetically sealed, uterus that contains the foetus.
“The environment in which the foetus lived was comparable to that of ancient swamps, according to researchers.
The researchers explained how the unborn child would have been preserved over the millennia after radiologist Sahar Saleem of Egypt’s Cairo University published a response to the team’s original paper in which she questioned the identification of the foetus, given the absence of its bones in the scans.
‘Recognizing foetal anatomy in mummy pelvic mass is a prerequisite to consider it a foetus,’ Professor Saleem wrote in her paper.
According to Dr Ożarek-Szilke and her colleagues, however, foetal bones are very poorly mineralised during the course of the first two trimesters of pregnancy, meaning they are difficult to detect in the first place after having gone through preservation processes.
They also added that the Mysterious Lady’s acidification as it decomposed would have denineralized the foetus’ bones making them harder to spot, even though its soft tissues had been preserved.
Researchers explained that the egg is placed in a container with acid to illustrate how it works.
‘The eggshell dissolves, leaving only the inside of the egg — albumen and yolk — and the minerals from the eggshell dissolved in the acid.’
The team explained that, in the mummy, the minerals leached from the foetal bones would have been deposited into both the tissues of the unborn child and the surrounding uterus, giving both a higher radiodensity and thus a different appearance in the CT scans.
“The foetus was left in its untouched uterus, and it began to pickle.” While it’s not the best aesthetic analogy, it does convey the concept! palaeopathologist Marzena Ożarek-Szilke of Poland’s University of Warsaw and her colleagues explained in a blog post. Two volumetric renderings from CT data of the foetus are shown. Labels on the right-hand image represent the head (A), right hand (B), left hand (C) and right leg (D)
The team stated that the blood pH, which includes the content of the uterus in the corpses, drops significantly and becomes more acidic. Furthermore, the ammonia-formic acid concentrations increase over time. The body was filled with natron and placed there for oxygen. It created an almost sealed uterus that contained the foetus. It was similar to an environment that preserves old bodies in swamps.
A great deal of uncertainty surrounds the adult mummy specimen — dubbed the ‘Mysterious Lady’ — with experts presently unsure who she was and exactly what caused her death in her twenties back in the 1st century BCE. Pictured: a CT scan of the Mysterious Lady’s pelvic area. The head of the foetus is labeled as “A”, while its hand is labeled as “B”.
The initial study of the mummy’s unborn child and the mother has been concluded. Researchers are now trying to figure out how her embalmers kept the foetus alive in her uterus.
‘Maybe it had something to do with beliefs and rebirth in the afterlife,’ Dr Ożarek-Szilke told Science in Poland.
“It’s still hard to draw conclusions as we don’t know if it is the only one pregnant mummy. It is currently the only pregnant Egyptian mummy that we know of.
Team members want to stress the fact that while scientists are able to understand and appreciate the mummies, they still have the potential for human tragedy.
The researchers stated, “The Mysterious Lady, who died with the unborn child,” and that by inspecting her, they can restore their memory.
“We recall that she was a person with dreams and probably loved people. She was also loved. She now shares with us all the secrets that she brought to her grave.
All findings were published in Journal of Archaeological Science.
The researchers stated, “The Mysterious lady died along with her unborn child. By examining her, they can restore their memory.” “We recall that she was a person with dreams and probably loved people. She was also loved. She now tells us all the secrets that she brought with her to the grave. Pictured: a scan of the Mysterious Lady’s abdominal area, showing both amulets representing the Four Sons of Horus above the navel area and textile wrappings
Even the location of the Mysterious Lady’s tomb has been lost to history, with some records suggesting she was found in the ‘royal tombs in Thebes’ — at a time when none were known from that location — and others in Giza’s Pyramid of Cheops
HOW ANCIENT ETIANS EMBALMED THEIR DARED
Pictured: a mummified corpse
A variety of chemicals may have been used in the preservation and embalming of bodies from the past.
Russian scientists think that a different kind of balm was used for hair preservation than those applied to the body.
A balm was applied to hair using a mixture of beeswax, pine gum, and beef fat. It also included a small amount of aromatic pistachio oils as an option.
In ancient Egypt, mummification involved the removal of the internal organs of the corpse, dehydrating the body using a combination of salts and wrapping the body in cloth that was soaked in oil, plant extracts and resins.
It is believed that older mummies have been preserved in nature by being placed in dry desert soil and weren’t chemically altered.
In recent years, gas chromatography/mass spectrumtry (GC/MS), has been used to find more information about the old embalming process.
Study after study found that bodies could be embalmed using a combination of phenolic acid (like sesame or sunflower oil), plant oils (like sesame and soybean oil), as well as phenolic acids (likely derived from aromatic plants extracts) and sugars extracted from plants.
This recipe included dehydroabietic acids and diterpenoids derived from conifer resins.