‘Eternal life’ for mummy identified at last

A 2,600-YEAR-OLD Egyptian mummy can “live forever” after its name was discovered written on his sarcophagus, a curator has claimed.

The desiccated remains of the man once known as Irethoreru are at Chiddingstone Castle, Kent, but his precise identity had remained a mystery.

His name, which means “the eye of Horus is against them” and is thought to date from between 664 BC and AD30, was discovered with a scanning technique developed by British researchers from University College London and the University of Manchester along with collaborators in the USA.

They were able to read hitherto invisible hieroglyphics painted on scraps of papyrus used to make the case for the mummified body by shining light of various frequencies on to them.

The technique was developed using fabricated scraps designed to mimic the “waste” materials, including ancient shopping lists and tax returns, which were recycled into sarcophagi. These had been regarded as illegible because the writing was obscured by the paste and plaster holding the mummy together.

Irethoreru’s name was on a footplate. Until now, researchers would have had to destroy the sarcophagus to read it.

Maria Esain, the curator, said: “There is a saying from ancient Egyptian times: ‘to speak a man’s name is to restore him to eternal life’. Therefore, if we were able to determine the name written in hieroglyphs then we would be enabling that person to live forever.”