| Youngest Mummy Human Mummy | |
| |
| 17 inch long miniature cedar coffin | |
| Biographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Name(s) | unknown |
| Age | 16 to 18 weeks into gestation |
| Sex | unknown |
| Status | elite |
| Height | ~4-5 inches |
| Source | |
| Culture | Egyptian |
| Date(s) | ~ 644 B.C. to 525 B.C. |
| Site | |
| Current Location | |
| Location | Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, England |
| Catalog # | |
The small wood casket contained a wrapped bundle, bound in bandages and covered with hardened black resin. Discovered more than a century ago the tiny mummy is the youngest Egyptian ever embalmed as a mummy on record. The tiny mummy is of a human fetus who likely died at only 16 to 18 weeks of gestation, likely from a miscarriage.
Studies[]
Likely to have died due to miscarriage the cause of which is unknown.
The cedarwood coffin is a perfect miniature of a standard coffin from Egypt's Late Period.
The arms, which were crossed over its chest, were visible to scans.
The tiny skeleton was wrapped in bandages, and covered in black resin.
Microscopic examination reveals the occasional loose pigment particle, the main colour visible is blue, seen on the wig and the collar;the wood is severely weakened by brown-rot,
Pathology[]
CT scans showed that the fetus had developed five digits on each of its hands and feet, as well as clearly visible long leg and arm bones. However, it is unclear whether it was a boy or a girl, or why it may have miscarried.
Additional[]
The British School of Archaeology originally uncovered the 17-inch-long (44 centimeters) coffin in Giza in 1907, and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge added the coffin to the museum collection that same year. The fetus of the baby was well-preserved in a cedar coffin the wood for which was likely imported from Lebenon.
Although Tutankhamun's tomb contained two mummified fetuses, they were estimated to be at 25 weeks and 37 weeks into gestation.
The so-called Maidstone Bird Mummy was also found to have been a rare infant mummy.
External Link[]
https://www.livescience.com/54743-mummy-fetus-discovered-egypt-coffin.html
https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/world/article77296082.html
Geggel, L. (May 13, 2016) Newly Discovered Fetus is Youngest Egyptian Mummy on Record. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/54743-mummy-f