| Pesed Human Mummy | |
| |
| Biographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Name(s) | Lady Pesed |
| Age | 55-70 |
| Sex | Female |
| Status | on display |
| Height | N/A |
| Source | |
| Culture | Ancient Egyptian |
| Date(s) | 300 B.C |
| Site | https://www.westminster.edu/about/community/galleries.cfm |
| Current Location | |
| Location | Westminster College (PA) |
| Catalog # | |
Pesed, a 2,300-year-old mummy, is believed to be the mummy of Lady Pesed, daughter of Nes-hor, a priest of the eight gods associated with Min. The mummy was excavated from the city of Akhmim, about 235 miles south of Cairo. Pesed was not a figure of historical importance. The style of her mummification and the writings on her coffin suggested she came from a family of wealth. She lived to be 65-70 years of age.
The mummy of Pesed is currently housed in the McGill Library at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
Mummification[]
It took up to 300 meters to wrap the mummy. Wrapping is a very complicated process that could take up to two weeks. It's all part of a religious experience, so they would say prayers and do other things while they were wrapping. It was an incredibly intricate process, especially in later periods.
Studies[]
Written on the side of Pesed's coffin is the prayer for the dead, which is 'may you have bread and beer and cattle and fowl.'
Pathology[]
The head has been severed from the body postmortem.
Additional[]
The mummy was purchased for $8 and shipped to the U.S. for $5 in 1885 and was donated to the Westminster College by The Rev. John Giffen in 1885, an 1872 Westminster graduate who was working as a missionary in Egypt
The underside of the mummy case lid has graffiti in the form of student names scratched into the wood. The earliest dated 1899.
The mummy was professionally restored by Joan Gardner of the Carnegie Museum, thanks to the fundraising effort of Susan Grandy Graff.
External Links[]
https://manitobamuseum.ca/main/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-museum-mummy-keeps-visitors-rapt-1.2254564
http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2013/10/16/mummy-coming-to-winnipeg.html
https://www.westminster.edu/about/community/galleries.cfm
References[]
[1] WestMinster.(n.d).Galleries and Artifacts. Retrieved from <https://www.westminster.edu/about/community/galleries.cfm>
[2] Ratuski, A. (2013,Oct 28). Manitoba Museum mummy keeps visitors rapt. CBC News. Retrieved from <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-museum-mummy-keeps-visitors-rapt-1.2254564>